Grout or silicon where the floor tiles meet the wall?

Grout or silicon against the wall for floor tiles?
One tiler says grout is ok against the wall for floor tiles, other sources say silicon needs to be used between the wall and the floor or otherwise the grout cracks when things shift etc.
I may be putting the skirting over the top anyway.
Any advice please?
Thanks
Jesse
 
easy to get a good bead of silicon against the wall/floor gap, use a bit of chux or similar to smooth. Won't take you long at all.
 
The better finish is silicon, the cheap and nasty is groute.

Bit of dishwashing liquid in with bucket of water then just dip white rag into bucket and wipe off excess silicon. You can use your finger to wipe off excess silicon but ....

Groute in the middle and silicon around extreme edges, this goes for walls / floors / everything.

Cheers
Graeme
 
i wish who ever tiled my upstairs bathroom had asked this forum first... i have never seen such a shoody job - particularly in the grout that is around the edges near the wall ( and half up the wall).... not to mention the crap painting, tiles not cut staight, uneven hob... etc etc.... dont get me started on the rest of the rough jobs around the hous.

It is my Christmas project to fix some of it up...
 
The handyman on ABC radio is adamant that moisture will get behind tiles in wet areas and that it needs to be able to escape. I think he says to actually leave a gap.

If you're in Qld, ring up on Sat morning.
 
Why use silicon?
Movement will definitely course grout to crack in these areas.
The best tiling job will look second rate if the joint are cracked.
Junction of tiles over vanity, bath, shower base,kitchen bench & laundry troff.
The main use for silicon in thees areas is to achieve a water proof bead.

The system that I use when grouting.
Apply silicon to all internal tiled corners,where tiles meet overhead cupboards,sides of vanity,where tiles terminate to door & window architrave, where floors & walls meet. And as above to create a waterproof bead.
This is done before grouting.( it makes grouting easier & quicker no corners to finish of neatly )

Applying silicon
Tools used
500mm squeeze bottle with one teaspoon of dish washing detergent & water.
One icypole stick.
A tile of cut.

Apply silicon making sure that it goes all the way to the back of the tile.
Do this in sections that you can easily manage.(DO NOT APPLY SILICON OVER A WET SURFACE)
Spray the silicon with the soapy water and use the icypole stick to give a uniform& even finish.
Wipe excess silicon that builds up on the icypole stick on to the tile of cut.

Silicons are available in a range of colors that will allow most grouts & silicons to be color matched.

Gerd
 
i have never seen such a shoody job - particularly in the grout that is around the edges near the wall ( and half up the wall).... not to mention the crap painting, tiles not cut staight, uneven hob... etc etc.... dont get me started on the rest of the rough jobs around the hous.
Do you live in my house? :eek:

No tiling here (yes, no tiling at all. And this house has a kitchen and bathroom and laundry. NO TILES. Lots of raw slate stuck on with liquid nails though) but lots of other shoddy jobs. The best two are:

1. Removing the timber floor and filling the subfloor space with road base and then going over the top with cement. Neither road base nor cement was levelled first, making all subsequent tiling/carpeting/door hanging jobs utter hell. We went through almost 2 40kg bags of tile adhesive doing the kitchen, mainly because it was WAY cheaper than 6 bags of floor levelling compound. Actually turned out pretty good in there.

2. Closing up the bottom half of the door in the bathroom (this house once had a door in every room, it was a commercial building) and then installing the first window they found lying around. It is about 2 inches too wide for the hole and 8 inches too short, and they did unspeakable things to make it 'fit'. It doesn't fit, believe me.
 
i used grout but recessed it a fair bit under the tile.

then i clear siliconed over the top.

it's the whitest grout in the whole bathroom now!
 
Do you live in my house? :eek:

No tiling here (yes, no tiling at all. And this house has a kitchen and bathroom and laundry. NO TILES. Lots of raw slate stuck on with liquid nails though) but lots of other shoddy jobs. The best two are:

1. Removing the timber floor and filling the subfloor space with road base and then going over the top with cement. Neither road base nor cement was levelled first, making all subsequent tiling/carpeting/door hanging jobs utter hell. We went through almost 2 40kg bags of tile adhesive doing the kitchen, mainly because it was WAY cheaper than 6 bags of floor levelling compound. Actually turned out pretty good in there.

2. Closing up the bottom half of the door in the bathroom (this house once had a door in every room, it was a commercial building) and then installing the first window they found lying around. It is about 2 inches too wide for the hole and 8 inches too short, and they did unspeakable things to make it 'fit'. It doesn't fit, believe me.

Oh god.. i think i will stop complaining about "babs" (the nickname we gave the guy who built our house... no idea of his real name) your guy sounds even worse.

Bab's biggest problem was installing anything (doors/windows/frames/skirting) level, straight and flush... everything is wonky, and then altered (planed, sanded, cutoff) to accomadate the wonkiness... but at least there is a real wooden floor - it just slopes slightly and when we moved in was painted with paving paint!
 
My ppor has grout around edges, looked great 5 years ago, not so now!
Our i.p.'s have silicon and they look soooooo much better. I think it cost about $400- $450 extra for a 4 bed house (but bedrooms have carpet.)If the house is in an area with lots of soil movement, as all of ours are, you will think it is money very well spent.
 
their is a difference beetween grouts silicons and chalk. a coulered, grout from the tile supplier, will be able to supply the same coloured silicon, once it goes down it can be wiped to a smooth finish.
chalk, is like a silicon , but water based and can be cleaned up and smoothed down with a damp cloth, this product comes in colours from the local h/w supplier . their is a diff. and some posters here seem to be a bit confused.
 
Hi Silversands,

it never too late to caulk the edges... you will need to use a scraper tool to smoothen these edges a little (where they are cracked) & caulk over... it should come up looking as good as new...

Cheers,

Manny.

My ppor has grout around edges, looked great 5 years ago, not so now!
Our i.p.'s have silicon and they look soooooo much better. I think it cost about $400- $450 extra for a 4 bed house (but bedrooms have carpet.)If the house is in an area with lots of soil movement, as all of ours are, you will think it is money very well spent.
 
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