what causes lippage on a granite floor? i had someone install granite tiles in my bedroom and the lippage isn‘t too bad i must say but 2 or 3 tiles do have A LOT of lippage...was wondering why that would be? thanks so much in advance!
Hey BigBadShawn, I worked for years in flooring at The Home Depot and I got to see this question come up quite a bit from my customers. Natural stone tiles like granite can be tricky to keep, and lippage can come from various sources. Depending on what is underneath it as well as how the tiles are installed will determine what is the exact cause of the lippage. Usually I've seen with older houses with wood subfloors that prep work wasn't addressed so that over time as the floor joists/subfloor expands, contracts, and settles tiles of any substrate can pop up or create small lippages. The professional way to installed your floor was (hopefully) by the builder using a tile backerboard and/or securing the subfloor securely before laying down the tiles. Also, if the tiles have very thin to no grout lines, it is possible that the events of the floor joists settling makes little room for the tiles to go anywhere but up. With a high-quality flexible mortar, that shouldn't of been an issue. If you noticed a progression over time with your tiles, I'd say you most likely have a wood subfloor on your hands. If it was concrete, it could be a matter of improper installation, moisture, or unevenness of the surface itself that gave it the lippage you see now. Hope this helps you out, aboveaveragejoe
They were not set properly. Added thin set some times it needed or the peice that is high may not have been set down into the thin set properly. Some times they are not milled properly and are slightly curved. Several factors , all of which a good installer is aware of should have watched for. . If they are to high call them back and have it fixed. Any questions you can e mail me through my avatar and check my qualifications there. GL
