Floor Tile Popping

Tile Explosion

All tiled floors, including larger areas such as living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens, may suffer in the long term from other anomalies such as “tile explosion” due to inadequate design and/or construction of the tile and grout, movement joints, grout joints, surface preparation, etc. Tile explosion is a term used to describe an instantaneous, simultaneous dislodgment or popping of multiple tiles. The loud, popcorn-popping-like phenomenon is due mainly to the stresses built up by the differential thermal and/or moisture movements at the interfaces between the tile and the adhesive and/or between the adhesive and the concrete substrate. With inadequate movement joints and/or grout joint width, these stresses build up like a stretching rubber band, which finally snaps instantaneously when the bond resistance at the interface is exceeded.

“Dislodgement of tiles occurs due to natural deterioration and differential thermal expansion or contraction of the tiles, which results in a loss of adhesion between the tiles and the screed surface over time,” said HDB. 

It also said that significant changes in temperature can “cause more stress to be built up” beneath the tiles, contributing to the loss of adhesion.