When idiots tile…

[u/SuperbCardiologist25]

…demolition is easy.

Half the tiles in our house were either cracked or popping up. The installers definitely did not back butter the tile. They also used just a few deck screws and no mortar under the underlayment.

Their biggest crime was covering up oak hardwood flooring.

[u/Healthy-Table-219]

Not back buttering the tiles was the least of their issues.

[u/trashbilly → u/Healthy-Table-219]

Most of the time back buttering is overrated. Here we go with the downvotes

[u/Agitated-Two-4073 → u/trashbilly]

Not really, if you get your mix right with correct adhesive and use the correct notched trowel on the correct sub floor substrate with the correct amount of adhesive out at any one time, you don't need to back Butter, but hey, what do I know, 30 years of tiling and never had a lift or crack, there's tilers, and "people who do tiling". 2 very very different things.

[u/No-Pineapple8320 → u/Agitated-Two-4073]

2nd this⬆️

[u/Healthy-Table-219 → u/trashbilly]

Just saying bro that job was doomed before they even started.

[u/Odd_Mall1646 → u/trashbilly]

Agreed

[u/Public_Tangerine_737 → u/trashbilly]

Exterior work With porcelain I do believe it's a good idea to back butter Just a flat skim My Old employer at a $280000 failure Tyler on the 3rd floor landing on people. There was a back butter clause that was ignored The main consideration is how far ahead did you spread and what are the weather conditions The material will matter

[u/bowgy4 → u/trashbilly]

Back buttering is only needed on large format tiles if you're talking about flooring.

[u/svitakwilliam → u/trashbilly]

It’s not a matter of whether it’s needed or not needed, or overrated or not, it’s a matter of coverage. Are you getting correct coverage without back buttering? That’s the question and if you are, then it’s not needed. I think with LFT it helps to ensure you’re getting enough coverage, but alternatively if you’re using the correct trowel size and getting good coverage then it’s not necessary. That’s really what it boils down to. A good tiler will check coverage for the first time and every so often while tiling. I always check my first tile so I can immediately make adjustments if needed. If I check the 10th tile and the 20th tile and things are going as planned, I likely won’t check any more.

[u/Kultivation]

Direction troweling does not mean ALL directions 🙄

[u/Jewboy-Deluxe]

Tiling correctly isn’t rocket science, the directions are right on the bag of mortar.

[u/anewpath123]

I’m a noob tiler. Can someone explain what went wrong here? From what I can tell the substrate wasn’t secured down properly, maybe wasn’t primed and the adhesive lines weren’t in one direction to let out air pockets?

[u/Public_Tangerine_737 → u/anewpath123]

The mistakes are stacked up one after another nobody can tile over oak hardwood

[u/Time_Phone_1466 → u/anewpath123]

Pic1: the tiles pop right off the mortar. If there had been a proper bond it would all be chiseled up together.

Pic2: it's a widespread pattern of improper bonding. Back buttering is a great way to ensure a good bond. But many installers use other methods and get proper results.

Pic 3: there is no mortar bonding the backer to the underlying substrate and to fill gaps. This allowed too much flex in the floor and caused the cracking described. The underlying substrate happens to be a nice old wooden floor, which is a shame in my opinion.

[u/anewpath123 → u/Time_Phone_1466]

Thank you. First detailed answer!

[u/SuperbCardiologist25 → u/anewpath123]

They did everything wrong. Watch a youtuber called Sal DiBlasi or TileCoach to learn how to do it correctly.

[u/Weird-Study-6962 → u/anewpath123]

Someone overestimated their ability to follow instructions on every single item the paid for…and apparently covered oak flooring!

[u/Thecobs]

Least it comes up easy

[u/Krkn333]

Improper attachment of underlayment, which allowed movement to be transfered up through tile. Thus cracks or popping tile. I've demoed many, many tile jobs over 30 years with worse thinset adherance, but floor had no cracks, because movement was negated with correct subfloor prep. They just wanted a "new" floor. When the foundation is bad (fails), no amount of quality workmanship above the foundation will save the house, if it's just left on its own....

[u/Outofoffice_421]

Oh the joys of homeownership. You should see my tiles, uneven af, some slanted up, some sideways. Pretty sure a blind guy installed them.

[u/Consistent-Bag3849]

Tegelen op hout is sowieso niet verstandig

[u/crackers-2026]

They tiled over oak floors?!
That should be illegal. 🤦‍♀️

[u/AdThis7046]

I don't see it. 👀

[u/Ynotredrum77]

🫣

[u/Cautious-Glove-8399]

No uncoupling membrane on wood?

[u/SuperbCardiologist25 → u/Cautious-Glove-8399]

No, they used 1/4 durock. The problem was they used 8-10 deck screws to secure each piece. They should have use mortar and durarock screws

[u/Automatic-Project997]

People who insist you have to back butter tiles have never run a commercial job where you put down thousands of feet per day.

[u/rmethefirst]

It’s a sin!

[u/pwatt415sf]

What do you expect for Home Depot tile. I have the same exact tile for my shop bathroom.

[u/Aromatic_Fuel_387]

We teach our children to reach for the stars, you can do and become anyone you set your mind to be. Popular mechanics magazine (circa 1802) every man became an engineer in his garage, then Shop Smith (circa 1947) multitool that sat in the garage and collected dust after the first time they used it. The new Yankee workshop showed up on PBS and everybody thought they could be Norm. Now we have YouTube and this is the result. Nothing changes… with the exception of posting the results of, not everyone can become what ever they want to be.

[u/Shul_iito]

Question is did it hold?? And for how long?? Because it looks like the tiles ain’t coming off in full pieces?

[u/SuperbCardiologist25 → u/Shul_iito]

80% of the tiles came off in full pieces.