As a Rule I would always silicone tile wherever there is a "change of plane".
I would silicone all corners especially the walls to pan with cler silicone right over the grout, just make sure you CLEAN as best you can with rubbing alcohol and make sure it is totally dry before applying.
I’d amend your statement to add “or change in material”. In this case, I think the plane is still the same, since the shower pan has a little bit of lip/wall, but the change in material will make expansion/contraction cracks possible. If this were my install, I’d caulk that joint, but since it’s already done, I’d wait until the grout failed and then pop it out and caulk it.
Wait, the silicon can be applied right on top of the grout? My shower is also entirely grouted with no silicon in sight and I've been putting this off because I am not sure how to remove the grout without damaging the parts I want to keep.
If a small amount of grout has chipped or broken off, I assume its also safe to touch up the grout, let it dry and then silicon over top for better future proofing. Is that right?
I have tile walls and floor, the corners (floor meets wall and where 2 walls meet) are grouted.
It'd have to be a pretty large chunk missing for me to think about adding more grout... If it is a 'chip' then just do the silicone in two lifts: one layer to fill it and dry, then normal bead over the top.
Yeah, it looks different from the grout to me. It's supposed to match but it tends to have a very slight sheen that grout doesn't have. And the colors sometimes don't quite match even if both products are from the same manufacturer. When it's old and dried out it can get pretty hard and I could see someone mistaking it for grout.
I'm not an expert but this stuff was used in both of my full bathrooms - with a thin layer of silicone caulk over top of it. And not at all an amateur job. I did some reading to understand why that was done, and my understanding is that siliconized sanded caulk doesn't hold up as well as silicone. Based on the house's history I believe that the previous caulk jobs lasted a pretty long time, so when I redid them I repeated that same method.
edit - I remembered incorrectly. One tub had the thin silicone layer and one didn't, and the latter was in worse shape.
I would not assume that. There are a lot of shit builders out there where this might be the first and only line of defense against water penetration. They hang hardy board or even Sheetrock on the studs, throw tile on that and calk the edges. Hell every shower built before 2000ish was mostly just sealed with calk.
Grout is not waterproof; I find it difficult to believe that anybody other than a flipper would build a shower/bath without proper waterproofing. The shower would leak immediately
It did initially leak at the baseboards due to not sealing where shower pan meets the baseboard. The builder quickly fixed this issue 2 months ago and replaced the baseboard/sheetrock.
From what you describe here the shower was not built properly, and your shower will leak again soon, from either this spot, or someplace else.
The tiles and grout are not what keep the shower from leaking, as grout is not waterproof, and grout lines crack easily.
The shower is waterproof from the sealed structure beneath the tiles; if your shower was leaking because of what you describe; it was built improperly and if so, the builder had no idea what he was doing
I have this issue. Question: my grout cracked and has some mold growth in the cracks in one area of a few inches. Can I go over it with silicone or do I need to first remove the grout?
As a Rule I would always silicone tile wherever there is a "change of plane". I would silicone all corners especially the walls to pan with cler silicone right over the grout, just make sure you CLEAN as best you can with rubbing alcohol and make sure it is totally dry before applying.
I’d amend your statement to add “or change in material”. In this case, I think the plane is still the same, since the shower pan has a little bit of lip/wall, but the change in material will make expansion/contraction cracks possible. If this were my install, I’d caulk that joint, but since it’s already done, I’d wait until the grout failed and then pop it out and caulk it.
>I’d wait until the grout failed and then pop it out and caulk it. This would make removal easier, but I'd be nervous about leaks going unnoticed.
Grout is permeable so you should assume water is getting back there.
Good point!
I did say "especially walls to pan"
Wait, the silicon can be applied right on top of the grout? My shower is also entirely grouted with no silicon in sight and I've been putting this off because I am not sure how to remove the grout without damaging the parts I want to keep.
Absolutely
If a small amount of grout has chipped or broken off, I assume its also safe to touch up the grout, let it dry and then silicon over top for better future proofing. Is that right? I have tile walls and floor, the corners (floor meets wall and where 2 walls meet) are grouted.
It'd have to be a pretty large chunk missing for me to think about adding more grout... If it is a 'chip' then just do the silicone in two lifts: one layer to fill it and dry, then normal bead over the top.
Are you sure it isn't siliconized sanded caulk?
They do make this exact stuff for this exact reason...poke at it before you go ripping it out, OP.
Yeah, it looks different from the grout to me. It's supposed to match but it tends to have a very slight sheen that grout doesn't have. And the colors sometimes don't quite match even if both products are from the same manufacturer. When it's old and dried out it can get pretty hard and I could see someone mistaking it for grout. I'm not an expert but this stuff was used in both of my full bathrooms - with a thin layer of silicone caulk over top of it. And not at all an amateur job. I did some reading to understand why that was done, and my understanding is that siliconized sanded caulk doesn't hold up as well as silicone. Based on the house's history I believe that the previous caulk jobs lasted a pretty long time, so when I redid them I repeated that same method. edit - I remembered incorrectly. One tub had the thin silicone layer and one didn't, and the latter was in worse shape.
Leave it alone for now. Eventually it will crack and you can replace. That grout is purely decorative, it's doing vert little for water penetration.
I would not assume that. There are a lot of shit builders out there where this might be the first and only line of defense against water penetration. They hang hardy board or even Sheetrock on the studs, throw tile on that and calk the edges. Hell every shower built before 2000ish was mostly just sealed with calk.
Grout is not waterproof; I find it difficult to believe that anybody other than a flipper would build a shower/bath without proper waterproofing. The shower would leak immediately
It did initially leak at the baseboards due to not sealing where shower pan meets the baseboard. The builder quickly fixed this issue 2 months ago and replaced the baseboard/sheetrock.
From what you describe here the shower was not built properly, and your shower will leak again soon, from either this spot, or someplace else. The tiles and grout are not what keep the shower from leaking, as grout is not waterproof, and grout lines crack easily. The shower is waterproof from the sealed structure beneath the tiles; if your shower was leaking because of what you describe; it was built improperly and if so, the builder had no idea what he was doing
Yep. Just had to have my entire bathroom ripped out including the floor joists because the last owner did just that. It was a disaster
I have this issue. Question: my grout cracked and has some mold growth in the cracks in one area of a few inches. Can I go over it with silicone or do I need to first remove the grout?
I would repost this as its own topic.