Oh No, My Tiles Popped Up!

As reported by Straits Times in January 2018, there have been almost 2,000 cases of tiles popping up in homes across Singapore every year for the past 2 years.

Exactly what causes the tiles to pop up?

Reason 1: Weather Changes

The differential thermal expansion or contraction of the tiles can result in a loss of adhesion between the tiles and the screed surface over time.

Reason 2: Poor Construction or Quality

The cement base of the floor may have not been done properly or tiles of inferior quality may also be a reason

Reason 3: Wear and Tear

Natural deterioration may cause the bond between the tiles and the cement surface to come apart over time. Tiles can also swell within high moisture absorption.

In this case, what should you do?

Popped-up tile flooring is, unfortunately, a fairly common occurrence, especially for older HDB flats. Not only are they unsightly, but they are also a potential safety hazard.

If you can’t find replacement tiles that look exactly like the original, then you’ll have to hack out the entire floor and completely retile it.

Alternatively, you can choose to replace your floor with our Luxurious Resilient Flooring (LURF®).

The reason why we recommend LURF® is that it’s a floating floor installation; with the expansion gaps, there is enough space for the flooring to expand and contract without causing issues. To top it all off, LURF® can withstand temperatures up to 60°C so it definitely can cope with the crazy heat of Singapore!

So the first step is to remove popped-up floor tiles by hacking.

It may be inconvenient especially when you are staying inside and there is a lot of furniture to move around to allow the hacking. However, it is necessary as popped-up tiled should be removed for safety reasons.

A thorough check of all tiles is advisable to identify hollow tiles which may create problems in the future, all hollow tiles should be removed at the same time.

With LURF®, you’ll then only need to cement screed the hacked area to flatten it out because our floor panels require a flat & even surface to be laid over and installed.

The floor is flat and ready after the cement has dried up completely!

Our flooring specialist will then lay a special 1mm thick aluminum foam underlay with acoustic insulation on top of the old tiles, after which install the LURF® planks over it.

Installation is done in just a few hours! You won’t even need to find temporary accommodation.

Our LURF® floors are easy to maintain with our unique StainGuard & ScratchGuard protection for your little ones. You don’t have to worry about them doodling and damaging your beautiful floor.

Thank you for choosing our LURF® flooring for your house!

For more information, please feel free to contact us. Our flooring consultant will be more than happy to answer your queries.