Ceramic Tile Lippage Standards

Nearly each tile has at least one adjacent tile that is uneven i e there is lippage throughout the house and i would be hard pressed to find a tile with an no lippage.

Ceramic tile lippage standards.

However the measurement at right shows that the ceramic tile lippage is less than 1 6 mm 1 16 in which is within standards. You would then add that to 1 32 quot. Lippage is a condition when one edge of a tile is higher than the adjacent tile giving the finished surface an uneven appearance. Lippage refers to differences in elevation between edges of adjacent tile modules the ansi standard notes that the perception of lippage is influenced by many factors such as.

And you would know that the allowable lippage for this tile would be 3 32 quot. The challenge is determining whether the lippage is due to bad workmanship poor quality substrate naturally occurring differences in the calibration of the tiles or the finish of tiles. According to ansi a137 1 when a pressed floor and porcelain tile is installed using a grout joint between 1 16 to less than 1 4 the allowable lippage is 1 32 about the thickness of one credit card. When large tiles are used on surfaces with compound falls to a floor waste lippage is inevitable.

So for instance if you measure the tile warpage and find it is 1 16 quot. For natural stone the standards say that the tile lippage should not be more than 1 mm for grout joints that are between 2 mm to 7 mm wide. Lippage greater than 1 16 is considered excessive except where tile is larger than 13 13 inches. For ceramic tiles which includes porcelain tiles they are allowed to have 1 mm of lippage plus the actual warpage in the tile which is normally about 1 mm for grout joint widths between 2 to 7 mm.

That suggest that it should not be smaller than that. There are a number of british standards applicable to the wall and floor tile industry. The australian standard as 3958 1 guide to the installation of ceramic tiles states a maximum 2mm lippage between standard tiles. Bs 5385 1 wall and floor tiling.

Check out the british standards available for sale. The residential performance standards guidelines states. There are quantitative industry standards for what is acceptable lippage for ceramic tile. The daltile data sheet does say that you can have as small of a grout joint as 3 16 wide.

Lippage is the industry term for floor tiles which have some edges and corners higher or lower than others creating an uneven surface. I think that is what joseph is trying to get to. These include standards which define ceramic and natural stone tiles tile fixing tile adhesives and grouts. You have a wood look glazed porcelain tile that is 6x24 inches.

A perception of lippage may not necessarily be due to poor workmanship. Then you know whether or not your installation does or does not meet industry standards. This is defined in the ansi american national standards institute standard a108 02 section 4 3 7.