Causes of Granite Floor Cracks

Natural Weaknesses

• Granite is a natural stone, which means it is subject to natural flaws just like any other type of natural product. While it is one of the hardest tiles used in flooring, natural flaws in the stone that are invisible to the naked eye can evolve over time into full-blown cracks. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to catch these types of cracks before they happen, as they are within the stone and only appear after prolonged exposure and foot traffic.

Natural Disasters

• While you might expect a full-strength earthquake to wreak some type of havoc on your home's flooring surfaces, even small earthquakes or other types of natural disasters that cause excessive movement to the home can cause cracks to appear in your granite floor. Flooding or other types of issues that cause the foundation of your house to shift will send shockwaves throughout the house, resulting in cracked granite tiles or pieces that have popped off the floor.

Improper Installation

• There are a myriad of issues that can plague a granite tile installation, ranging from using the improper type of thinset mortar, lack of a proper underlayment or simply inferior substrate material used beneath the area. If excessive movement isn't the root cause, then you are likely dealing with some sort of installation failure that has caused the floor to have reduced structural integrity, resulting in cracked granite tiles.

Seasonal Movement

• Seasonal movement is always a concern for any type of man-made or natural stone tile installation. If you live in an area where there are constant temperature shifts, as well as dry and wet seasons, your house will shrink and expand with the weather. This expansion can cause cracks in your tile if proper installation precautions are not taken.