should corners of tiles be grouted or have sealant applied?

[Jupiter01]

I had a new ensuite built two years ago. Two of the walls are from the original house and two were constructed of stud wall - we reorganised our bedroom to fit this in. The floor boards had plywood screwed to it and the walls and floor were then tiled. I've now noticed that where the stud wall meets the floor, there is a fine crack in the grout running all the way along this 90 degree corner.

The above picture is pre-crack.

Q. should I re-grout this or apply sealant? Is there a best practice and what product do you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[KenGMac]

Jupiter01, good evening.

Suggest you consider the possibility of thermal / moisture movement of the timber studs and Plasterboard? if you consider it even the tiniest movement over the entire area of the studwork wall can / will induce a tiny crack either at corners, and at floor level.

Likewise, the floor will be subjected to very small amounts of movement, distortion if you will, this can, combined with any movement of the timber stud wall can induce cracking, unfortunately not all that un-usual.

As for repair? my preference would be for a mastic rather than a re-grout, the grout being slightly brittle the mastic wins hands down for me.

As for which one to use? I will leave that to others to name names.

Ken.

 

[bobasd]

white silicon is typicly used with white grout.
most all inside corners are siliconed - never grouted.
clean the grout out an apply a thin bead of silicon - smooth off with a soapy wet finger or a silicon smoothin tool.

 

[jctilingservices]

cant understand why whoever tiled it for you grounted an internal corner, it should have been sealed with silicon, which will allow for any slight movement due to heat expansion

 

[Jupiter01]

Should I scrape out the grout before applying sealant? Also, which sealant make do you recommend for this? I do have a Fugi profiling tool

 

[jctilingservices]

Should I scrape out the grout before applying sealant? Also, which sealant make do you recommend for this? I do have a Fugi profiling tool

Yes, definitely try to get all the grout out, or at least as much as you can, you can use any good quality silicone, usually I would use something like unibond triple protect anti mould silicon, its a bit expensive but worth the money mate

 

[Jupiter01]

Is a flat screwdriver/Stanley knife the best method to scrape out the grout?

 

[KenGMac]

Jupiter01, good evening.

There are several "cheap" tools designed specifically for grout removal.

These tools allow more "control" than a screwdriver or Stanley suggest you Google "Grout Removal Tools"

Get the one you fancy and take your time when using them.

Ken

 

[jctilingservices]

Is a flat screwdriver/Stanley knife the best method to scrape out the grout?

Pesonally I use a bosh multitool with a grout removing blade, its easier BUT you have to be careful that you do not scratch / gouge onto the tile faces, personally I wouldn't use a screwdriver or a blade, you could buy a grout rake which are only a few quid, use that to go as deep as you can, that will then give you a valley effect, then you could use a screwdriver, just remember to run some masking tape on all the edges of the tiles either side of the gout, just incase of slips with ya screwdriver, whatever method you choose to use please take your time and no excessive forcing / pushing of your screwdriver, as that's how it will slip onto the faces of your tiles. good luck mate

 

[Jupiter01]

Did this today guys. Thanks for all your help.