Workmanship, Cutting and Fitting
Posted by The Tile Doctor at 6:16 PM Ceramic Tile Installation | Home Improvement
I did a tile inspection in California today that revolved around a very common complaint. Varying grout joint widths, tile corners that don't meet at proper angles, and excessive lippage. ANSI recommends (or when specifications mandate) that grout joint widths are uniform with due allowance for hand molded or rustic tile. This means that for tile that does not vary in facial demension, tile to tile, the grout joints should have uniform widths. Tile courses should always be straight. This translates that for uniform sizes of tile, the corners should be square to one another. As for lippage (height difference tile to tile), for grout joints 1/16 inch to 3/16 inch the maximum allowable lippage should not exceed 1/32 inch and for larger joints 1/16 inch is acceptable. The caveat here is that tile body warpage is added to the maximum allowable lippage.
I hope readers find this bit of info helpful.