Tile Repair in St. Petersburg, FL

Cracked Tile Repair and Floor Tile Replacement

Cracked tile repair starts with cutting out the grout around the damaged tile, which protects the tiles next to it. The broken tile comes out in pieces, and the old thinset gets cleaned off. On a backsplash, the countertop gets covered first, and the tile comes out the same way. The new tile is set level with the rest and grouted once the thinset cures.

A tile that sounds hollow when tapped is no longer fully stuck down. If it is not cracked or moving, it can often stay. One that rocks or lifts gets taken up and reset in fresh thinset.

Grout Repair, Regrouting and Shower Tile Repair

For grout repair, we rake out grout that has cracked or crumbled and pack the joints with fresh grout. New grout rarely matches old grout, so we often regrout a whole shower wall for an even color. Corners and the joint along the tub get flexible caulk instead, since those surfaces move on their own. Fresh grout needs time to cure before the shower gets wet.

The waterproofing behind shower tile keeps the wall dry, and open grout lets more water reach it. When shower wall tile comes loose, we check the board behind it. Soft board gets replaced before any tile goes back up.

A leaking shower floor gets taken up and rebuilt with a new waterproofing layer under new tile. The tile showers we build have an uncoupling and waterproofing membrane under the floor tile, so this is familiar work. Shower valves, faucets, drains and supply lines are plumbing, and that work is not ours. When the damage runs through most of the shower, the better fix is a shower remodel.

Bathroom and Floor Tile Repair in Older St. Petersburg Homes

The Census puts the median year built for St. Petersburg homes at 1969. About 7 in 10 were built before 1980, and many bathrooms still have original tile that is hard to match. When the whole room feels dated, a bathroom remodel updates the tile and the rest of the room together.

Block homes from those decades sit on concrete slabs, which can crack with age. A crack running across several floor tiles usually follows a crack in the slab under them. When we replace those tiles, an uncoupling membrane goes under them. It lets the slab move a little without cracking the new tile.

Some homes and condos around St. Petersburg are still being rebuilt after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Tile next to storm-damaged areas gets replaced once the room is dry. Water damage drying and mold remediation are not ours, so that work comes first.