New shower grout cracking

12 years ago

I am a long-time lurker and I believe I already know the answer to my question, just want to double check.

The process of renovating and remodeling a guesthouse behind my house is almost complete. My Dad is going to live in it. I have been doing the final cleaning, odds and ends and what-not stuff.

I know that sealing the grout on porcelain tiled shower walls and the natural stone mosaic on shower floors is kind of controversial. But my dad is not going to squeegy or baby a shower, so I decided to seal the grout on the walls. I decided not to seal the natural stone mosaic floor because the slope is iffy and I think it would be best to allow as much evaporation as possible.

The grout line between the floor and wall is already cracking. Calling the guy that did the work is not an option. Should I go ahead and remove the grout and then replace it with caulk? If so, sanded or unsanded?

Thank you so much for your input and the knowledge I have gained from this forum!

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Comments (5)

terezosa / terriks
12 years ago
It should have been caulked in the first place. All changes in plane should be caulked. You should be able to find caulk that is color (and texture) matched to your grout.
cattyles
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks, terriks. I got it done yesterday. I had already bought the matching caulk for him to use. Obviously, he disagreed (even though he said he would use it) because I found it in the box of leftover supplies.

I took a picture of the huge crack in the grout right between the floor and wall. It's the perfect example of why it should be caulked. It just makes me so mad. I explained why I wanted it done that way and when he rolled his eyes I printed Bill V's tile faq and pointed out that the shower was sitting on slab poured in the '70's (with cracks), surrounded by huge trees in a mix of clay and sand soil. I pointed to all the cracks in the corners of all the walls. I stated that all showers should be done that way but this one doesn't stand a chance unless it's done right.

He agreed but then ignored me, obviously.
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Hello Photostat, Here's the bad news. The window was improperly prepared to receive tile in a wet location. Most probably, the tile was set onto some sort of backerboard fastened to the studs of the window framing, but there was either no waterproofing attempted or insufficient waterproofing applied. In either case, the material under the tile has swollen from the exposure to moisture and this problem will continue. If you just bought this house, and you have proof that they just had this work done, then have your realtor get involved immediately. It's possible that the previous owners are responsible for correcting shoddy work which they contracted in order to sell the house. And this work IS shoddy! Best case scenario, cover the area with plastic sheeting for several weeks to protect it from direct exposure to water and allow it to dry out. When dry it *may* shrink some??? After it's dried out, all of the grout around the window needs to be carved out and replaced with an epoxy grout to completely seal the joints against moisture. No sealer you buy is going to accomplish this, so don't bother looking for one. Sealers keep out dirt, but allow moisture to migrate through the joints. Worst case, the whole shower needs to be redone because a problem at the window suggests that the installer was not competent enough to be trusted to have done the rest of the work correctly. Best of luck, Shaughnn
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"And I’m not sure this is even a real problem." The membrane will provide waterproofing. The caulk and grout? For the moist part, they are there to help the surfaces shed water and to help maintain sanitary surfaces. You've gotten some good answers. Changes in plane are typically caulked. Caulk is flexible and can move when adjacent surfaces move independently of one another. Grout is rigid and can crack. Cracks in grout can be from movement...typically in corners, from differential movement...or because too much water was used in the grout mix or during clean up. Cracks in caulk are usually shrinkage cracks. Not enough caulk was injected in the crack for the caulk to properly bond to the adjacent surfaces...Or too much caulk was injected in a deep crevice, and as the too-deep mass of caulk cured and shrank, the shrinkage forces were strong enough to break the bond between the caulk and the edge of the tile, or they caused the caulk to crack right in the middle of the bead itself. For deep gaps that need to be caulked, a foam rope (backer rod) is inserted into the gap to reduce the depth of the gap. That allows the caulk to be injected in the gap at the proper width-to-depth ratio. Caulk texture? There both color- and texture-matched caulks these days. So if you have sanded grout, you can use a sanded caulk to help maintain joint texture between grout and caulk. Unsanded grout, use regular caulk. Repairs? In general, it's not wise to shmear a thin veneer of caulk over cracked grout. It's better to cut the grout away as best as you can and then properly fill the gap with color- and texture-matching caulk. With a Schluter shower, great care needs to be taken in cutting grout out of the joints. Go too deep and you can violate the integrity of the membrane. Your wall corners will have membrane behind them, with the membrane bridging from one wall to the other. In a non-steam shower, there is a chance that your wall-to-ceiling joints do not. Depends on the habits of the builder. The sooner the repairs are made the better. Grout hardness, ease of color-matching, etc. Good luck with your repairs.
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The problem is that they used grout at all, especially on a surface that's got some flex. You should always use sanded caulk when you've got a change in plane like that. Check the tile section of your local box store-- they'll have many colors and you'll probably find a close match. Check online for reviews of the color you're thinking of buying before you go to get a sense of the true color-- the labels aren't very informative. They should also have colored silicone in the same section which would work too and will probably last longer, especially if that curb gets a lot of water. Silicone is a little harder to work with though, and doesn't have the sand in it to replicate the look of grout.
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brickeyee
12 years ago
"He agreed but then ignored me, obviously."

Fire him and hire someone that knows what they are doing.
bill_vincent
12 years ago
I think it's a little late for that. Let me ask you a question, cattyles-- have you paid him in full yet?
cattyles
Original Author
12 years ago
I have. And he claims I weasled out of part of his payment. Our contract stated that if the work was completed by Nov. 15th I would pay a $400 bonus. He missed it by 6 weeks. On Dec. 28th, the punch list was 2 pages.

I read the forums for 6 weeks before I hired him, too. I'm a natural researcher and thought I had done everything right but it's the same boring story y'all have responded to over and over. He has moved on to other jobs and pretty much gives me the "double back flip". The shower is just one small part of the cf.

The whole bathroom was gutted, plumbing moved and a load-bearing wall altered to allow for a closet. The little house is 630 sq. ft. My dad is 78 and finally admitted that his full-time, manual labor job was "getting to be too much". I wanted his last home to be as nice as possible, though small. Not "marble and $1000 light fixture" nice but "heated floor and well-functioning for an old cowboy" nice. Ya know?

Then in a few years I'll do the marble and soaker tub stuff for me, hahah!

The GC is also probably a little reluctant to come back since my dad and exhusband (best friend) have both threatened to inflict various forms of bodily harm upon him.

Which I would have condoned with pleasure if I didn't love both of them dearly!

I really didn't mean to get wordy. I've done enough searches on here to know I'm not the only person that didn't get excellant work out of a remodel job. The important thing is that I can finish what's left, with their help, get my dad moved in and for him to enjoy some retirement while he still has his health. And for neither of them to be arrested for inflicting bodily harm! :)

New shower grout cracking

Comments (5)

terezosa / terriks

cattyles
Original Author

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New shower grout cracking

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terezosa / terriks

cattylesOriginal Author

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cattylesOriginal Author

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cattyles
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Original Author