Home destruction help. I know TL;DR

[Aerovette]

Slowly but sure, beginning last year, every tile in my house is coming loose.

The story begins many years ago when I was still married. My wife was having asthma issues. We thought it might be something in the house. We had an expert come out and do some testing. No mold found. He had a device that measures moisture and he went all through the house. At the back door he got a solid hit of some kind and ran the device across the kitchen floor and told us he was sensing moisture in the tiles or grout. Dry to the touch though.

I chalked it up to the fact that I have a poured patio out back and no gutters. The door threshold was bad and the weather strip too. I replaced the door and frame and did what I "thought" would stop the moisture from coming in. It didn't.

Last year my AC went out and the house was especially humid for about a month or so. When the AC was repaired, it all got dry and crispy again. Aero was happy.

Then one morning I woke up and was walking to the front door and hit a "hill" in my hallway. Six tiles tented up and cracked.

I've always had a few hollow sounding tiles and blamed the shitty builder for a bad tiling job. I pulled up the tented tiles. No cracks, no wetness, no signs of trouble aside from the tiles being lifted. I envisioned everything from sewage to tree roots under them, but it was all ok. I reset the tiles and re-grouted. Over the last year I have not had anymore tenting, but walking on my tiles is like walking on a wooden floor. They creak. More and more of them are loose. The six I reset are rock solid, but everything around them is loose.

It's a big job, but I can re-lay them. Chipping off all the old thinset is a royal pain. I am willing to do it, but if I can't find the root cause (no pun) I'll be doing it again one day.

I called out a plumber to run a camera through the drains and there are no breaks or intrusions. There is a slight (less than 1/4 in.) belly in one drain line.

I have walked the perimeter of the foundation multiple times looking for cracks, shifting, moisture, etc and I found some split bricks and mortar (pictured) and about a 6 inch long drywall crack (unfortunately at an angle) at an upstairs doorway.

When the house was built, it was rainy during a lot of the build. I don't know if they put tile over a moist foundation or whether that even matters. It all lasted until hurricane Harvey in 2016 and that's when minor issues started popping up, but those could have been warning signs of bigger issues like these.

The brick and mortar cracks are on a brick facade (not structural brick) and are on a pillar or end cap of a garage extension.

The first brick picture is from August of 22 and the second is from January 23.


If I have to tear up all the tile, I may just put something I like in its place. For that, I would call the guy. If I put the same ones back, I'll do it at my leisure and do it myself.

A horror story that was shared with me was that a friend's neighbor had a 5 foot diameter hole drop in his house. The slab section dropped about a foot. A leaking drain was soaking the ground under his slab and eventually the slab caved in.

[Bill]

Clearly, your home was built on the site of unspeakable evil.

YouTube

Seriously though, it sounds like your house needs to be leveled. Have you tried dropping a marble on your floors to see if it rolls downhill somewhere?

[DAB]

we re-did our tile floors many years ago. the original, 1994, saltillo tiles were in large part hollow sounding - not bonded well with thinset. they came up very easily.

when we re-did them, with porcelain tiles, we made sure to back butter them all to get good adhesion. we did. if you hit them with a hammer, you don't get a hollow sound.

so it sounds like the original tile job was sucky. they likely laid too much thinset at one time, and by the time the end tiles got placed, the thinset had caked over, and they didn't get good adhesion to the underlying concrete slab.

but that should not affect moisture in your house. you say no mold, good.

anything new in the house that could be off-gassing VOCs?

[Mike Mercury]

[Rodnok1]

I'm with Dab on crappy install/products used.

[LATB]

Builder?
DR Horton or similar?

[DAB]

as for the brick and drywall cracks: settlement.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

I'm with Dab on crappy install/products used.

I assumed the same since the builder sucked so bad, BUT, what doesn't make sense is how they stayed bonded from 2007 until 2022 and suddenly broke free. I always had a few with a hollow sound. I chalk that up to crappy install. The ones that came loose after 15 years are the ones that are concerning. It looks for the most part, that the tiles broke free from the thinset, not the thinset from the slab.

Here are the backs of the tiles and exposed floor...

[MadInNc]

ICNLT

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by LATB

Builder?
DR Horton or similar?

It is a company called Imperial. The "story" is that a bunch of KB Homes guys that didn't like the quality KB was selling, went out on their own to build better houses. I really believe they are decent houses. OTHER houses are nice and done well. Mine, however, was built as the market was collapsing and the neighborhood was probably 80% complete. Everyone wanted OUT. I had TWO sales agents and FOUR supervisors between the decision to buy and the finished build. They were dropping like flies. I don't think I saw a SINGLE dude on site with a tape measure. They ran plumbing in corners of walls and had to move walls because of it. It was a joke.

If I ever have another house built (unlikely) I will sign the papers and say call me when it's done. I don't want to know how the sausage is made. Too stressful.

[Don Rickles]

Why the ex didn’t take the house is the question….




She knew she’d never get rid of you and the relentless arguments…..

[MTPZ06]

[Anjdog2003]

I had Italian tile put in my house years ago when i lived on the beach. My neighbor worked for the company that brought in the tile from Italy. At the time it was $12 a square and i got it for $1. So i tiled my kitchen bathrooms and hallway. Too cold in the winter and if you dropped anything on the floor it shattered. Sold my house and said never again. Carpet and wood floors in my next house.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Don Rickles

Why the ex didn’t take the house is the question….




She knew she’d never get rid of you and the relentless arguments…..

I'm not sure what that means, but Ok.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by aerovette

I assumed the same since the builder sucked so bad, BUT, what doesn't make sense is how they stayed bonded from 2007 until 2022 and suddenly broke free. I always had a few with a hollow sound. I chalk that up to crappy install. The ones that came loose after 15 years are the ones that are concerning. It looks for the most part, that the tiles broke free from the thinset, not the thinset from the slab.

Here are the backs of the tiles and exposed floor...

That's what would make me wonder as well. Slab house no basement?

[DAB]

Originally Posted by aerovette

I assumed the same since the builder sucked so bad, BUT, what doesn't make sense is how they stayed bonded from 2007 until 2022 and suddenly broke free. I always had a few with a hollow sound. I chalk that up to crappy install. The ones that came loose after 15 years are the ones that are concerning. It looks for the most part, that the tiles broke free from the thinset, not the thinset from the slab.

Here are the backs of the tiles and exposed floor...

as i guessed, they took too long between spreading the thinset on the slab and putting the tile down. and no back buttering either (that takes time). they get paid by the SF installed, not by the hour. dump, spread, place, grout, walk away. profit. doesn't last, not the installer's problem.

odd that they would tent up after all this time.

[Taurus]

Originally Posted by DAB

as i guessed, they took too long between spreading the thinset on the slab and putting the tile down. and no back buttering either (that takes time). they get paid by the SF installed, not by the hour. dump, spread, place, grout, walk away. profit. doesn't last, not the installer's problem.

odd that they would tent up after all this time.

I'm surprised it would hold up for 5 years but that makes sense.

[Rodnok1]

Originally Posted by DAB

as i guessed, they took too long between spreading the thinset on the slab and putting the tile down. and no back buttering either (that takes time). they get paid by the SF installed, not by the hour. dump, spread, place, grout, walk away. profit. doesn't last, not the installer's problem.

odd that they would tent up after all this time.

Probably exasperated by the flooding few years back. Bet there's no moisture barrier under that slab. If they sounded hollow at all they weren't installed correctly or moisture instrusion. Wonder if the big freeze they had couple years back popped them?

[Anjdog2003]

Originally Posted by CF mods eat dick

So now you live in a double wide? Nice job stupid, money pissed away! seasix:

Originally Posted by CF mods eat dick

I must be a real burr up your ass then? You really are a stalker, you do realize this right. It's fine with me but it makes you look like an asshole!

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Rodnok1

Probably exasperated by the flooding few years back. Bet there's no moisture barrier under that slab. If they sounded hollow at all they weren't installed correctly or moisture instrusion. Wonder if the big freeze they had couple years back popped them?

Your thinking matches mine.

2016 water within one inch of coming in the house. Then the big freeze, then the AC down for a while. The slab was wet, dry, hot, cold, dry damp, all in 6 years.

There is a moisture barrier under the slab. I saw it before they poured.

Doesn't mean they did it right.