DIY repair of tiles on the floor

In detail: DIY repair of tiles on the floor from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

The correct solution is to finish the floor with tiles, sometimes it creates difficulties, especially if you need to repair the tiles on the floor. A chipped tile (cracked, fallen off, cracked, exfoliated) wants to be restored as soon as possible or removed altogether. But this will not be so easy. What to do with a tile that has lost its original appearance, it is worth understanding in more detail.

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New tile floor

Before you start repairing your tile flooring, it's worth understanding why tile floors have suffered in order to prevent this from happening in the future. Conventionally, damages that may require restoration or replacement of tiles are divided into 2 groups:

  1. Violation of the styling technology.
  2. Improper use of tiled floors.

As a result, a deformation of the tile surface occurs, it can peel off the floor, change its shape, and crack. The most common defects are:

  • Cracks are often the result of improper installation. The adhesive is unevenly distributed over the surface, which has led to the formation of voids, which cannot withstand the load under pressure. As a result, the element cracks and the problem arises of how to repair cracked floor tiles. Another factor that influences such a defect is the wrong choice of finishes. It is simply not designed to withstand the stress of daily walking.
  • Scuffed, chipped. These are operational defects that can occur even with the selection of the correct material for floor finishing, compliance with the installation and operating conditions. Over time, even the most durable enamel wears off, and the pattern on the tile clearly looks outdated. Such tiles in the kitchen or in the bathroom can be restored without redecorating the entire floor or even individual elements. For such repair (restoration) of tiled floors, you need to use special putties, they are sold in hardware stores. From time to time, the layer needs to be updated.
Video (click to play).

Before proceeding with the repair of ceramic tiles, the level of destruction should be assessed. This is necessary to determine what kind of repair is needed in a particular case, it may be possible to get by with replacing several floor tiles.

Note! If tiles are damaged, cracked, lagged behind, or have fallen off in the volume of more than 30% of the total, then it is more rational to re-build a new floor than to restore the existing one. In addition, this will make it possible to change the design, choose a more convenient finishing material.

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Cracks occur when the installation conditions are violated

If the tiles (several pieces) on the floor have peeled off or cracked, then local repairs can be dispensed with. In this case, the biggest difficulty is to choose the right color, pattern, shade.

Often it is necessary to just glue the new one in place of the peeled one, but the problem is how to replace the tile without hooking or damaging the rest. If the seams are wide enough, then there will be no particular difficulties in this. So, the ways how to replace one tile on the floor:

  1. Saw through the seam using a angle grinder with water.
  2. Cut the seam with a thin drill bit.
  3. Remove cracked or loose coating with a hammer drill.
  4. Combine several options, depending on the tools available.

Before replacing cracked tiles, you must also remove the old layer of tile adhesive. This is necessary to check the condition of the screed, perhaps the reason for the damage to the tile is in it.

Sometimes it happens that the tile just fell off, and as a result the question arises: how to glue the fallen off tile.The only correct option is high-quality tile glue, using a sufficient amount of it. After all, it can fall off only if they saved on glue, that is, they used it less than necessary.

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Removing defective tiles

If the crack on the tile is single and small, then the element does not need to be completely changed, you can mask the damage. Such defects are closed with cement paste. It can be easily made from:

  • 1 part fine sand;
  • 1 part cement.

Cover the dry mixture with water and thoroughly fill the crack with the mixture. It needs to be literally rubbed in. This option, how to repair a crack, will help to "assemble" the tile into a single whole. To do this, it is convenient to use a spatula, with which the mixture is rubbed in different directions, so that it penetrates well into the depths. This method will work only if the crack is not deep.

  1. Using a grout of a suitable color.
  2. Pasting the tiles with self-adhesive foil.

If the defect is too noticeable, then the only option to repair the chip is to replace the element completely.

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Poorly glued tiles can be removed with a screwdriver

If the crack is deep, then the tile must be removed. To peel the tile from the glue, you need to follow these steps:

  • Using a drill, drill holes diagonally with a distance of 2 cm between them.
  • Put on glasses on your eyes and gloves on your hands, arm yourself with a chisel and hammer.
  • Then break it into small pieces and remove them. In this case, you need to act very carefully so as not to damage the adjacent floor elements. It is most convenient to start breaking off the pieces from the center and moving along the edges.

It will not work to glue the tiles in place of the damaged one immediately after removal. First you need to remove all the debris and dust. Moreover, even the smallest pieces of dirt can literally wobble the floor.

When preparing the foundation, you need to consider the following important points:

  • The screed under the new floor element must be leveled.
  • Self-leveling mixtures can be used for leveling.
  • The gap between the restored subfloor and the old one should be within 5 mm, in this case it will be possible to adjust the height of the new tile to the overall floor level.
  • The screed must dry out and get stronger before gluing the tiles with your own hands.
  • There should be no voids under the surface of the new floor element.

Glueing on new tiles with proper preparation is not difficult. You need to make a pillow with waves from the tile glue and walk over it with a notched trowel. Next, attach a new element and adjust it to match the level with the rest of the floor. You can besiege it with your hand, a rubber hammer, a mallet. Any excess glue that has been squeezed out must be removed immediately. After drying, seal the joints with the same putty as on the rest of the floor.

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Checking the adhesion of tiles to the floor

There are not so many options for how to repair a tiled floor; it is often necessary to replace local areas or the entire coating.

A tile floor looks expensive, but without proper care it loses its aesthetic qualities. It is costly and time-consuming to repair tiles on the floor from scratch, so many people prefer to perform a cosmetic procedure. Repair of ceramic tiles on the floor can be done on your own, the main thing is to observe the subtleties of the work. Let's talk about how you can fix the appearance of your floor.

There are several ways to tidy up your ceramic tile floor. But first, it's worth assessing the scope of work. Examine the floor, which tiles need replacing, and where to simply freshen up the seams. The tile could crack for several reasons:

  • The screed is broken;
  • The glue is applied unevenly;
  • From strong mechanical impact on the surface.

Depending on the damage, calculate how much material you need to buy (take with a small margin). If the store does not need tiles, you can show your imagination and combine material that is similar in texture and color.

It is more profitable to replace individual links of the mosaic, but if upon opening you saw that the screed has cracked, then you will have to change a large area.
Photos are enlarged, click!

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

To replace and repair a tile floor, you will need the following materials and tools:

  • Perforator.
  • Tile adhesive.
  • Level.
  • Grout for joints.
  • Cement-sand mixture or ready-made dry composition for screed
  • Construction mixer.
  • Container for kneading glue and screed.
  • Spatulas (rubber, plain, notched).

The cracked link is carefully removed using a perforator. We also remove the screed under it by 1 cm, for further leveling the tiles.

1. Mix a new screed of sand and cement (ratio ½).

You can take a ready-made self-leveling mixture, for example: Forward Tsemopol (price from 170 rubles). It is easier to work with the finished screed and it hardens faster.

Pour the composition into the resulting hole so that there is a gap. The self-leveling screed is slightly brushed from above in order for air bubbles to come out. Left to dry.

Using a spatula, make a pillow of glue. The composition must be leveled from above with wavy movements. Waves are essential for better adhesion to the material.

Apply the adhesive to the technical side of the tile using a notched trowel.

Important! Insert the link into place and align it with a level. If the tile is of high quality, then you can knock on it with a rubber mallet. For fragile material, such handling is unacceptable. Let the glue dry for a day.

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floorImage - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

2. Let's start grouting.

A rubber spatula is taken and grout is applied to the resulting seams. At this stage, you can freshen up adjacent seams by slightly peeling off the old layer and applying a new one.

After a few minutes, you can remove excess grout with a dish sponge or special. To do this, moisten it with water and rub the seam until there are no streaks.

Important! If the tile just moved away from the floor, then you need to act dramatically. We remove the loose links and remove the old glue along with a part of the screed. Most likely, the previous installation was done incorrectly and the technologies were not followed, or the glue was used of the lowest quality. Further, we do exactly the same as in the first case.

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

You can do a little redecoration of a tile in a bathroom or sauna with your own hands. But if you use low-quality material for work, then the procedure will have to be repeated at least once every six months. Therefore, use high quality compounds for repairs. The house is our fortress and it's not worth saving on repairs!

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor Image - DIY repair of tiles on the floor

Check out floor tile repairs.