How to fix a broken tile

Lots of stuff can break a tile—heavy traffic, a poor install, and yes, even household hijinks—but what really matters isn’t how it got broken, but rather how to fix a broken tile when you’ve got one.

Even if the tile got broken by carelessness, the way to keep from having two or more broken tiles is to repair it carefully.

The first step to fix a broken tile is to remove the existing tile. Some people drill holes in center of a tile to help make breaking them easier. Some just pound—gently—with a hammer until a prying tool can get in there. My go-to for this is my painter’s multi-tool. I use it pry the tile out, shear off the grout from the edges and chisel out the thinset the mortar off the subfloor. If I really need to bring in the big guns, then a chipping hammer is the muscle needed.

Once the subfloor is exposed, clean the area thoroughly to remove all the dust and debris.

Mix a small batch of new mortar. You can buy a repair-sized canister or a whole bag to fix a broken tile. A whole bag is way too much, but if you never mix mortar and add too much water to the repair size, well it’s not enough.

Butter the subfloor with a notched trowel. For the tiles we had on this floor a 1/4 x 1/4-inch trowel worked. Smaller tiles usually require smaller notches. You can also butter the back of the tile. The key is to get complete adhesive coverage on the back of the tile. They often break because when originally installed the installer missed a spot and left a void. Squeeze it into the mortar and let dry.

Wait for the mortar to set, the last step to fix a broken tile is grout. Apply following manufacturer instructions and  you’re good to go.