Home Improvement

That is an utter mess of self-leveling compound poured way too thick all at once, not fully covering the area, and then not using a proper thinset base. I guarantee the rest of that shitshow is going to go the same way.

That needs to be torn out, the self-leveling garbage pounded out, proper plywood laid in and screwed to the joists for the majority of the space to get taken up, then maybe a thin layer of self-leveling if needed. A layer of Schluter uncoupling membrane can be used to disconnect the expansion of the walls and floor from the tile, with appropriate gaps (like 3/8") around the tile and hidden by the baseboard, with a snap down transition strip at the door that also allows expansion.

And then find whoever installed that and slap the bejesus out of them.

I have nothing to contribute other than the 'Tile High Club' joke was very funny. Well done 👍

Flooring is by no means beneath me

Are you underground?

To correct any misinformation in this post- what you have is porcelain tile installed very, very poorly. You can install tile in this pattern- it is not an issue with tile. However, what’s underneath is very concerning. I have never seen that much mortar used.

You need to get a professional in, even if to look at it and give advice. My guess is if they used that much mortar, it would all need to come out and actual cement board would be needed as a base to bring the flooring to the appropriate height.

So you know how bricks aren't lined up in neat rows vertically? You need to stagger the courses of flooring in a similar way. Also you need to leave an expansion gap around the perimeter of the entire room for when the wood expands. Also did you let this flooring heat up in the room for a full day before installation? Not letting it acclimate can lead to this but the most likely culprit is just not lining up the joints like that.

Yikes! Don't bother trying to patch it. That floor is a disaster and needs to be completely removed and reinstalled. As at least one other commenter mentioned, the tiles should be staggered and have room around the edges for expansion. The reason those popped up is because there are no gaps for expansion around the edge of the room. Also, they did a really sloppy mortar job. I'm not even sure they used the right mortar but it's hard to tell from just the photos.

My brother don't, spin your head. Those are run off the mill homedepot porcelain/ceramic tile. Go to the home depot and ask for a bag of tile cement./ mortar. They will give you what you need. Get a bucket too. Put a bit of the cement into the bucket and add a bit of water mix until it's got the consistency of mashed potatoes that need a bit more milk but your gona serve them any ways because you already put the milk away. Now butter up the floor with the cement mix and dampen with a cloth the back of tile. Butter the tile too. Don't be shy put a good bloob on the floor and spread it. Set the first tile down and smash It down until it's level with the rest. If it's to high and won't seat, slooooooowly and carefully pry up the tile with a wide tool. Don't force it you run the risk of braking the tile. Scrape some cement of and try again. Put about the same amount pf the cement on the second tile and set it down. Wipe up the extra/mess and wait 24hrs.

There is just not enough cement making actual contact with those tiles to begin with. Yeah you could re do the floors and "do it right" or for like 20$ and 3hrs fucking about you can have the floor back to what it was and it will probably last a good long time any ways.

Edit also you should probably chisle out a bunch of the old cement that was under the tile that will help with better adhesion. When the new stuff goes down.

Those "planks" don't have the right proportions for laminate flooring. It kind of looks like large format tile. Can you confirm? It would have a huge impact on how to properly fix it.

I would lead with questions for both context and for you to determine your plan of action.

Its "always been" squishy...how long have you lived here? 1 year? 10 years? It matters in the context of if it was a quick flip install to sell the place and you've only been living there a short time, the rest will probably be falling apart soon too. If its been a long time, it could point to just that spot being an issue and needing repair.

There's also the question of your time and budget. There's a good chance the entire floor needs to be replaced, but if that's just out of the question then a patch job could keep it together a very long time if done right.

What room is that? Bathroom? Mud room? There's tile on the wall too so I'm wondering if water is playing into the problem (either in the tile install or damage to the sub floor in that spot).

I'm no floor expert, but I did put floor like this into a room. The instructions we got was to leave a small gap all around the room, since temperature fluctuations will cause the floor to expand, and if there is no space to expand into it will buckle. Baseboard trim that I installed later disguises the gap.

I think gluing it down is not the answer. It may just cause it to buckle in the middle where it is harder to reach. If it's like the stuff we used, you can score it with a straight edge and a knife and then cut it.

Any flooring will dilate and shrink along the seasons, you have to leave the space for it. If you glue it it will find a way to break so I wouldn't recommend.

I'd say cut a few mm and add a threshold to mask it.

This is wood right? If so, wood floor does expand/shrink a bit depending on temperature. It looks like maybe it wasn't cut to the right size and needs to be shaved down ⅛-¼ inch to fit property.

Is it supposed to not be staggered?