Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

Problem in workmanship.

Yes, it is repairable. You need to removed all the tiles. Hire a good tile setter then re-tilling. Use tile adhesive not cement.

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Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

Hi chadrix,

Boy oh boy that's kinda sad to find out your newly installed tiles are somewhat "ampaw".

Well I suppose you should start saving up or start buying some extra spare tiles, lots of them as they might start breaking up due to pressure in the long run. But as I know floor tiles are made tough and are hard to break unless you whack them direct with a hammer. 😮

But of course fixing it will not be that easy, only probable solution is to replace those installed tiles that have become "ampaw" and you will have to break them. ouch ouch ouch !!! 🙁

Anyway bro good luck on whatever step/s you will decide.

Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

had the same problem. loose tiles everywhere just about 6 months after completion.
initially we tried repairing a few areas, then the adjacent tiles become loose after some time. tinigil ko na lang.now waiting for summer time to remove and install new tiles.
sakit sa ulo. buong bahay ba naman

Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

had the same problem. loose tiles everywhere just about 6 months after completion.
initially we tried repairing a few areas, then the adjacent tiles become loose after some time. tinigil ko na lang.now waiting for summer time to remove and install new tiles.
sakit sa ulo. buong bahay ba naman

Just some observations on terminology in local construction, as far as I've encountered it:

"Ampaw" refers specifically to undesirable presence of voids or air gaps in poured concrete,
which results from insufficient mixing of the concrete slurry and/or failing to properly perturb
the slurry after pouring it into the form. Ampaw effectively means weaker concrete members
than intended, which is dangerous from a structural point of view. Use of a concrete vibrator
is prescribed PRECISELY to ensure that poured concrete flows evenly and fully into all of the
spaces within a form. Overuse of a concrete vibrator however causes the larger aggregate
(gravel) to settle out of what needs to remain a fairly homogenous mix, so there's some art
to using a concrete vibrator.

"Kapak" refers specifically to unwanted presence of large voids or air gaps in tiling mortar,
as evidenced by installed tiles sounding hollow when tapped. This is difficult to avoid when
using ordinary cement to both grade (or top) and mortar a tile floor: once you lay a tile on
a thick layer of wet mortar, trapped gas has nowhere to go. Skilled maestros de obra can
lay mortar and tiles in a way that minimizes trapping of air, but more modern techniques
clearly separate the objectives of grading/topping and mortaring: the concrete floor is first
graded/topped to the desired slope (in bathrooms, toward the end of the floor where any
floor drain might be), and later the tiles are "glued" onto the dried and cured floor with a
fairly-thin layer of tile-adhesive. The serrate edge of newer floats forms long grooves of
adhesive, which allow gas to escape out from under the tile as it settles into place:

"Kapak" has also come to be used in reference to tiles popping loose, although the reasons
for this problem are complex, and not often related to voids in the mortar. Where ordinary
cement is used as mortar, the causes can be:

-poor quality or inappropriate cement used for the mortar or even the underlying slab

-too much time elapsed, after pouring/curing of the floorslab and actual tile-laying, in the
sense that new cement bonds poorly to old cement.

-severely dry/hot weather during tile laying, which saps the moisture out of mortar far too
quickly, no matter how diligently you wet the tiles and the floorslab, before the mortar can
cure. The result is crumbly/weak mortar (aka "polvoron", which also applies to concrete
that is crumbly for having dried out before it can properly cure)

-efflorescence from the floorslab, the percolated and crystallizing minerals disrupting the
bond between tile and mortar (often seen in ground-floor floortiles, the first summer after
some heavy rains and/or flooding).

Understanding the peculiarities and limitations of cement (as opposed to polymer-fortified
tile adhesive) will help you avoid the above situations, and the costly repairs that can come
of them.

Tiles that have popped loose (or worse, partially loose) are tricky to replace or reinstall. the
old mortar remaining has to be removed to allow a fresh bed of tile adhesive to physically
fit, otherwise the reinstalled tile will sit proud of the rest of the tile floor. If the old mortar
was cement, this can mean a lot of elbow grease with hammer and stone-chisel. If the tile
is not entirely loose, it is often being held back by hard grout on the edges of the adjacent
tiles, and I've used an oscillating multitool with a diamond disc to remove such grout with
success (an angle grinder can be difficult to control, and can damage the tile edge, but if
you can pull it off, then bravo, I guess).

hth

Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

Very very nice technical descriptions of everyday language, Horge.

Always amusing how some everyday karpintero/mason terminology escapes definition but somehow understood.

Some definitions I also find amusing we use in concrete reservoir construction is to describe a leak on the tank during water tightness testing. A worker would report to the Project Manager if there's a leak and required to describe it among any of three terms: Pawis, Luha, Ihi, according to the magnitude of the leak. 🙂

Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

Very very nice technical descriptions of everyday language, Horge.

Always amusing how some everyday karpintero/mason terminology escapes definition but somehow understood.

Some definitions I also find amusing we use in concrete reservoir construction is to describe a leak on the tank during water tightness testing. A worker would report to the Project Manager if there's a leak and required to describe it among any of three terms: Pawis, Luha, Ihi, according to the magnitude of the leak. 🙂

Diyan naman magaling ang Pinoy, e. 😀
Get naman kaagad ang ibig sabihin.

Minsan lang, sobra ang creativity sa pag-imbento ng terms.
Katulad ng parts ng deadbolt lockset: puede naman tawaging
'dila' ang cylinder tailpiece, pero babanyagan ba naman na
(**male organ**)...
😡

Re: Ampaw cement (Floor Tiles)

Pero minsan naman discreet.

A short pipe with male-threads on both ends is called "nipple" in English. Mga tubero natin ang tawag...niple (pronounced neeh-pleh).