Grout or silicone?

[Rgee]

Hi

I've just had the kitchen splashback tiled and in some places there is a gap between the work surface and the bottom of the tiles. Previously I had silicone filling this but is there any disadvantage in filling with grout?

[B17NNS]

Grout won't be flexible and will crack over time.

A nice neat bead of silicone will be far better.

[Rgee]

Thanks, silicon it is then.

[spikeyhead]

Dow and Corning 785, once you've used it you'll never use another type of silicone sealer.

[allegro]

spikeyhead said:

Dow and Corning 785, once you've used it you'll never use another type of silicone sealer.

+1

For years i have called silicone dow in the same way people call vacuum cleaners Hoovers

[ruaricoles]

spikeyhead said:

Dow and Corning 785, once you've used it you'll never use another type of silicone sealer.

Absolutely.... I used boggo standard stuff all through our previous house; a couple of months ago I bought a tube of this and now wish I'd discovered it years ago. Soooo much nicer to work with.

Ruari

[Rgee]

Thanks, Dow and Corning 785 duly used. I just wished I could do it like a pro without fluffing around with masking tape.

[Piersman2]

Rgee said:

Thanks, Dow and Corning 785 duly used. I just wished I could do it like a pro without fluffing around with masking tape.

Don't be tempted, use the tape.

I did my kitchen last year and sealed all round the worktops and splashbacks with black silicon and masking tape. Beautiful neat , thin, sharp , almost invisible lines all the way. Dread to think how awful it would have looked trying it freehand!

Need to check out this Dow and Corning stuff, I think I've seen it at Selco. Whay is it so much better?

[spikeyhead]

Piersman2 said:

Need to check out this Dow and Corning stuff, I think I've seen it at Selco. Whay is it so much better?

There's some in my bathroom thats several years old, it's still a bright white and still flexible.

Everything else I've tried goes grey and hard over time.

[Rgee]

OK so the tiler finished the grouting on Sunday and I finished off the silicone yesterday and all was looking fresh and dandy. Done some cooking, as you do, and I've noticed the white grout picks up stains that is a pig to shift. At the moment its a couple of spots but if it continues the grouting will look ste. Never had the problem with the old grout and that was there for 20 years.

Does grout need time to 'seal' or has he used the wrong grout? It was ready mixed and came in a Topps Tiles tub.

[Emsman]

Rgee said:

OK so the tiler finished the grouting on Sunday and I finished off the silicone yesterday and all was looking fresh and dandy. Done some cooking, as you do, and I've noticed the white grout picks up stains that is a pig to shift. At the moment its a couple of spots but if it continues the grouting will look ste. Never had the problem with the old grout and that was there for 20 years.

Does grout need time to 'seal' or has he used the wrong grout? It was ready mixed and came in a Topps Tiles tub.

A pro tiler using ready mixed?

Unusual to say the least.
I wouldnt touch ready mixed stuff- especially if it was fix and grout?

It should be impervious when its set, that said, various things can stain the grout. You need to make sure it was waterproof- not showerproof, and have a word with him if its not.
You can buy agrout sealing product to stop it from staining over time, but with the correct specced stuff, its really not needed.

[Rgee]

Spoke to the tiler and he says Bal antibacterial grout was used (so he must have mixed it in a Topps Tiles tub). Nonetheless not impressed.

[dave_s13]

I also used to think silicone was silicone was silicone.

I bought a tube for a quid in B&M a couple of weeks ago. Sealed my new bathroom and it's all coming away with just the lightest of picks with a fingernail...it's more like toothpaste!

Oh well, it's a good excuse to clear it all out and try again. Properly this time, with masking tape.

[ruaricoles]

It's also much smoooother than any other type I've tried using, making it much nicer to work with and easier to get a decent looking finish

spikeyhead said:

Piersman2 said:

Need to check out this Dow and Corning stuff, I think I've seen it at Selco. Whay is it so much better?

There's some in my bathroom thats several years old, it's still a bright white and still flexible.

Everything else I've tried goes grey and hard over time.

[raymanh]

Just make sure you get some good quality silicon. The worst thing you want to is having to scrape it off and reapply it because it just moulded away.

[anonymous-user]

I use the masking tape method, but watched kitchen fitter silicon around my new sink the other day. Did as good ajob as my tape method in about 2 mins, takes me an hour!. The secret was to get a consistent bead & he soaked it with a mist of water. Dont think I'll try it myself, I too have spent ages trying to remove silicon from granite worktop when it goes horribly wrong.

[Craig Camshaft]

raymanh said:

Just make sure you get some good quality silicon. The worst thing you want to is having to scrape it off and reapply it because it just moulded away.

For sure, back in '93 i had a hellacious experience with some entry level high street silicone, poor quality had to reapply thrice!. I can't emphasise it enough get it from a private seller or home depot at least!

[philmots]

Can someone recommend a quality caulk that I can use to seal/fill the gaps around the inside of my windows?

Some I've used before has dried, shrunk and cracked

[B19GRR]

spikeyhead said:

Dow and Corning 785, once you've used it you'll never use another type of silicone sealer.

Just a semi-hijack. What's the setting time like on this? I need to blitz the shower as it's grim in there, so need to get the old stuff out and the new in nice and quick.

Cheers,
Rob

[badboyburt]

Yep Dow Corning 785 High Modulous anti bacterial.