How do I stop new tiles from popping?
Follow BCA's good practices: allow screed and render to air cure for at least 7 days and concrete for 28 days before tiling, check substrate moisture, use an adhesive suited to the tile and substrate, achieve full coverage (apply adhesive to both substrate and tile back for large formats), and provide movement joints at the perimeter and in bays, every 5 to 7 m on interior floors and 3.6 to 7 m where exposed to direct sunlight.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in Popped, Hollow and Debonded Tiles in Singapore: Causes, Safety, Repair and Who Pays. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
Tiles pop or sound hollow when the bond between tile, adhesive and screed fails, usually from thermal movement without movement joints, poor adhesive coverage, an uncured substrate or age. Indoors, the unit owner generally pays after the developer's 12-month defects period. On façades, falling tiles are a public-safety risk handled through the MCST or owner and BCA's Periodic Façade Inspection.
More questions on this topic
- Why do floor tiles suddenly pop up with a loud crack?
- Is a hollow-sounding tile always a defect?
- Who pays for popped tiles in my HDB flat?
- Who pays for popped tiles in a condominium unit?
- Can the developer refuse to fix popped tiles after the defects liability period?
- Are popped façade tiles covered by the Periodic Façade Inspection?
- Can hollow tiles be fixed without removing them?