The Case of the Curling Installation
While the Stone Detective is packing up the Woody and moving from Florida to Tennessee, we dove into the archives and came up with an oldie but a goodie from May 2016. Enjoy!
Spring Is in the Air
Spring is officially here. The flowers are in bloom and the birds are singing. Just be grateful that I’m not singing – It’s not a pretty sound! I’ve been told I sound like two cats fighting!
Sit Where?
It was a beautiful morning, and I was off to my favorite greasy spoon to swap war stories with the silver-hair crowd. After all it was 6 a.m. – who under 50 gets up at this hour? I walked in for a cup of joe, and low and behold, the place was packed with a bunch of kids in soccer uniforms. Well, so much for my theory of old folks being the only ones up at this hour.
I couldn’t find a place to sit so I decided to head over to the local “Five bucks” coffee shop, where I was sure there wouldn’t be any kids. I was right – the place was empty. Just as I was ordering my fancy cup of frothy goodness, my phone rang. The voice on the other end was your typical-sounding New York City contractor. How could I tell, you ask? I’ll let you be the judge.
The Phone Call
Here is how the conversation went (read it imagining a heavy New York accent):
“Yo, is this the stone detective?” I have a &#^% problem with some tile we installed in a high-end retail store. The &#$^% architect is telling me that the tiles are tenting and it’s our #&$^^ fault. Let me tell you something. It’s not our #&%^ fault and we need someone like youse guys to come look at it and tell us it’s not.”
I asked where the store was located, and you guessed it: New York City. I asked him all the typical questions and told him I could get there early next week to take a look. He responded with “OK but the sooner we put this #$&#^ job to bed the better. This #$**#^ job is costing me a fortune.” I told him I would make my flight reservations and get back with him later that day.
Back to the Greasy Spoon
Well, next week arrived. I had an early flight but still had time for a quick cup of Joe at the greasy spoon. I walked in and Flo had my coffee waiting. I said good morning and asked her how the soccer kids went last week. She just rolled her eyes and handed me the sugar. I grabbed a quick breakfast, hopped in the woody and I was off. This is going to be fun, I thought. Hopefully, I’ll return and be able to control my swearing (LOL).
The Job Site
I took a cab from the airport to the building in question. As we pulled up there was this dark-haired, slightly overweight gentleman pacing back and forth in front of the building. He was on the phone, and you could hear him a block away. Every other word out of his mouth was a cussword. This had to be my contact. I was half tempted to introduce myself as the #&$% stone detective, but I had to be professional.
He was still talking on the phone as he walked up to me and said, “You the stone detective?” I just nodded.
He motioned for me to follow him inside. He pointed to the floor as he was still talking – or should I say swearing – on the phone. I looked at the floor, which consisted of 24 x 24 agglomerate tile.
The installation had very tight grout lines, and there were about half a dozen areas where the tiles had tented up off the floor.
What Is Tenting?
For those of you unfamiliar with tenting, it’s when the tiles lift off the floor and form an upside-down V from one tile to the other (see photo, at right) – Hence the word “tenting.”
The Investigation
I knew what it was right away, so I continued my inspection. The floor was about 20,000 square feet and I noticed that there was not one expansion joint. I also noted that the perimeter of the installation butted right up against the metal framing.
The reason for the tenting was simple:
- No expansion joints
- No spacing around the perimeter
This is a classic cause of tenting. As the floor tile contracts and expands there is nowhere for the tile to go, so it relieves the pressure created by tenting.
Now I had to get Mr. Potty Mouth off the phone to tell him. This was not going to be fun.
Who Is to Blame?
He finally got off the phone and I delivered my findings. He told me that the architect told them he did not want any expansion joints and he wanted the tiles tight up against the metal framing.
Now the question is, who is to blame? The architect? Or should the installer have known better and warned the architect what could happen. I’m not a judge, so I’ll let you decide.
