Cold weather can cause bulging or cracks in poorly laid ceramic tiles
Cold weather can cause bulging or cracks in poorly laid ceramic tiles
2023-01-17
Cold weather is battering Taiwan, and for some people, that means problems in their homes. Shoddy building can make ceramic tiles vulnerable to changes in temperature. A tile that wasn’t laid properly can end up bulging from the floor or wall, after temperature changes pull it out of place. But there’s a way to check the solidity of your tiles at home – before they crack.
Take out a metal stick and give the floor tiles a tap. The solid tiles sound one way, but at a certain tile, there’s a different sound. That hollow noise indicates there’s probably a problem.
Yen Yu-hung
Building repair industry
It’s already hollow inside. Generally people don’t know about the problem. If it’s hollow, when the cold comes and temperature drops suddenly, the tile expands and contracts and starts to bulge out.
When the weather’s cold, some people find bulges or cracks like this in their floor tiles. Once perfectly even tiling starts to bulge and crack, and the concrete underneath can start to show. Sometimes cracks appear in bathroom walls, which can be a risk to residents. So then it’s time to call a tile setter urgently. One repair specialist says profits have soared more than 50% recently.
Mr. Tseng
Affected homeowner
I went past it and wondered “Why is that sticking out there?” Or sometimes I would stub my toe on something, and realize it seemed to be poking out. So I asked the tile installer to fix it as soon as possible.
Yen Yu-hung
Building repair industry
It’s a construction problem, because the concrete wasn’t set properly. Lots of people just want a quick job. The tiles should be glued down on the back, but they don’t do that. Another thing is they didn’t wipe the dust off the backs of the tiles like they should have.
This expert says that cold snaps always lead to an increase in profits for him, and sometimes more work than he can accept. You can also check your own tiles at home before they crack. Use a NT$10 coin or a stick to tap the tiles, and if you hear a noise that’s more brittle or hollow sounding, you know it will need fixing soon.
天冷磁磚爆裂增 專家:可拿硬幣敲打檢測
2023-01-17
全台冷颼颼，不只民眾凍壞了，房屋磁磚也跟著出狀況。不少民眾家中都傳出有地面突起或爆裂，也讓修繕業者業績在寒風中攀升了五成以上。專家表示，其實民眾在家也可以自我檢測，拿十元硬幣敲打地面，聽到空心聲音，可能就是磁磚隆起的前兆。
拿出金屬棒，敲打地面磁磚，原本實心的聲音，敲到某一塊時，突然有些不一樣，聲音聽起來空空的，根據經驗這多半有問題。
[[修繕業者 顏宇宏]]
“原本就已經是空心了，一般人是不會知道這個問題，空心導致寒流一來，瞬間溫度降低後，一瞬間就會熱漲冷縮，就會隆起。”
氣溫低，有些民眾家中地板出現突起或爆裂的狀況，本應是平坦的磁磚地板，現在卻出現隆起、脫落，甚至露出底下水泥。就連浴室的牆壁，也出現裂縫、突起，居家環境隱藏風險，民眾趕緊找來師傅，也讓修繕業者業績，攀升5成以上。
[[受害住戶 曾先生]]
“經過就覺得為什麼有突起物，腳有時候會踢到東西，發覺好像翹起來，趕快請業者來處理。”
[[修繕業者 顏宇宏]]
“施工的問題，因為泥作工程它沒有保固，所以很多速度快就好，磁磚要貼之前，背面一定要背膠，他們沒有背膠，再來就是磁磚要貼之前，背面有粉塵沒有擦拭掉。”
業者表示，每年寒流來，都會帶動業績，做都做不完。其實民眾在家也可以自我檢測，拿出十元硬幣，或是棍棒敲打地面，聽到聲音比較清脆或空心，就要注意、及早處理。
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