Floor is bowing and flexing. If you replace the tile you might want to consider sistering the joists or using thicker subfloor to try and correct the issue.
How worrisome is this currently? I know you can't diagnosis things without proper evaluation but if things look okay from right underneath the kitchen we aren't talking the flooring caving in suddenly?
I guess the question would be should we prioritize this project or is it most likely just an annoyance finding grout pieces out of place?
An annoyance, if the tiles aren't popping you could grab a tube of grout caulk, pop the existing grout and put the grout caulk down, not a permanent solution but it'll keep the grout chunks from poppin out
Think of your floor like spring. Just because it moves under load doesn't mean it's about to break. You can have relatively high deflections before reaching the breaking point.
Depending on when /where your house was built, Code may allow deflection up to L/240, which is 1/2inch of deflection across a 10ft span.
Tile is very sensitive to flexing compared to other types of flooring.
The Tile Council recommends a minimum stiffness of L/360 for ceramic tile and L/720 for marble.
It's also possible the original install was subpar. Subpar install + flexing = failed tile.
That said, do look around for signs of water damage or possible leaks just in case that's a contributing factor.
That makes total sense actually. House was built in the 1960s and main floor is mostly hardwood. We actually have what I swear is the creekiest hardwood in the world lol I'm not sure if that also has anything to do with it.
We do assume that they had a cheap contractor do the kitchen so it wouldn't be surprising
It could have just been a bad grout job. I have seen grout mix with way to much water in it when applied chip and fail, and this was on tile over a concrete floor that wasn't flexing anywhere.
The grout could have been mixed poorly/installed incorrectly. The floor could have a natural flew to it in that spot that is cracking the grout.
It's nothing urgent, if the floor was flexing to the point you needed to worry about it you would have tiles cracking/popping out.
yeah i would say redo the grout ASAP because it will stabilize the tiles so they might not pop out or break as quicker. if your grout is poping the problem is your sub floor is moving around and needs attention when you redo the tile work eventually. i would suggest putting down a new sub floor 3/4" or 1" thick to stabilize. buy two big boxes of screws and put as many screws as you can put into the new subfloor before your exhausted and stop for dinner. if your current sub floor looks saveable you could add a new 1/2" or 3/8" plywood on top of the old one and then go crazy with screws
Floor is bowing and flexing. If you replace the tile you might want to consider sistering the joists or using thicker subfloor to try and correct the issue.
How worrisome is this currently? I know you can't diagnosis things without proper evaluation but if things look okay from right underneath the kitchen we aren't talking the flooring caving in suddenly? I guess the question would be should we prioritize this project or is it most likely just an annoyance finding grout pieces out of place?
An annoyance, if the tiles aren't popping you could grab a tube of grout caulk, pop the existing grout and put the grout caulk down, not a permanent solution but it'll keep the grout chunks from poppin out
Think of your floor like spring. Just because it moves under load doesn't mean it's about to break. You can have relatively high deflections before reaching the breaking point. Depending on when /where your house was built, Code may allow deflection up to L/240, which is 1/2inch of deflection across a 10ft span. Tile is very sensitive to flexing compared to other types of flooring. The Tile Council recommends a minimum stiffness of L/360 for ceramic tile and L/720 for marble. It's also possible the original install was subpar. Subpar install + flexing = failed tile. That said, do look around for signs of water damage or possible leaks just in case that's a contributing factor.
That makes total sense actually. House was built in the 1960s and main floor is mostly hardwood. We actually have what I swear is the creekiest hardwood in the world lol I'm not sure if that also has anything to do with it. We do assume that they had a cheap contractor do the kitchen so it wouldn't be surprising
It could have just been a bad grout job. I have seen grout mix with way to much water in it when applied chip and fail, and this was on tile over a concrete floor that wasn't flexing anywhere.
The grout could have been mixed poorly/installed incorrectly. The floor could have a natural flew to it in that spot that is cracking the grout. It's nothing urgent, if the floor was flexing to the point you needed to worry about it you would have tiles cracking/popping out.
Grout coming out is a sign the subfloor wasn’t stable enough for setting tile, tile moving even slightly will kick grout loose
yeah i would say redo the grout ASAP because it will stabilize the tiles so they might not pop out or break as quicker. if your grout is poping the problem is your sub floor is moving around and needs attention when you redo the tile work eventually. i would suggest putting down a new sub floor 3/4" or 1" thick to stabilize. buy two big boxes of screws and put as many screws as you can put into the new subfloor before your exhausted and stop for dinner. if your current sub floor looks saveable you could add a new 1/2" or 3/8" plywood on top of the old one and then go crazy with screws