How to measure tile lippage?

Question

I just had my bathroom floor tiled and I am concerned about lippage. Before bringing this up with the contractor, I want to get an idea of how bad it is really. The tiles are 2.25" octagons with diamonds filling in the gaps on the ~12"x12" sheets. There are a few places in the bathroom where 1-3 of the octagons seem too high. Before complaining, I would like to measure the lippage on the tile.

I was thinking of using a penny, like I would to test tire tread (if I can't see all of Lincoln's head the lippage is too much), but I was hoping that there was a tool that might be more accurate and not have me with my cheek pressed against the floor for an hour or so. What is the best way to measure tile lippage?

Ed Beal · Answer

Since lippage is how flat the tiles are a penny would be a waste of time, the Height difference from tile to tile would require a straight edge across a section. There will be differences in height for several reasons.

Is there a min max NO.  I have had customer sue with a 1/16 difference because of the tile they specified was natural and had a large variance sheet to sheet of 1/16” (they paid lawyer fees) The contractor should have leveled the flooring but it all comes down to the contract. If not specifically listed tile Can be somewhat uneven where the subflooring is not flat causing irregularities in height. It comes down to is this a bargain basement contract or a 5 star contract (it makes a difference) there will be slight differences sheet to sheet but you don’t specify or show a photo the contractor can say it meets standard practices and if you would like a change order they will comply for X dollars.

Sorry but I have done lots of tile jobs and the few problems I have had were on larger and intricate jobs where the owner wanted a change for free or a 10k job for 5k or less, if it is a sloppy job provide a photo and get some opinions other than that industry standards has some variation when it comes to tile.

How to measure tile lippage?

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