Kitchen Tile Repair
The kitchen is the last room in the house you want torn up. It is also the room where tiles work hardest: constant foot traffic, heavy appliances, water at the sink and dishwasher, heat at the oven, and a floor that usually runs on under the cabinetry and out into the living area. When a kitchen tile loses its bond and starts to sound hollow or move underfoot, replacement means clearing the room and losing it for days. Drummy Repair fixes it a different way, by injecting a low-viscosity, structural-grade epoxy through the grout lines to re-bond the tile in place.
Re-Bonded Through the Grout Lines
Restore Your Kitchen Tiles Without the Disruption
The repair works from above, through the grout lines you already have. Small access points are made, the epoxy is injected into the voids beneath the tile, and it spreads until it makes full contact with the tile and the substrate before curing. The hollow sound goes, the movement stops, and the floor looks exactly as it did before we arrived.
There is no demolition, so there is no dust through your cabinetry, your appliances or the rest of the house. Most residential jobs are completed in approximately a day or two. The method suits floors and walls, residential and commercial properties, and a wide range of materials, including but not limited to ceramic, porcelain, and natural stone.
Precision Re-Bonding
Structural-grade epoxy injected into the voids, restoring adhesion between tile and substrate.
Minimal Disruption
No jackhammers, no tile saws, no clearing out the kitchen for a week.
Visually Seamless
Your existing tiles stay put, so there is no matching a tile that may no longer be made.
Cost-Effective
A fraction of the cost of lifting and relaying a kitchen floor.
Traffic, Loads, Moisture and Movement
Why Kitchen Tiles Come Loose
A kitchen floor is asked to do more than any other tiled surface inside a house, and there are four reasons kitchen tiles tend to be the first to go.
Traffic and point loads. The path between the fridge, the sink and the stove gets walked thousands of times a year, and the loads are concentrated. Add the weight of an island, a stone benchtop, a full fridge or a commercial oven bearing on the floor, and any weakness in the original bond gets found quickly.
Moisture. Dishwashers, sinks and fridges with water lines all leak eventually, usually slowly and out of sight. Water that reaches the tile bed weakens the adhesive from underneath, and by the time anything is visible on the surface the bond has often been failing for a long time.
Heat and temperature change. Ovens, cooktops and dishwashers put heat into a floor that the rest of the house never sees, and materials that heat and cool at different rates pull against each other at the bond line.
Movement across open-plan floors. Modern kitchens often flow seamlessly into dining and living areas, creating one continuous tiled space, frequently complemented by a wall of glass along one side. That matters, because tiling needs joints to absorb movement. The QBCC standards and tolerances guide sets out where movement joints are required under AS 3958.1, and it treats internal floors that get sunlight differently from those that do not: a joint is required where any dimension exceeds 6 metres for a sunlit floor, against 9 metres for one that is not, spaced at 4.5 metre centres. An open-plan kitchen and living floor with north-facing glass passes 6 metres easily, and when the joints are not there, the pressure has to go somewhere.
Our Kitchen Tile Repair Process
Contact & Quote
Send us photos or a short video of the affected area and we can quote from that in most cases. Where the scope calls for it we inspect on site, sound out the floor to map every drummy tile, and quote the solution, timing and cost clearly.
Schedule & Prepare
We book a time that suits the household or the business, and let you know the simple prep steps beforehand so the day runs smoothly.
Precision Epoxy Injection Repair
Our technicians make small access points through the grout lines and inject the epoxy into the voids beneath the tiles, re-bonding each one to the substrate. Most residential kitchens are done in approximately a day or two, depending on scope. Smaller repairs can take only a few hours, while larger areas take longer, and we give you clear timeframes upfront.
Completion & Care
We check the repaired area, confirm the hollow sound has gone, and let you know when the floor is ready for normal use. Surfaces are typically walkable within around 24 hours of the epoxy curing, or as advised by your technician.
What We Repair In Kitchens
Kitchen Floor Tiles
The main game. Drummy tiles in the working triangle, along the run of cabinetry, or in the traffic path through to the dining area.
Tiles Around Cabinetry and Appliances
without disrupting the surrounding areas. Because the repair is carried out through the grout lines, there's no need to remove the tile or dismantle any surrounding cabinetry. We will confirm exactly what is treatable when we assess the area.
Adjoining Living & Dining Areas
Kitchen tiling rarely stops at the kitchen. We sound out and treat the whole continuous floor, not just the part where you noticed the problem.
When Tile Repair Isn't the Right Solution
We believe in being upfront about what can and can’t be repaired. Epoxy injection is designed to re-bond tiles that have lost adhesion but are otherwise intact.
If a tile is cracked, chipped or broken, injection isn’t the right solution. The same applies where the substrate underneath the tiles is severely compromised, or where there is ongoing water pooling. In these situations, we’ll let you know rather than recommend a repair that isn’t going to provide a lasting result.
It’s also important to understand that injection repairs the bond beneath the tile. It does not fix an active leak or failed waterproofing. If water is continuing to enter the floor from a dishwasher, sink or another source, that issue needs to be addressed first.
Our approach is simple: if we don’t believe the repair will last, we’ll tell you. We would rather be upfront than take your money for a repair that isn’t right for your floor.
Don't Replace. Repair.
Replacing a Kitchen Floor Is Rarely Simple
Replacing a kitchen floor can be far more involved than it initially appears. The room needs to be cleared, appliances moved, and tiles carefully removed from around and beneath fixed cabinetry. What sounds like a straightforward replacement can quickly become a much larger and more expensive project.
Then there’s the challenge of finding a match. If the original tiles were installed when the home was built, they may no longer be available. A partial replacement can leave noticeable differences in colour, finish or size, often making it necessary to replace a much larger area, sometimes including the adjoining living space, to achieve a consistent result.
Repair sidesteps all of it. The tiles you chose stay where they are, the kitchen stays usable, and the cost is a fraction of full replacement. You can read the full comparison in our guide to hollow tile repair versus tile replacement.
FAQ’s
Frequently Asked Questions
We believe in clear communication and ensuring our clients feel informed and supported. Here are the most common questions we hear from customers, from homeowners to builders.
Why do my kitchen floor tiles sound hollow?
Because the tile has lost its bond to the substrate and there is now a void underneath it. In kitchens the usual causes are concentrated foot traffic and point loads, moisture from a sink, dishwasher or fridge line reaching the tile bed, heat around the oven, and missing movement joints in a large open-plan floor. The hollow sound is the early warning, and it typically shows up long before a tile cracks or lifts. Our guide to what causes hollow sounding tiles covers it in full.
Can loose kitchen tiles be repaired without removing them?
Yes. That is exactly what epoxy injection does. We work through the existing grout lines to re-bond the tile from beneath, so the tile, the grout and the finish all stay as they are. No demolition, no replacement tile to source, no matching.
Can you repair tiles around cabinetry and appliances?
This is where the repair method really makes a difference. Because the treatment is carried out through the grout lines, there’s no need to remove tiles or dismantle surrounding cabinetry. Simply send us a few photos or a short video of the area, and we can assess whether it’s suitable for treatment before you commit to anything.
Do I need to empty my kitchen for the repair?
No. There is no demolition and no dust, so the preparation is minimal. We will let you know what to clear from the working area when we book the job, and the rest of the kitchen stays as it is.
How long before I can walk on the floor again?
Surfaces are typically walkable within around 24 hours of the epoxy curing, or as advised by your technician. Most residential kitchens are completed in approximately a day or two on site, depending on scope and conditions.
Is this cheaper than replacing my kitchen floor?
Considerably. Repair avoids demolition, disposal, new tiles and the labour to lay them, and it avoids the flow-on cost of matching into adjoining areas. Send us photos or a short video and we will give you a no-obligation quote so you can weigh the two properly.
Ready to Fix Your Kitchen Tiles?
Got loose or hollow kitchen tiles? Send us photos or a short video for an accurate quote, or call 0436 329 569 to book an inspection. Drummy Repair was founded by a Master Tiler with over 20 years of experience and holds QBCC Licence No. 15566319. We repair kitchen tiles across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Logan.