Grout then Silicon Cracking Can't Find Solution

11 years ago

Okay, so I have a bathroom that is pretty newly redone, for reasons I dont need to get into, I can not go back and speak with the contractor to get this fixed so its now on me.

I have a sunken shower with a small curb inside. The bathroom floors are 6"x24" porcelain tile. The tile guy was okay, but he didn't line up the tile well where my glass tile and porcelain tile meet to make a 90 degree angle. He also just used unsanded grout and not silicon for this plane change. After two months of use, I guess the movement in the porcelain floor cracked the grout.

I tried to remove the grout with a grout saw but was unable to. Instead I tried using 100% silicone over it. However, that only worked for about two weeks where now it looks like this. What can I do to correct this?? The gap is about 1/4". Should I once again try to scrape everything out and then use foam rod backer and silicone?

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Comments (5)

StoneTech
11 years ago
That's a horrible installation.... The very LEAST he should have done was using sanded grout, but even that won't do it. First, the tiles should have "lapped over" the vertical tiles. Secondly, even if not, he should have used a 100% Silicone caulk there.

My suggestion, since I guess you don't want to tear everything out, would be to remove the top tiles (carefully as I have NO idea how it's waterproofed) and have a piece of granite fabricated to cover the curb. You ought to be able to have a local shop do one for you for $50-$75 bucks. It should overhang by an eight to a quarter inch on both sides.

IF the curb waterproofing membrane is intact, you can thinset it in place and grout the edges or use some "PL Premium" to attach it.
ms222
Original Author
11 years ago
Yes it is horrible, the rest of the shower looks good, but this was really a mess up.

I would prefer to find a solution to leave everything as is but to find a way to prevent water from getting in there. Can you link an example of what you mean by a granite to cover the curb?

Any other type of solution?
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ms222
Original Author
11 years ago
Anyone think removing the grout and silicone, adding a 3/8" backer rod and then siliconing would work?
ms222
Original Author
11 years ago
Well backer rod wouldn't fit, so I scraped out as much caulk and grout as I could, cleaned off the residue and applied GE Silicone II for bath and tub. We will see if it holds up at all. If not, I don't know of any other solution it is frustrating.
millworkman
11 years ago
Stonetech's idea of replacing the top flat row of tile with a pc of granite sounds the best to me. Sort of like a raised threshold.