Who or what to blame?

[Jollygoodfellow]

12 minutes ago, Gary D said:

The tiles will likely just be set in cement, not any type of tile adhesive.

From my old handyman knowledge some types of tiles are meant to be laid in mortar and not adhesive. Im sure Jacks house has a solid concrete floor. 

[JDDavao II]

2 hours ago, Gary D said:

Sounds like usual filipino workmanship. Fill the floor with loose earth and flash over with an inch of cement. The tiles will likely just be set in cement, not any type of tile adhesive.

We good here! All pounded!

[Reboot]

Back in my tile days we laid on concrete floors with mortar. We saved the adhesive for wall tiles and such going over sheet rock. 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Reboot

[Kuya John]

Sounds like the house that Jack built......sorry for the pun Jack.

Actually my wife and I experienced the very same thing while sitting having refreshment's in I think, it was Robinson Mall

in Cagagayan de Oro,

Just after we married we were sitting on the first floor cafe area. when I heard loud popping sounds, I looked across the open area, to my surprise

I saw the tiles exploding coming towards us, i turn to my wife and said look what's happening are we having an earthquake?

No reply, she just up and ran towards the escalators (closely followed by her new husband I may add) glamouring down an escalator coming up shouting earthquake........earthquake. To my utter surprise nobody took any notice, we stood outside waiting for something terrible to happen, when it didn't I approached the  security guard nearby to explain what we had experienced and he casually said.....

" It's happening quite a lot because the building was newly built!"......Boy did I feel foolish

[Jack Peterson]

10 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

. Im sure Jacks house has a solid concrete floor. 

 Quite so but Not as solid as we thought, 5 years on and the earth has moved from around the large Hardcore base it seems and as I said before it now has some give in the affected area   Project time again

Edited April 29, 2018 by Jack Peterson
added a little

[sonjack2847]

In the uk we would use a sealer like unibond on the floor before the tiles were laid.A cheaper way of doing this is to wet the floor before they are laid.If it is sub level then the main floor was not put down properly and is in effect hollow which gives a unproportionate expansion and contraction so in effect the main floor and the tiles are fighting against each other.As far as I remember internally you would get 4 inches of rough concrete and 2 inches of fine screed.Unfortunately your problem sounds like it can only be fixed by taking the floor up and doing it correctly.

[Jack Peterson]

1 minute ago, sonjack2847 said:

.Unfortunately your problem sounds like it can only be fixed by taking the floor up and doing it correctly.

 Just about sums it up Young man 

[sonjack2847]

2 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 Just about sums it up Young man 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news mate.

[Gary D]

When we had our house built I introduced a whole new concept to them which was to add a membrane under the floor. It took them some time to find large sheets of polyphene but we held out and they eventually found some. Don't know about the thickness of the concrete as I wasn't there when they laid it. No tiles have popped so far in 15+ years.

[Jack Peterson]

 Well that is My Birthday gift to myself now, a 20.000+p new Sala Floor. The whole lot has blown, So here is my man "Jonny" here today talking up the lot and preparing for new tiles to go down. Doing the Job right this time I hope (He did not lay the original)  New screed then Prefix coating and Proper Adhesive. Expensive yes but it is the main Area of the house and gets much use so it just has to be.

City Hardware here we come at 5.30 to select and get delivered for Thursday I guess, as it may take him today and tomorrow to prepare it all.

 Good my Man Kev (Sonjack) will be here in the Afternoon to supervise and add some thoughts