V- Caps, cracked trim tile at kitchen counters and vanity counters
First of all, what are v-caps, also named by their technical part number, A8262’s? They are the outside edges on counters that your stomach would touch if you leaned up against a tiled counter. They are pre-formed to bend at a 90 degree angle to cover the edges of the tile deck and floated mortar/mortar board edge and wood edge of the counter.
Cracking is a very common, but preventable problem with kitchen and vanity trim tiles. My counters do not have cracking V-caps. But, I see cracked v-caps all the time in other people’s installations. Usually the crack runs along the entire length of the v-cap. It may look like a long, black hair. We call these hairline cracks. Sometimes, they enlarge and get very big and the edges can cut your finger if you rub across them. Many times, almost all the edge tiles have this crack, leading to hours of repair work.
What a shame, as it is so easy to prevent this cracking when first installing the tile work.
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What causes these cracks? One of the most common job installation mistakes is when the tile setter or do-it-yourselfer sets the kitchen trim tile with the same product they used to set the flat tiles on the counter top. Using the identical product to set the V-caps causes problems as the thin set is not flexible enough to allow for the natural expansion and contraction that occurs when a tile wraps two directions.
Evidence that the wrong material, thin set, was used
These thin set ridges are not flexible, this material does not allow for movement or settlement
After the deck surface and sink metal rail is filled with mortar and leveled off, the tile setter spreads thin-set (cement based adhesive) over the deck and sets the flat tiles. However, when it comes to the edging tiles, they should be set with an entirely different, more flexible product; either a high quality organic adhesive (mastic) or painter’s acrylic white caulk.
We could no longer find the same shaped v-caps so we took off all the v-caps and re-set, using painter’s caulk underneath, using a newer white V-cap.
My tiled counters have lasted 30 years without cracking V-caps. Taking the very simple step of using a different adhesive for setting these trim tiles protects the reputation of tile as a durable and beautiful product for your home.
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