CASTELLÓN (SPAIN)

MINIMISING TILE CRACKING AT MOVEMENT

JOINTS

Colin Cass. B. Ed., Dip. T. (Technical)

Techtile Consulting Pty. Ltd. Sydney Australia.
[email protected]

ABSTRACT

The most common type of distress in tiling in commercial and industrial areas
is cracked tiles at movement joints.

Tiles are selected for flooring in heavy traffic areas because of not only their
appearance, but also their superior performance characteristics. Ceramic tiles are
unsurpassed as a hard wearing, low maintenance yet attractive flooring. However,
these superior characteristics which lead to the specification of ceramic tiles for
these situations is often let down when the tiles crack at the inevitable movement
joints that need to be installed with large floors.

This is illustrated dramatically in the merry-go-round of shopping centre floor

selection where terrazzo, engineered or genuine stone is selected because desig-
ners have had problems with ceramic floor tiles cracking at the movement joints.

This report reviews the most likely cause of this type of distress and recom-
mends action that can be undertaken to minimise this cracking.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Cracked tiles at movement control joints in floors of commercial and indus-

trial areas is one of the most obvious detractors from the selection of ceramic ti-
les. Not only do designers and architects see them, often, the public notice them.
They are unambiguously, a sign that the tiling has failed, and nobody wishes to be
associated with such failures. Often, when rectification of the cracked tiles has
been undertaken the rectification attempts are poor and are easily noticed. This
problem is a world wide one and it has been happening for decades, yet the ce-
ramic tile industry has not made any concerted effort to address the problem. If
this problem is addressed then ceramic floor tiles have to opportunity to take back
much of the lucrative shopping mall market as well as other large public flooring
situations. If the problems is addressed, not only will the floor tile industry bene-
fit, but the whole industry will benefit and costly and wasteful rectifications will be
avoided.

The problem is soluble, it is clear that the tiles are cracking because they are
insufficiently supported or they are excessively loaded. Ceramic floor tiles, when
they are adequately bedded and bonded, generally have very high resistance to
impact and compressive loads. Engineers can assist in designing tile and move-
ment joint systems to suit commercial and industrial traffic, however, if the tile is
installed so it does not have supporting adhesive where the tiles and joint meet
then tile breakage is likely. This report assumes that most of the problems of ina-
dequate levels of supporting adhesive beneath tiles at movement joints is related
to tile and joint installation procedures rather than poor design or specification.
It concludes that better specifications and design, along with a range of training,
supervision and installation checks can lower the instance of this kind of damage.

2. MAIN MOVEMENT JOINT TYPES

The main type of movement control joint used in commercial situations is the
pre-formed metal edged neoprene filled products shaped like an inverted letter
“T”. See photo No. 1. Tile distress is however, also seen at seismic and cons-
truction joints, and where the joint is simply filled with sealant. They still occur, but
are slightly less common when the tiles have been installed using thick set mortar
because this method is more likely to provide full support under the tiles.

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Photo No. 1. A typical movement joint for use with tiles fixed in adhesive.
(Courtesy W.Latham & Co.)

3. MECHANISMS FOR FAILURE

While structural and differential movement, and direct impact can cause da-
mage at movement joints, it is generally accepted that most damage is caused
by rolling wheel loading. This has been supported by my observations on several
large commercial projects such as airports where the number of cracked tiles is
dramatically lower in areas where there is little wheeled traffic but large numbers
of pedestrian movements. (eg. Passport control and X-ray compared to food malls
and goods passageways). Two key factors appear to combine to cause the dama-
ge, namely, a lack of support under the tile when it is loaded, and sufficient load
to cause tile breakage. These two factors of “load” and “support” are expanded
upon below.

4. TYPES OF LOAD

The type of load that does the most damage to tiles at movement joints is
that of hard wheeled traffic. Some damage may be caused by impact and building
movement, but it is generally heavy loads being transported across the floor on
trolleys that causes tile breakage at movement joints.

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While it is inevitable that there will be some wheeled loads travelling across
commercial floors, it should be realised that in some instances very heavy loads
are likely to be transported over the floor.

The design parameter for the flooring system should be such that it will be
capable of performing under the harshest conditions that could be reasonably ex-
pected. This is set out in some tiling system design manuals. For instance, Aus-
tralian Standard 3958.2 1992 “Guide to the selection of a ceramic tiling system”
states under the section on Traffic and Load Conditions; “Materials and the method
of application should be selected to resist the most arduous conditions likely to be
imposed on the tiling, no matter how infrequently, during the life of the installa-
tion.”

Shopping cart traffic and some deliveries by trolley can and should be antici-
pated, the same applies to maintenance vehicles such as scissor-lifts. On occasion
motor vehicles could possibly be expected. However, greater loads are usually
applied when major maintenance, shop fit-out and renovation works are conduc-
ted. This can see large and heavy commercial refrigeration and food processing
equipment transported over the floor. Sometimes these items could weigh a tonne
or more, for example when bank ‘safes’ or ATM machines are installed or removed.
This will sometimes involve heavy lifting equipment. When such extreme loads
are to be transported over the floor, the floor should be protected by a layer of felt
and plywood.

If harsh conditions are expected frequently, then the tiling system should be
designed to accommodate this. When severe conditions are expected in the form
of heavy loading or impact, it is usual to increase the thickness of the tile and to
reduce its face dimensions. This combination of increased thickness and reduced
size has been able to provide a satisfactory floor in areas receiving substantial
loads, such as mechanical service bays for military tanks.

So, with proper design and installation procedures, and with proper policies
and protection procedures on the part of building managers, the tiling at the mo-
vement joints should remain undamaged almost regardless of the loading it under-
goes. However, because of poor tile installation practices, cracked tiles often occur
under what could be considered normal or expected traffic and load conditions.
It is this aspect of poor tile installation that needs to be addressed. Concern over
the combined issue of the geometry, design, location and installation of movement
joints in tile work in Australia that Richard Bowman, Chairman of the Australian
Standards committees relating to tiles and principal of Intertile Research has ca-
lled for a combined meeting of joint manufacturers, tile fixer training institutes and
peak industry representatives to address the problem.1

1. Richard Bowman, Intertile Research Pty. Ltd. “Industry Movement Joint Alert” 25 November 2011 slipbus-
[email protected].

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5. AREAS WHERE SUPPORT IS NEEDED

The issue of having adequate support under the tile is critical if the ability
of the tile to withstand expected impact and load conditions is not to be compro-
mised. It is this lack of supporting mortar or adhesive that sees most of the dam-
age occur.

However, achieving 100% contact coverage of adhesive when installing tiles

is difficult at any time, and it is particularly difficult at movement joints. This is
because of the geometry of the products at this location and the difficulty there is
in assembling them properly.

Most tile adhesives are required to be installed at thicknesses between 2mm

and 3mm. If the horizontal leg of a typical inverted “T” shaped movement joint
is 1.5mm, then the thickness of the adhesive is already compromised because
the adhesive is that much thinner over the leg of the angle. But, this is not the
threat to the tiling system at this location; it is the total lack of any adhesive that
compromises the tiling most. This can be a design fault, particularly when the tile
thickness is such that insufficient or no adhesive thickness can be achieved over
the horizontal leg before the tile is higher than the top of the strip, but more com-
monly, it is tile installation procedures that result in the lack of supporting adhesive
in this area.

Movement joint manufacturers usually require there be no adhesive under

the compressible section at the centre of their joints. This, theoretically, is to
provide space into which the neoprene or compressible material can deform in
the case of joint compression. Also, technically, three sided bonding prevents the
proper facilitation of movement when soft or elastomeric joints are placed in ten-
sion or compression. However, I have found no technical reference which shows
how much negative impact bonding the under side of proprietary movement joints
has on tiling system performance. This could be a valuable area of research to
those who have Universal or Robinson floor testers available. Whilst most expan-
sion joint manufacturers require adhesive to be under the horizontal leg, it is com-
mon for there to be scant instructions for how the joints are to be incorporated
into the tiling system in their literature. Amongst the most detailed instructions
for movement joint installation are those of W. Latham & Co. which detail “Do’s
and Don’t’s” for installation. (www.latham-australia.com/neoprene-x-pansion-loc-
tile-strip-design-criteria)

As the movement joints usually come in about 2 metre (6 foot) lengths, and
the flooring substrate seldom has perfect planarity, there are commonly sections
of the movement joint that would not contact the substrate leaving the opportu-
nity of downward deflection of that section under point load after installation. Tile
adhesive is expected to provide the support for the under side of the movement
joint strips when these conditions occur, however, adhesive is often not placed
under the strips because it is a difficult and time consuming operation for tilers to

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complete. Ensuring application of adhesive under the bottom edge of the strips is
essential if cracked tile at movement joints is to be avoided.

When tile adhesive is applied using a notched trowel, the achieved bed thick-
ness is usually consistent, however, when the notched trowel is used to apply ad-
hesive over the top an the horizontal leg of a movement joint strip, the adhesive
will be consistently higher at this location by the thickness of the horizontal leg.
This can see tiles pushed down with greater force by the tiler at the movement
joint to achieve a flush finish on the top surface, but where the notched adhesive
drops down from the horizontal leg, there can be less than adequate support. So
while this may result in complete coverage over the horizontal leg, it may also re-
sult in insufficient adhesive immediately beside the horizontal leg, this can create
a vulnerable are for loading or impact damage.

As well as this problem of tilers not achieving full adhesive support at the
edges of movement joints, some tilers follow the very poor practice of hitting the
movement joint strips into position after the row of tiles has just been glued into
place. This can result in almost no adhesive either under or over the strip, thereby
ensuring there is a lack of adhesive support of the strip and the tile at the edge,
which is after all, the critical location. The likelihood of cracked tiles at these loca-
tions is dramatically increased.

Overview of the types of tile cracking evident at movement joints:

This paper is not attempting to analyse tile cracking in terms of fractography,
it does set down some broad descriptions of the types of damage found so an in-
dication can be gained as to whether the damage at movement joints is primarily
caused by poor installation rather than excessive loading. Only an indication of
crack analysis is provided and detailed analysis of the types of cracking found at
movement joints would appear to be warranted.

As set out above, the two major types of crack found at movement joints are
“curved cracks” and “flaking” (usually at a Hertzian angle). Classic examples of
these types of cracks are represented below in photos 2 & 3. They differ from,
but can still be found in conjunction with damage consistent with excessive loading
or impact, the difference may only become apparent when a wider spread analy-
sis of the pattern of cracking is undertaken. For example, a high proportion of
cracked tiles on one side of a joint can indicate the tiler forced the horizontal leg
of the movement joint under tiles that had already been placed into fresh adhe-
sive. Photos 4 and 5 show problems being created at the tile installation stage.
Repeated instances of curved cracked sections of tiles remaining lower than the
surrounding tile surface indicates that there are voids under or over the strip itself.
See photo No. 6. All tiled floors, apart from industrial floors, should be protected
by the use of plywood sheets and felt if heavy wheeled loads are the traverse.

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Photo No. 2. Curved cracks associated with insufficient support either

under the tile or under the strip, or both.

Photo No. 3. Flaking of the tile edge associated with repeated hard wheeled traffic of a tile with
insufficient support at the movement joint. It is necessary to have a filled grout joint between the
tile edge and the movement joint.

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Photo No. 4. Failure of the tile on the left is almost assured as there is no grout joint at the strip
and there is no adhesive to support either the tile or the strip. The tile on the right is also likely to
fail under load for similar reasons.

Photo No. 5. The tiler is setting up this tile to crack at the movement joint when it becomes
loaded, e.g. by hard wheeled traffic because there is no adhesive under the horizontal leg of the
movement joint, and there in no adhesive to support the tile in the top corner.

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Photo No. 6. When the broken sections of the tile remain depressed it indicates a lack of
supporting adhesive. This can be considered a failure on the part of the tile installer if
unreasonable loading has not occurred.

To assist with establishing if cracking is mostly due to poor tile installation

or excessive loading it is prudent to take into account assessments of the size,
frequency and type of load. Hard wheeled loads are likely to cause the highest
amounts of damage.

Studies of the ability of floor tiling systems to withstand rolling wheel loads
have been undertaken for a number of years in laboratories using the Universal or
Robinson type Floor Testing machines usually testing to ASTM C627: “A Standard
Test Method for Evaluating Ceramic Floor Tile Installation Systems.” See photo
No. 7. The test involves 3 wheel assemblies loaded with weights that are rotated
on a pre-assembled floor test panel. The test panels can be made up of timber or
concrete using various tile installation systems. The test is performed in 14 cycles
where the wheels are changed from soft rubber to hard rubber to steel (for the
last 4 steps). The full test lasts for 11 hours and the wheels turn for 9900 times
over a round path. Systems are usually given residential, light, moderate, heavy
and extra heavy ratings. Pre-formed expansion strips can be installed into the test
panels so they are in the path of the wheels, thereby simulating wheel loading on
such systems. The testing system is described in the referenced paper2, and it is
being considered in an amended form for ANSI 118.12 dealing with Crack Isolation
Systems.

2. UNIVERSAL FLOOR TESTER:  AN OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVED CERAMIC TILE ASSEMBLY EVALUATION.
Sean Gerolimatos, Dale Kempster, Peter Nielsen, Frank Woeste. Technical Paper, Qualicer 2006.

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Photo No. 7. A Universal Floor Tester. (courtesy of Schluter Systems)

In the case of the investigation of damage at movement joints in floor tiling,

undertaking a detailed “condition survey”, where the location and type of damage
is marked up on graph paper, can assist in not only establishing patterns which
can indicate cause, they also provide a record as to how, if and when the damage
is increasing. This, along with a detailed examination of the cracked tiles and the
joint installation geometry should lead to an understanding of whether the major
contributor to the cracking was tile installation procedures or whether excessive
loading and abuse of the floor was the main culprit.

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6. ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM

If cracking of tiles at movement joints is to be minimised then it is important

for the joint design to be appropriate. After this, it is necessary for tile installers
to achieve very high levels of adhesive contact coverage both under the leg of the
movement joint as well as under the tile that sits over that horizontal leg. To achie-
ve this will require added care and effort on the part of the tiler. Bringing about
this change in installation practice is likely to be difficult as it is more work for
tilers and they don’t get paid any extra for undertaking this extra work. In short,
there is no real incentive for tilers to change their current installation procedures.
If their installation practices result in cracked tiles at movement joints, it is usually
of little consequence to them as the damage mostly occurs some time after they
have been paid for the work and the area has been put into service. Such damage
is usually (and wrongly in my opinion) considered “in service” damage and a main-
tenance issue rather than one of a warranty breach from construction for which
the builder or tiler may be responsible. Attributing the poor work to an individual
tiler may be impossible.

The tiling system at the movement joints should be designed and installed
in a manner that withstands the most arduous conditions that can be reasonably
expected. Exceptional loads that may occasionally be inflicted on the floor after
it has been put into service should be addressed by protecting the tiles and joints
with plywood sheets designed to spread the load.

With the main cause of cracked and broken tiles at movement joints being
poor tile installation practices, steps should be taken to change the poor practice
into good practice. This could see tile damage at movement joints dramatically
reduced.

Normally a combined effort of “carrot” and “stick” would be adopted in trying

to bring about a change in installer practice, but in this instance there appears litt-
le opportunity for the carrot and so the efforts are mostly “stick”, combined with
some special instructions or training.

7. CHANGING TILE INSTALLATION PRACTICES AT MOVEMENT

JOINTS

Because of the nature of the general tile installer workforce, changes should
be as simple and quick to implement as possible. With this in mind, it is proposed
that the action to be undertaken to increase adhesive support under tiles at move-
ment joints is for the edge of the tile that will be placed over the horizontal leg of
the movement joint be “back buttered” with a thin line of adhesive.

In other words, tile adhesive is spread with the recommended size notched
trowel up to the location of the movement joint with there being no adhesive under
the compressible filling strip. The movement joint is bedded into the adhesive.
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Then, before the tiles are placed into position the edge of the tile that will be placed
over the horizontal leg of the movement joint is spread with a bead of adhesive
sufficient to 100% coverage on the horizontal leg and the tile back.

If the notched adhesive is spread straight and neat at 90 degrees to the mo-
vement joint then the “Tarver” method of sliding the tile into the ribs of adhesive
can be adopted. This will give 100% coverage of adhesive onto the tile back as set
out in my paper delivered at Qualicer in 2004 “Achieving 100% adhesive coverage,
an industry wide approach.” However, this sliding method is difficult to use when
installing the last tile in a row. It is recommended that the tile placed where mo-
vement joints intersect is not the last tile placed in a row as there maybe nowhere
for this important tile to slide. For the last tile in the row there is no alternative to
back buttering and beating the tile into position in the traditional manner.

This hypothesis that this is the best manner in which to lay tiles that abut pre-
formed movement joints involves the back-buttering of the edge of the tile with
adhesive needs to be tested, and the Robinson type testing system would appear
the most appropriate. Hopefully joint manufacturers will take up the opportunity
to have tests undertake and to then recommend the best system for installing their
joints. This should then be widely circulated for training purposes and for inclusion
in specifications. It may also provide an opportunity to test the effectiveness of
various “cut out” patterns that penetrate the horizontal leg to see if those with
larger holes provide better performance because there is a higher percentage of
adhesive between the tile back and substrate available. Also, horizontal legs that
have large cut outs may increase the amount of adhesive that gets to support the
under-side of the horizontal leg.

To increase the likelihood of success there should be special clauses in con-

tracts and specifications that are enforceable regarding this change in tile installa-
tion practice.

8. DATA, INFORMATION AND TRAINING

For example, information on both “what” and “why” the new procedure is to
be used, need to be provided. If the tilers are to accept the need for a change in
practice then it is necessary that they understand why. This involves some simple
education and training being provided in a timely way. This could start with the
following wording being inserted in the specification, the tender documents and
the contract.

“Special detailing of movement joints in floor tiling.

Where pre-formed proprietary movement joints are to be inserted, special
detailing is required to ensure full bedding of both the movement joint strip
and the overlaying tiles. This is aimed at preventing tile cracking at movement
joints when the floor is in service. The procedure to be used is as follows;

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• Accurately set out the locations of movement joints

• Clean the substrate and install a 18mm wide strip of electrical tape or similar
along the line of the proposed movement joint

• Spread adhesive over the location of the joint using a notched trowel suited
to the tiles, the ribs should run across the joint at 90 degrees

• Place the movement joint into position

• When laying the rows of tiles that abut the joints apply a thin layer of adhe-
sive directly onto the edge of the tile that will be applied over the joint (back-
buttering)

• Place the tile into position and slide it one rib width along the joint, then back
into position ensuring the tile and joint are flush

• Sufficient joint should be left between the edge of the movement joint and
the tile to allow the joint to be filled with grout

NOTE: Under no circumstances are movement joints to be slid under tiles that
have been laid into position. Damage to tiles at movement joints that is rela-
ted to poor tile and joint installation will be a defect under the warranty.

NOTE: The installation of the first movement joint is a “hold point” requiring
the sign off of the construction supervisor that the above installation proce-
dure has been followed.”

The above change in documentation should be augmented with the fo-

llowing;

• More detailed explanations and diagrams in the instructions from the move-
ment joint manufacturers. This should be aimed at all in the industry, builder,
tilers, sales personnel and designers.

• Practical demonstrations at training sessions and trade information events

(and in tiler training materials)

• The implementation of the “hold point” system to ensure tilers know what is
expected and that the consequences of failing to adopt the new procedures
could result in having to undertake repairs at their own expense.

It is worth noting that most 6mm wide proprietary movement control joints
also only have the ability to absorb less than 20% of their own width in compres-
sion. Therefore if higher levels of compressive force are expected it is necessary
to increase the width of these joints to wider joints such as those that are 12mm
wide.

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9. CONCLUSIONS

In general it can be said that the building, the movement joint, the tile and
the tile adhesive generally contribute little if anything to the problem of cracked
and broken tiles at movement joints. Almost all of the problems that are not re-
lated to abuse of the floor are caused by poor tile installation practices that result
in the strip and the tile edge not being fully supported. This lack of support allows
load deflection and impact from wheeled and other traffic to break the tiles at the-
se locations.

With the main cause being poor installation practices on the part of tile ins-
tallers, there should be actions undertaken to change those practices so there is
less of this type of damage. The key approaches to bringing about such changes
lies broadly with those in the industry, namely;

• movement joint manufacturers should change their data sheets, training and
specifications;

• designers should change their specifications and construction documentation

to state what and why the detailing at movement joints has changed;

• builders and supervisors should enforce a “hold point” when tilers start to
install movement joints to ensure they are being installed correctly;

• and finally, rectification of cracked tiling at movement joints should be made

the responsibility of the tiling contractor where it can be shown there is a lack
of supporting adhesive at movement joints.

Colin Cass
Techtile Consulting Pty. Ltd.
Sydney, Australia.
e-mail: [email protected]

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