Todd.Brock
Well-known member
I have a bathroom on the second story that need to have five tiles replaced. A hairline crack appeared all at once while I was finishing the basement. I installed partition walls in the basement as well as around the perimeter. Standard 2x4 framing. I had some walls that needed some pretty good persuasion with a sledge to get in place. I am wondering if i put enough upward pressure on the floor joists that it transferred to the second floor and put a hairline crack in all 5 tiles. The tile was existing prior to the basement being finished. The weird part is that the bathroom tile that cracked is about 6 feet from an outside wall. There are no walls below it on the 1st floor and no walls directly below it in the basement.
The house is built in 1998, typcial suburban 2x4 construction, tile was fine for 2 years before finishing basment. No additional cracks appeared in drywall joints, caulk joints, etc.... No cracks since then. We are moving at some point soon and need to correct this issue.
Originally this area of the floor had carpet, I pulled up carpet to reveal 3/4" plywood subfloor. I put 1/4" backer board down that was either screwed or roofing nailed( i dont recall which) . I used mesh tape and a thin layer of mud to seal the joint. I believe that the crack may be clsoe to a backerboard joint.
I just cant figure out what would have caused a hairline crack in five tiles 2 years after install and nothing sense then. I used a 3/8" notched trowel for both the tile and backer board. This was not my first time tiling, and I have laid countless sq. ft since then with no issues. I can only think that the basement is the only "structural change"
I am going to be replacing the tiles this weekend and will run some screws into the backerboard to be safe. I really dont want to have to deal with it again. Im glad I bought an extra box of tile!
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