Silicone for grout

[noobiediyer]

I already know silicone should be used as grout for many reasons but I just spoke to a tiler and he recommends using silicone instead of grout every 20 sqm as this helps to avoid tile cracking. Something about tile movement or tile expansion.

It's the first I've heard of this but I'm no expert. Any truth to this?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

You would fit movement joints between long runs of tiles, so about every 5m for when installed on heated floors and 8m otherwise but it's not just about the area, it's the linear distances. So assuming your room was bigger than 5m x 5m (25m2) and you have underfloor heating then movement joints would be required. Presumably he's talking about using propriety movement joints rather than just using a bit of silicone instead of the grout. You should consult your tile manufacturer for a definitive answer.

 

[noobiediyer]

And the world of tiling knowledge keeps expanding. Never heard of movement joints before. The entire ground floor is tiled without any natural breaks. The main open plan area is well over 5m x 5m. The tiler doesn't speak fluent English but he said silicone in the line instead of grout. My understanding is he would use silicone directly instead of grout around every 20 sqm.

For context, it is a ground floor, concrete sub-floor with underfloor heating.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

A guide to the installation of movement joints | Quantum Group NI

Movement joints, otherwise known as expansion joints are used within tiled surfaces to break it into separate sections.

quantumgroupni.com