Buildings move: screeds shrink, structures deflect, and heat makes surfaces expand. A tiled surface that cannot follow cracks or lifts. Movement joints, filled with an elastic sealant or a profile, give it room.

  • Perimeter joints run where the floor meets walls, columns and thresholds.
  • Intermediate joints divide large areas into fields.
  • Structural joints in the building are carried through the tiling, never covered.

The spacing depends on the substrate, the exposure to sun and heating, and national rules.