When installing rectified tiles should there be a lip between tiles? We were told by the contractor that this is lip is within standard guidelines but there are too many lips.

3/2/2014 at 6:08:27 PM

In theory the tiles should not have any lips if the subfloor was prepared correctly and the tiles were installed correctly. There is a tool called a tile puck and if you can slide the puck across the tiles without a catch than this is acceptable.

You would need to have another professional installer take a look and let you know what he thinks.

There are lots of variables that must be taken into consideration.

3/3/2014 at 6:53:01 PM

Maria,

I a presuming that the size of your tile is 12x24, which is a very common size available now. If this is the case then the problem is the tiles themselves, in the manufacturing process some times the tiles warp and are not flat but have a bit of an arc to them. The only way to see this is to put the tiles face to face and see how flat they actually are. If you try to install these tiles in a "brick" pattern, then what you get is the high point on one tile meeting up with the low point of the tile beside, causing a lip. That is why this size/type of tile is not recommended to be installed in a brick pattern but in a linear pattern.

If I have presumed incorrectly than the problem may be in the installation as a whole, in which case there should not be any lippage.

Hope this info helps.

Regards,

Lionel

MOJ Contracting

3/3/2014 at 9:43:49 PM

Unfortunately this happens often with 12x24 tile or 24x24. You mainly find it with lower quality tiles, but to be sure that its the tile and not the installer have a 2nd contractor give his honest opinion.

3/10/2014 at 8:42:53 AM

Rectified tiles have the edges straightened so that you can have minimal grout line. It has nothing to do with lippage. Lippage is from how flat the tile surface is, installation and your existing floor. Large format tiles sometimes have a crown in them, that is why they do not recommend installation in a brick pattern. If they do have a crown, then you will never have a perfectly level floor.

Your existing floor also has to be relatively flat to begin with, there is only so much that can be done with the thinset to level a floor. They should have discussed that with you in the first place and given you options.

Without seeing the floor, we can only speculate on the cause or how bad the lippage is. You really need to have a good tile guy see it and give his opinion.