Tilers who grout down to kitchen worktop - Tile Advice

[Bathfix Bob]

I see loads of new kitchens where the tiler has just grouted down to the worktop and not used silicone, of course leading to it all cracking out.

Even where the tiling is spot on and the kitchen is high end I still see it.

Am I missing something here? why do so many not use silicone? :30:

 

[Aston]

laziness, ignorance, who knows?

 

[kilty55]

hmm i have noticed this,,this may be the reason.....i do work for 2 bathroom cos in edinburgh and both only pay me for tiling,silicone work is done by the last man,you might find they are overseeing this part of the installation......i had to tell one to silicone internals

 

[Stewart]

Because they cant lay a beed of silicone without making a mess. Or more likely, they're just scamping so n so's!

 

[doug boardley]

probably bcause they don't fancy going back the next day to silicon when all the surfaces are dry, Bob.

 

[White Room]

Looks naff with grout

 

[SandyFloor]

Doug has it spot on.

 

[Bathfix Bob]

You can't beat a nice crisp bead of Dow Corning silicone, far more durable than grout. I'm particulary proud of my silicone work, I use Fugenboys a lot but the trick is to lay down just enough silicone, too much and it will spread everywhere.

The reason for this thread is I was at a customers today and she was showing me her new kitchen done by a well known kitchen company (am I allowed to name names?) and she said she was a little disapointed as they rushed the install and a lot of finishing touches were missed, she pointed out the crack all along the back of the shiny black worktops and asked me why that was.

I'm going back on Tuesday to silicone it.

 

[faithhealer]

Never seen a grouted gap on a worktop, will keep my eyes peeled

 

[Stewart]

Good for you Bob.

 

[david campbell]

laziness and penny-pinching!

 

[Perry]

new build or a lot of commercial work wont pay for it to be done by the tiler or have specialist guys in to do it or meant to but never get round to it or think they can get away with not doing it but if any one wants to do it for nothing i will put your name forward will only take you a couple of days and cost you about 24 tubes of silicone on most of the jobs i go onto LOL

 

[Sean fsy]

long time since i tiled a kitchen but some customers actually say they dont want it done. some women clean and clean all day and can actually damage the sealant, plus nothing worse than seeing the dreaded black stuff behind the sink. i suppose kitchen tiles come in a lot more variance in sizes etc, often you can tile a kitchen with tiles that use a 2mm spacer but when grouted the lines can vary upto say 6/8mm depending on tile. so imagine in some cases trying to fill a 6/8mm gap with sealant on the worktop. always hard to get a colour that goes well with tile colour and worktop colour. I think in most cases transluscent would be a choice used. Like i say kitchen tiles can vary that much in sizes and this is where the problems start. i personally silicon but do get customers that prefer not to. So just obey the last command and state that if silicon is preferred later on it will be extra.

 

[Perry]

joking aside if you dont silcone the work tops can cause a lot of damage if the water gets in the chipboard

 

[doug boardley]

long time since i tiled a kitchen but some customers actually say they dont want it done. some women clean and clean all day and can actually damage the sealant, plus nothing worse than seeing the dreaded black stuff behind the sink. i suppose kitchen tiles come in a lot more variance in sizes etc, often you can tile a kitchen with tiles that use a 2mm spacer but when grouted the lines can vary upto say 6/8mm depending on tile. so imagine in some cases trying to fill a 6/8mm gap with sealant on the worktop. always hard to get a colour that goes well with tile colour and worktop colour. I think in most cases transluscent would be a choice used. Like i say kitchen tiles can vary that much in sizes and this is where the problems start. i personally silicon but do get customers that prefer not to. So just obey the last command and state that if silicon is preferred later on it will be extra.

I use the same colour as the grout Sean