Any Retired Builders/Structural Engineers?

[Green Nomad]

Hello Guys, I am wanting some advice, we have a property we rent out and the tenants recently notified us of issues with floor tiles lifting or buckling up in the middle of a room. When I mean lifting, it's as though they are being pushed together from the sides and being forced up at an angle. Along with this we have wall cracking as well. The house is 12 years old now, I would have thought settling would be finished by now.

Any expert advice would be welcome, I could supply photos if required. We are currently in ASQ in Bangkok and are hoping we can be home in Hua Hin next week. GN

[9373pete]

Yes pictures would help to understand it better, also is it the ground floor?

[VincentD]

Have had this happen at my place in Bangkok too. The tiles may not have been laid properly, as in not enough tile cement between substrate and tile. they normally have to soak the tiles in water before laying. This happened twenty years down the line so not really a matter of settling.
Only thing you can do is get the tiles removed and relaid.
That's what I had to do.

[Green Nomad]

Thanks guys for your replies, I am waiting for the tenant to send me some photos, then I will upload on here for all to see. As you said VincentD, I suspected not laid correctly, I have had some experience of laying floor tiles in Spain when I lived there. They use a mix called cola, which is a tile cement, but not actual cement as seems to be the norm in Thailand. Other tiling jobs we have had done here in Thailand I have insisted they use correct tile cement. Also, I notice there is not much grouting gap between tiles, which could take up some movement if sufficient gap given.

[Dannie Boy]

Typically most “tilers” here don’t use spacers so the gaps around the tiles are often a combination of not uniform and being too close to each other. If you have to lift the tiles you may find it very difficult to relay them again - I’ve had similar issues and found that the lifted tiles have a pronounced “bow” in them. The biggest issue could be, can you still buy the same tile?


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[Green Nomad]

Have finally received pictures from my house.

[Green Nomad]

In answer to your question 9373pete, this is a ground floor, this house is a villa type.

[Big Boy]

I've no idea what's going on, but that looks pretty nasty. On the first and last photo, are we looking at the floor or the wall?

[Dannie Boy]

The first and last photo are the wall and ceiling and as BB has said, looks like something potentially serious has occurred. This would need further investigation so hopefully a suitably experienced builder will come forward, but this suggests that the foundations were not properly prepared and possibly heavy rains this year have contributed to the problem. Good luck in getting this resolved, but I’m certain that you need to get to the root cause of the problem before carrying out any repairs, otherwise you’ll face the same problem in a few years time.

[Green Nomad]

The cracking has always been there since we first moved in, in 2008, it has just slowly got bigger. Started as a hairline crack which I filled with normal wall filler, and then a few years ago it was filled with cement. Now same again, about the same size. The tile problem we had in the kitchen once a few years ago which only affected some tiles in middle of room, this is where sun shines on the floor if back door is open. This was remedied by replacing about 6 tiles, I then wrote a clause in my rental contract for tenants to keep back door closed when sun in the back.

My wife is now calling around for a team to replace all the house floor tiles while we are here in Thailand, only have a month after our quarantine..

[caller]

You could try these people. They finally fixed a recurring cracking and tile problem at the back of the house, it turns out there were no foundations in the area! Incidentally, this house was built after the developments conclusion and with 'builders' employed privately by the original owner.

They weren't cheap, but it's a permanent fix and they have returned to monitor their work. I think the owner is a lapsed member here.

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[Green Nomad]

Thanks caller, looking at that they are neighbours of ours. Although not aware of the business sign before, but we have been away for a year or more due to covid. Will ask them for some advice. GN

[Robinhood]

Hello, sorry to hear about the problems. I'm not a structural engineer but did work in construction for quite a number of years and talked to some ground engineers along the way.
The cracks to the walls, if that's what they are, do seem to suggest movement in the foundations. The cracked tiles could well be merely a symptom of the movement. The suggestion of the influence of water could be one option. another could just be slow settlement of a slightly unstable foundation base.
Thirty years ago I bought a house in the UK. My surveyors report said that the ground floor was suffering from "heave" The builders had used old pit waste which had chemicals in it causing slight expansion. We dug up the floor in three rooms and re-laid with fresh hardcore. Thirty years on no problem. Hopefully you will find that your problem is something simple.
Another, slightly messy option is to remove the broken tiles and dig down, take samples see what's below or if there's signs of water. You would be better to talk to a foundation or piling expert unless you know a general builder has good experience of groundworks.

[caller]

Thanks caller, looking at that they are neighbours of ours. Although not aware of the business sign before, but we have been away for a year or more due to covid. Will ask them for some advice. GN

The business sign is on the house they worked on.

[NOKYAI]

The owner of Angies Bistro on Soi 80, I have been told is a structural engineer and does some work around Hua hin. If you are passing it might be worth a quick chat.His name could be Mick, but I’m terrible with names, so someone please help me out here.