One of the most basic and important facts an installer should know when working with ceramic including porcelain glass and natural stone tile is to always have expansion joints in place.
Ceramic tile over expansion joints.
If you tile over an expansion joint then you need to honor that joint in the tile as well.
Tile over expansion joint no membrane or installation system is designed to bridge any joint with verticle displacement.
Recognizing that tile is a facade movement joints are needed to eliminate stresses that can occur between the substrate and the tile due to differing amounts of expansion and contraction.
It s quite common to see controlled breaks in concrete and those are usually expansion joints.
However depending on the tile size and system up to 1 4 movement is possible on the horizontal.
Control joints may be relocated.
Control joints are there because it s not a question of if the slab will crack but rather when the slab cracks it hopefully happens at the joint.
An anti fracture membrane should also be used under the tile to minimize the chance that cracks in the slab will telegraph through to the tile.
A movement joint is in the tile only.
The short answer is that you do not span control expansion joints with the tile.
If expansion joints are not part of the installation failure is lurking in the shadows waiting to strike.
1 8 movement with any sheet system typically and 1 16 with a few trowel on systems.
Where should movement joints be placed.
For installation of tile the tile ends at each control joint and the gap if filled with caulk rather than grout.
Expansion joint locate ctc joint in tile or stone surfaces directly above joints in sub floor full length may be fastened to sub floor using a construction adhesive trowel setting material making sure there is full coverage over the entire leg to ensure a smooth transition mortar bed may be.