What are indent fractures?

Indent fracturing is a condition that is caused when tiles are subjected to forces that make them warp downward on a floor application or inward on a wall application.

When tiles are subjected to this, they tend to form a crease in the surface of the tile that can be difficult to see or photograph. These creases form weak points in the tile and will often eventually lead to a hairline crack after time.
 
There are varying conditions that can cause or contribute to indent fracturing. One common condition that can cause it is known as excessive shrinkage. There are varying conditions that can lead to excessive shrinkage and one is when the adhesive mortar bonding the tile to its substrate is applied too thick beyond the manufactures written guidelines. Another condition that may lead to excessive shrinkage is when a mortar bed application is installed too thick or with improper ratios or types of sand, cement, and lime in certain applications. Another condition that may contribute is when an application experiences rapid curing of the adhesive mortar and mortar bed materials caused by a combination of  environmental conditions, tile porosity, and application methods.
 
Once indent fracturing has occurred, that are not many viable repairs other than removing the affected tiles and reinstalling them. The best approach is to avoid the conditions that can cause it by installing an application in accordance with all industry standards and manufacturers written instruction guidelines.
 
We offer quality control services that can be tailored to any budget where we can deploy our expert installers to the site to oversee and assure a project is performed correctly to avoid indent fracturing. Qualified installers are in high demand and are often very difficult to find and expensive to hire. Using one of our installers to oversee your tile contractor may be the difference between indent fracturing occurring or not.