I have an on going problem in my kitchen. Same time tile floor was done in our home but kitchen is the problem. It was done 3-4 years ago by a contractor, however he never showed up his face to help us. He left some grout with us and said if ever the grout pops up then we can mix it in the water and fill with this mixture. The grout from the kitchen floor always comes out. Underneath, the kitchen is wood floor. The kitchen is on the second floor. Our family room is also on the second level but no problem to that floor Please help.
It's nice if you have a Dremel tool to use,but if your like me you have already spent more than you wanted to on the new product and didn't anticipate on spending any more getting the old ones out. I would spend the little bit it would cast to get a grout removal tool. Looks like a handel for a single edged razor blade but instead has a very rough edge to it. Diamond or graphite I think. Or I would get a flooring chisel and use a mallet. I think you are wanting to save your old tiles or reuse them. You might not see a small flooring chisel but they do have small chisels in the same area. Get an inexpensive one if you go that way because after use it wouldn't be worth saving or sharpening. Just tap it ac cross using a mallet, or a hammer, or a high heeled shoe.(just kidding about the shoe) Good Luck
It's either as someone suggested, improperly installed over wood instead of over concrete backer board, or the floor is flexing too much. A good tile installer will check the floor flexing by laying a long straightedge on the floor and having a heavy person inch along until a spot between joists is found (by observing the gap created. By measuring that gap and the length over which it occurs, they can tell if the floor is flexing too much. If it is, there's only one solution, replace the flooring with a thicker, stiffer material, or add additional support between joists to lessen the flexing. At this point, that might be your best bet. However, if there are only a few spots where this is occurring, you could cheat and use a flexible caulking compound instead of grout on those spots. The trick will be finding caulking compound that matches the grout closely enough to not be noticeable.
When the tile was laid it didn't have enough mortar/thin set put underneath some tiles...If so then the tiles shift and the grout cracks..I am a 37 year experienced painter, but have done all phases of construction work..I was once being a helper for a regular tile man when the painting was slow, and he had a contractor that before he paidd them , walked around with a golf ball and from a little over waist high he dropped a golf ball on each and every tile..The ball will respond on a properly laid tile and bounce back with a good solid sound..when he reached one that did not bounce all the way back and made a hollow thud sound..he marked that tile and Brian had to pull it and replace it before receiving his check on a completed job.. The best tile layers will possibly have 3 or 4 in a house without enough thin set under them,but a poor tile layer can have 40 or 50 in a house improperly done..TRY THE GOLF BALL TEST yourself and see..before deciding on the points here..I bet one of the tiles on an area where the grout is coming up..will give you that hollow thud..keep in mind there are at least two tile next to the grout, if not 4 if near a corner..I just bet ...get a cheap golf ball and try this..You will see what I'm talking about..You can literaly pull any imporoperly laid tile up if careful without breaking it.. scrape the thin set off..and same for the thin set on the floor..and reset the tiles...Go through test all your tiles..then put one of them flourescent garage stickers on each improper one..then reset them
