| During the useful life of any tile floor, tiles will loosen | | | | a firm surface such as a workbench, and take your |
| and have to be repaired. The level of difficulty of this | | | | time. One heavy handed blow from the hammer and |
| type of repair is about a 3 on a scale of one to ten; | | | | your tile will crack. You do not have to be as careful |
| one being the easiest and ten being the hardest. This | | | | with removing the thin set from the sub floor. |
| type of repair is costly when contracted out. | | | | Remove enough so that the face of the tile, when |
| Certainly within the skill level of most homeowners | | | | placed back in its original location, is below the plane |
| and given the proper instruction, it can easily be done | | | | of the floor surface by approximately 3/16 of an inch. |
| over a weekend. Let me give you a brief overview | | | | With the tile and floor free of any old thin set, it is |
| of how to fix a loose floor tile and save yourself an | | | | now time to place the tile back in place. When mixing |
| unnecessary labor charge from a general contractor. | | | | the new thin set, carefully follow the manufacturer's |
| First, you will need a few simple tools, which should | | | | specifications. The substance should have the same |
| include eye protection, gloves, broom, dust pan or | | | | consistency of peanut butter when properly mixed. It |
| shop vacuum, hammer, masonry chisel, small taping | | | | should easily adhere to your fingertips and stick to |
| knife, bucket, grout that matches the original, grout | | | | them when you touch it. Using the taping knife, apply |
| sponge, and a high quality thin set. The thin set | | | | thin set to the back of the floor tile and the face of |
| should be of a modified nature, meaning that latex | | | | the sub floor. When properly done, the thin set |
| based additives have been mixed into it during | | | | should exactly make up the gap between the sub |
| manufacture. These additives allow the thin set to | | | | floor and the tile, allowing the face of the tile to lie in |
| cure quicker and have a more resilient bond with the | | | | the same plane as the floor. Again, following the |
| floor. It's good to have a spare tile or two just in | | | | manufacturer's specifications, allow the thin set to |
| case you accidentally crack the loose tile during the | | | | cure. From my experience, overnight will usually be |
| repair process. | | | | enough. |
| The hardest part of the entire process is getting the | | | | The last step is to reapply grout around your newly |
| loose tile off the floor. Even though the tile is not | | | | placed tile. As always, follow the instructions |
| adhered to the sub floor any longer, it still will want | | | | recommended by the manufacturer. Using the taping |
| to stay in place. The irregularities between the tile's | | | | knife, fill the space between the tiles with grout and |
| edges and the grout against them need to be | | | | wipe the excess away with the grout sponge. The |
| removed. With your safety glasses in place, use the | | | | sponge should be wet, but not too wet. Novice tile |
| hammer and chisel and gently remove the grout | | | | setters tend to use a sponge that has too much |
| around the loose tile. It is important to use gentle, | | | | water in it. Too much water allows the sponge to |
| downward blows with your hammer. You may not be | | | | remove an excessive amount pigment from the |
| Michelangelo carving David, but you still need to be | | | | grout. The grout will then take on a whitish color that |
| delicate. Be deliberate and remove all the grout from | | | | doesn't match the existing grout color well. Wringing |
| all 4 sides of the loose tile. The grout should be | | | | out the sponge as hard as you can you will be fine. |
| completely removed until you expose the edges of | | | | An advanced technique is to feather the new grout |
| the 4 adjoining floor tiles. Once the grout has been | | | | over the old. This allows the colors to blend and |
| removed the tile should easily come up by hand. If | | | | won't be as noticeable. |
| this does not happen, gently pry the tile off the floor | | | | In conclusion, be diligent in cleaning the floor tile and |
| using the chisel. Make sure you protect the edges of | | | | sub floor of old thin set. Do your best to get the tile |
| the good tiles still on the floor. | | | | back in the same plane of the floor. Grout with care |
| Now that the tile has been removed from the floor, | | | | and feather the new grout over the old grout. If you |
| you will need to remove the thin set from both the | | | | follow these instructions to the best of you ability, |
| tile and the floor. Using the hammer and chisel | | | | you will have a completed repair equal to, if not |
| remove all the old thin set from the back of the tile. | | | | better than, any contractor could have done for you. |
| Be careful with hammering on the tile. Lay the tile on | | | | |