The snow birds are back in South Florida only to discover that their tiles have lifted. This is called tenting or buckling.

This buckling is mainly caused when the tile expands from temperature or moisture and has no where to expand to except up. Florida is notorious for humid weather and when residents take off for the winter and leave their air conditioners off or not cool enough, you get lifting of tiles. Not a pretty picture. If it is on a wood structure it could be from creep. This is when the floor sags from weight or other reasons. The tile can’t bend with the curvature created and breaks loose.

Luckily there is a process where the lifted tile is cut out and reset as good as new. There is a special bonding agent that is used so your old tile and color match your grout so well you could never tell its been cut out and reset. This process could save home owners thousands. Also, they discontinue tiles every four years, which makes it almost impossible to find tiles to match. So the idea of using that special bonding is smart.

There is also a process of injecting hollow tiles without lifting them, but the tiles have to be flat to the ground and the grout has to be intact. In this bad economy it's in your best interest to restore your existing floor tiles. If for any reason, you want to re tile your kitchen or bathroom instead of repairing the tiles, it's good to know what kind of tiles are available. Here is a list of the types of tile you might want to consider:

*Ceramic tiles can be glazed or unglazed. Glazed tiles are available plain or decorated and can be used on walls and floors.

*Unglazed ceramic floor tiles are more suited to commercial and industrial settings, but can be used in laundries and utility rooms. They are available with a non-slip profile.

*Quarry tiles are a traditional product made in the UK for hundreds of year. They are made from natural clay, squeezed through an extruding machine, and then fired. They are mostly available in terracotta, black and white colors.

*Terracotta tiles are also made from local clays. Terracotta means "cooked earth" and these products tend to be very absorbent, so need sealing when used on the floor.

*Porcelain tiles are ceramic tiles, but with a very low absorbency. They are usually made from kaolin clays, feldspar, silica and coloring oxides and are fired at about 1200c. Porcelain tiles are hard wearing and can be used on walls or floors.

*Mosaics are very small tiles, usually less than 35cm2. Mosaics can be glazed or unglazed and made from porcelain, ceramic, glass or natural stone.

*Natural stone products; limestone, marble, granite and slate are quarried from the earth. Some are extremely hard, and some quite soft. Some may need sealing.

I hope you find this small tip useful. Courtesy of M & M Tile and Grout Restorers.