Tile Wall To Tile Floor Shower Grout Versus Silicone Caulk

Or where the edge of a tile meets the wall.

Tile wall to tile floor shower grout versus silicone caulk.

It is common for people to confuse these two substances and put grout where caulking should go or vice versa. The vast majority of showers that i ve tiled have had no problems when i use grout in the corners. As with any other gap near your bathtub you ll want to close the opening to prevent any possible water damage. Caulk should appear seamless while keeping your walls windows floors and ceilings adjacent to showers tubs and toilets safe from the excess moisture that is typical in a bathroom.

Grout is mostly used to seal the cracks between tiles on a bathroom wall. Generally grout should be used on the shower walls and floors and all other vertical or horizontal shower planes. This is largely because of the way grout binds with backer board the concrete material placed behind tiles. The problem is that there is grout haze at the bottom edge of the wall tiles from where i tried to patch up the old grout in the past.

I have a walk in shower with marble tile walls and a ceramic tile floor. Caulk is impermeable meaning it won t let in water. Wait two weeks for the grout and caulking to cure. Tom meehan a second generation tile installer and co author of working with tile who lives and works in harwich mass responds.

Repeat do not caulk the joint where the wall of a shower meets the floor. Where grout is just good for bonding together tile caulk is good for creating a seal between multiple materials say between glass tiles and a porcelain tub. Caulk is a sealant typically made of silicone or acrylic material. In this case you have to ensure you ve given enough time for the tile adhesive to fully dry or else it can mix with the grout and the effectiveness of both will be compromised.

This gap may widen over time as your home shifts. No matter how well you seal the grout water will seep into the grout and run or wick down the wall. The grout at the change of plane was cracking so i decided to remove it and replace with silicone caulk. Read on to.

My tile installer recently told me that he wanted to use caulk in the corners of a tiled shower instead of grout is that necessary. Though grout is more porous than caulk it s best for tiled shower walls and floors. If you create a caulk dam it will grow mold. It will create a dam that will hold water that migrates down the wall.

Similar to the gap that can exist between your wall tile and tub you may have a space between the floor and your bathtub. Run a bead of silicone tub and tile caulk along the joint where floor tile meets the walls sink shower or bathtub.