The 12x12 ceramic tile in my kitchen is cracking. My condo is only 16 months old. The tile was an upgrade (from standard vinyl flooring)I choose when the condo was being built. The builder is no longer in business and the tile is discontinued. I am afraid I am going to have to hire someone to replaced my entire floor. This will be a major undertaking since the kitchen/breakfast room is one big room (approx 22' x 12'). I have several questions: 1)Should I avoid putting tile on a concrete slab and 2)If it's ok to put tile down on a slab is there a way to keep the tile from cracking again? Also, 3)What could have caused this to happen in the first place? Thanks in advance for any expert suggestions out there. Suzy

You should look into the home warranty. Just because the builder is out of business does not mean that your out of luck. Also you have homeowners insurance? Did you check into this for repairs?

If the tile is cracking and its on a cement slab floor, the reason for the crack(s) is that they did not trowel the thinset adhesive properly and that there were spaces under the tiles that allowed them to crack.
However another reason for cracking is the slab has cracked. If you find that the tiles are cracking in a line or right next to each other across the floor, this indicates that the slab is or has cracked. This is considered structural in nature and should be covered in home warranty program.

If there is no pattern on the tile damage, meaning one tile here and another somewhere else you the thinset was done wrong. In any case you should get a broom handle and tap each tile carefully. If you get a hard thud sound everything is ok with that tile. However if you hear a ringing sound or hollow sound, that tile is prone to crack.

As far as replacement of entire floor, you should think of where the cracks are located. Can you create a pattern with new tiles based on what tiles are damaged? Do you have the product (tile) name and type if you had an upgrade? You could always check around as some tile stores may have a few boxes of this tile laying around so do not give up on finding a match just yet.

I'm sure some of the tile guys on here can help more than I can, but in general, concrete slabs are great for laying ceramic tile but have to be in good shape for the tile to last. Any settling, cracking, low or high spots, or poorly laid seams can cause the tile to crack. There are a lot of products out there to help with these common problems: floor leveling compounds, different types of crack isolation membranes. Here is a link to some more information but a good tile guy will be able to help you a lot. http://www.floorstransformed.com/membrane.html

It is possible to epoxy individual cracks, but I've seen very mixed results with that process, and basically, the tile floor will only be as sound as the base under it.

Consider replacing individual tiles. It is a pain to match a discontinued style or color, but it is not impossible. There are still some of those tiles around in a warehouse, discount store, or somebody's shop. The builder may be able to help locate some even if he is no longer in business. If the cracks are scattered instead of running on a long line across the floor and you can't find any exact matches then go with wildly contrasting decorative tiles instead of trying to get pretty close to the original. Worst case, if you don't like the way it turns out, then you can make the plunge and redo the whole floor.

And lastly, even though the builder is out of business, 16 months is not very long at all so you may be able to find some relief. It is likely that he subcontracted the tile work to someone who still is in business, and a 2-10 home buyer's warranty can be of help as well, especially if the tile failure is due to a structural problem with the slab.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for the advice and suggestions! The tiles are cracking in a line all the way across the floor. There are about 12 tiles that all have hairline cracks in them and in the grout right next to the tile. I do have a builders warranty on the condo. So I will be checking into that. I do have the name of the tile but not having much luck with finding anyone that has it. The contactor that laid the tile told me it was called Villa Nuture CL700. Thanks for all the suggestions!

I've not found a Villa Nuture, or nature or nurture, anywhere, but these guys show a CL700 tile. (down around the bottom third of the page)

UK site so shipping might be steep.

http://www.tilesporcelain.co.u...l-tiles-bologna.html

well, well this problem nothing new. because your condo is new and because cement and house is still settling, for next 5 to 10 years and because they don't tell you this up front you got your self in a mess. I been installing flooring for 26 years once or twice of month I get calls like yours to see if I can fix it. this is what I tell my customers I seen flooring settle so bed even if they had put down membrane or cheap vinyl under it was not going to help them. if the cracking is real bad. Now with that said some can be repaired long as there is left over. see if you can find the tile even if you did. Lot of tile is going to be different color so, what that means to you is size and color will be different some times like from day to night so you may be wasting you time if that is not ok for you. So you say what are my choices #1 sense your place is only 16 months old I would leave whit it for next 2 to 3 years to see cracking is going to get bigger and mean while make sure keep water away from outside the house (they finish building houses now with out gutters hope you have gutters around you condo. put extensions on out lets. water gets under foundation more problem.)#2 is redoing the job and hope every thin is going to be ok. #3 install hardwood floor or laminated flooring which you don't have to worry about crack and stuff just moisture (use barrier). I bet if you shop around and fine a installer direct pay them you will see that builder way over changed you and here you are stuck with job can't get them to come back to fix it. good luck.
Floors We Do. llc

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I have had no luck finding the tile. It would bother me alot to not have the tiles match so I guess I will sit on it and wait and see if it gets worse. Does anyone know if this problem would be consider a structural defect if the slab is cracking and that caused my tile floor to crack? I have a 2-10 Builder's Warranty but they require a $250 fee to initiate a structural claim. I would hate to risk $250 and have the claim denied because it isn't something that is covered.