Ceramic tiles cracking

[folivier]

I have ceramic tile in the galley. 4 tiles are cracked so I found the right tiles and bought a box. I just pulled up 2 tiles and they were glued down using silicone over plywood. Is that the correct way to install tiles, especially in a coach? I only plan to replace the 4 cracked tiles now so I guess I'll silicone them down like the others.
Any suggestions?

[Richard and Rhonda]

Make sure you use a trowel with the fine triangular cutouts, and cover the ENTIRE area where the replacement tile will go. Don't just squirt a random bead on the plywood. Silicone wouldn't be my first choice, but I really don't know how much difference there will be functionally between that a a good mastic. I would not use thinset, since I don't think it will have very much give at all, even if you load it up with a latex additive.

You want the full coverage under the tile so that a focused pressure, like a high heel, doesn't break off an edge.

Use the latex caulk that is designed to function as grout instead of real grout.

All of this advice from someone who has never put tile in a coach. On the other hand I just finished about 1700 ft in the house we have for sale. Ouch.

[folivier]

That's what the previous owner had done, the silicone doesn't cover the entire tile. I'm thinking of going with an adhesive troweled on, just not sure which type would give me the best results.
How's the new location?

[encantotom]

i hate to be a naysayer, but i sure wouldnt count on just a silicone to keep more tiles from cracking. that is too much flexing.

i was paranoid about cracking when i put granite down.

on a recommendation from a wanderlodge fellow who does lots of floors in coaches, i used SAM3 from NAC

http://www.nacproducts.com/Sam3.htm

as an anti cracking membrane and then used mapei ultraflex2 thinset for the granite.

then i called newell and asked what they used for grout and they said silicone. so i got the silicone from the tile company that is matching to the grout color we wanted and ALL of my grout lines are pure silicone. it makes a mess, but is totally flexible.

from two years of useage, no cracks.

tom

[tuga]

Tom,

I have some cracked granite tiles (2) in my coach. Should I break out a few of the good tiles that surround the cracked ones to form a base? I know it is a hard question to answer without actually seeing it, but I would appreciate your opinion.

[Wally Arntzen]

Never, never use silicone as an adhesive for tile. Go to a tile shop and get the proper adhesive and scrape the floor clean for a good bond. Silicone is soft when fully cured and moves with weight which will cause the cracking.
Tuga just hit the cracked tile with a hammer in the center and take it out in peices. You do not have to take any other tiles out around the damaged ones.
If the tiles are larger than 4"x4" which I assume they are use a trowell with 1/4" notches when you put the tiles back on the floor. Often times I just trowel the mastic onto the tile itself and set in the space, that way you don't get all over the surrounding tiles.
I'm not a licensed tile setter but I am a contractor and have set thousands of square feet of different types of tile over the years.
I learned from the tile companies that I have use over the years as sub contractors.

[maxx repp]

We have a 1980 Newell and we just replaced the carpet with tiles in the living area ... I went with ceramic SNAP tiles [brand name] they float on the existing floor and they just snap together ... so far they seem to hold together just fine .. we added grout .. got them at Lowes ... not too expensive either :o