THE STUDY OF FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE FAILURE OF INTERNAL FLOORING TILES

Abstract

Flooring tiles has become part of the architectural work in modern building finishes, safety implications and economic losses during flooring tile failures are therefore b e-coming an increasing concern of the owners as well as the industrial players. As such, investigation into factors contributing to the failures of tiles has begun to spring up. Using grooved trowel, backing of different patterns was achieved. Acrylic tiles with non adhesive receiving surfaces were laid to simulate actual application process. Visual and tapping tests were conducted to identify the number of cavities formed in each of the sample population. The mean results had shown that diagonal backing pattern would have lesser cavities formed. Additionally, tiled samples were kept in cyclical changing temperature environments for 28 days after curing process were tested for both pull -off and shear strengths. The results had revealed that shear strength had reduced drastically for those kept in changing temperature environments. However, pull-off test did not yield substantial useful results though careful planning was exercised. The findings could provide useful guidelines and learning for future development of a quality tiling industry.