During a bathroom remodel in Sacramento, California, everything appeared perfect on day one. Clean tiles. Smooth grout lines. New fixtures shining. Two weeks later, tiles started sounding hollow when stepped on. A month later, cracks appeared.
The issue was not the tile. It was the prep.
The contractor skipped proper subfloor leveling and waterproofing. Visually, nothing looked wrong. Structurally, everything was. Moisture slowly worked its way underneath, breaking the bond from below.
Construction fails rarely announce themselves immediately. They show up quietly. A sound. A smell. A hairline crack people ignore.
The lesson is simple and expensive. If prep work is rushed, the finish is temporary. In construction, what you do before the visible work matters more than what people see after.
This is why inspections, waterproofing, and substrate prep are non negotiable in bathroom renovations.