I woke up at five A.M. This morning. That's not too unusual except for the loud clap of thunder that startled me out of bed. For a moment I thought I was back in 'Nam. I sat up and looked at the hard rain spattering against the window. This was not so unusual here in Florida except this was the fourth day in the row it had rained like a monsoon. Little did I realize that all this extra water was going to result in a flood (no pun intended... Oh, all right-Yes it is) of calls with failures due to water damage.

I made my way to the kitchen, put on some coffee and turned my iPhone on.Yeah that's right, Mr. I-don't-like-new-technology and all that new-fangled-stuff has an iPhone. I scrolled through my email and one jumped out at me. It was titled "Hollow Tiles from Flood Please Help." I opened up this electronic plea for help-it was from an insurance adjuster who had a claim from a client that their marble floor was flooded and it resulted in the tiles being hollowed. Well, this got my curiosity going so I sent him a reply to call me back. Within minutes of sending the email my phone rang. Remember it's only a little after 5 in the morning. Guess I'm not the only grumpy ole man up at this hour.

The agent told me that he had a client with about 2,000 square feet of white Carrara tile floor that was flooded for the entire weekend. He said the floor looked good but the client claims the tiles are now hollow and wants the floor replaced. He asked if I could come out and inspect it to see if it can be repaired or if it needs replacing. I told him I could be out there first thing in the morning.

I made some breakfast, finished my coffee and headed to my office before going out for the inspection. I arrived at the office and found that the entire first floor was flooded. Thank goodness my office was on the second floor. I waded through the water and made my way up to my office. I no sooner got in and the phone rang again. It was another insurance adjuster who had a flood and believe it or not also said "the tiles were hollow." This was going to be a strange week. I told him I could get to him right after my first inspection. I finished sifting through my voice mail for any other dire emergencies. Finding none, I headed out the door.

I arrived at the residence with the Carrera tile-it was a modest home in a nice neighborhood, but like those neighborhoods you see in the movies where all the houses look the same. I pulled in the driveway and no sooner did I get out of my car and this little old couple came walking out to greet me. They must have been well in their 80's and were shuffling along as if they were holding each other up. I no sooner got out of my car and the old man yelled, "You that Stone Detective?" "Yes, sir," I told him. "Good. Get in here," he said, like one used to being obeyed. They shuffled around and I followed them in.

As he entered the front door he stopped and picked up a wooden cane. He started tapping on the floor with it and hollering, "See-this is all hollow, it wasn't like this before the flood and we want a new floor." I told him I would have to conduct a test and do some investigating. He kept speaking loudly as only the hard-of-hearing elderly can do, going on at length about how much he pays for insurance and that they darn well better replace the floor. I tried my best to ignore him and continued my inspection.

I first performed a sound test. I reached in my bag and pulled out my acoustic impact tester (a golf ball) and began tapping the tiles. Nearly 50% of the tiles were hollow. I asked if I could remove a tile to get a better look. They gave me permission and I got my tools out and started to remove one of the tiles. When I pulled up the tile I could still see the trowel marks left by the notched trowel. This was a textbook case of a poor installation! The tiles were never set properly in the first place.

I didn't say a word but turned to the old geezer and asked him when he started noticing the hollow sounds. He got real upset and said right after the flood. I looked over at the ole lady and she wouldn't look me in the eye. She turned around and said something that sounded like "what ever" and left the room. I told the guy that I would issue a report and he would be hearing from his insurance company. I didn't want to get into an argument with him, so I asked the claims adjuster if he would step outside for a moment. Moving out of earshot, I told the claims adjuster that the flooding did not cause the hollow tiles. He looked a little puzzled, so I explained that the setting should be more hydraulic, which means it gets harder under water.

I told him this floor was hollow from the start-it was a faulty installation. He asked if I could put that in a written report.

I can't tell you how many times I get calls after a floor is flooded with claims that the floor is now "hollow." Sadly, these are all unjustified claims with people who just want their floor replaced and expect the insurance company to replace it based on some false assumptions.

I wonder how many floors get replaced because they did not call in a stone inspector, first. Well they can't fool this ole Stone Detective. I've seen too much water under the bridge-or rather, water under the tile.

The Stone Detective is a fictional character created by Fred Hueston, written to be entertaining and educational. Dr. Frederick M. Hueston is the founder of Stone Forensics (stoneforensics.com), a nationally known stone consulting company, and also the technical director for Stoneandtile pros.com. He has written over 33 books on stone and tile installations, fabrication and restoration. He also serves as a expert for many legal cases across the world. Email your comments to him at fhueston@stoneforensics.com

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