Why is my tile floor cracking? The floor is raised. Bad tile job?

Answer 1

Most likely the subflooring is insufficient and is deflecting too much. You can have the best laid tile but if the structure beneath is not strong enough, the flooring will crack.

Answer 2

bad subfloor, if the floor was raised you should of had at least 5/8 or 3/4 inch plwood put down first so there is no give or bounce to it when walked or jumped on,then you could tile right over that if it is a good grade exterior ply, or put a layer of cement board down then tile. also you have to make sure the floor is level and the tiles are set in place level.

Answer 3

I had the same problem in an older house that I bought.The man that redid it was a "handyman". It had a crawl space under it and the first winter when it got cool it sounded like a shotgun going off when the tiles broke.(and I live in central Florida)!
At first,I couldn't figure out what the sound was until they began in the most open areas of the room. I was told there was not the proper underlayment as the other guys have suggested.

Answer 4

They didn't build the subfloor underneath the tile well enough. They should have used at least a 1/2-inch cement board (hardybacker). Then they should have attached a wire mesh and put down about 1/4 inch of leveling compound (plasticized cement compound). Then they should have put down about a quarter inch of mastic with a slipsheet over it (plasticized paper). This allows thermal expansion of the subfloor materials without affecting the tiles. On top of that, another 1/4 inch of mastic and then the tiles.

At best, they probably put down 1/2-inch plywood, filled the gaps with mastic, and set the tiles. And now they're cracking because, every time you walk on it, the floor is flexing.

Answer 5

the bottom layer is not strong enough