What do I use where the tile backsplash meets the granite?

16 years ago

I thought I read a tip about where the tile backsplash meets the granite you should use epoxy (???) or something so it wont crack and has flexibility? I had tile countetops once and tile backpslash and the grout crack between the two, drove me absolutely nuts.

Thanks.

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igloochic

16 years ago

You do freaky things in the same room you keep the coffin??? Kelly...tssskkkk

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Comments (17)

raehelen
16 years ago
You caulk it, don't grout it.

Not sure if people use the kind that dries clear, or paintable.

Haven't got that far yet.

That drove me crazy on my last BS too. Dealing with grout is one of the reasons I haven't picked tile (yet) as a BS.
bob_cville
16 years ago
I know this one.......

At any change of plane (such as between a vertical backsplash and a horizontal counter) use a special caulk (a sanded silconized acrylic latex caulk maybe?) purchased from a tile store (because the tile store will have it in colors that will exactly match the color of the grout)

Thanks to Bill V.
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bill_vincent
16 years ago
The very LAST thing you want to use would be epoxy. I'd prefer to see regular grout first, and this is why--

You're not going to stop movement, no matter what you do. it's the one constant in all building. Now, if you have one rigid surface meeting another, one is going to move against the other. That's also a given, and especially with cabinets and countertops, it's not always natural movement that has to be dealt with, either. There's leaning against the counter, or dropping a bag of groceries. How about the times when you've shut the dishwasher door a little too hard by accident. That vibration that it causes will also affect that countertop/ backsplash joint. What about when someone climbs up on the counter either to change lightbulbs, or get something on the top shelf? We won't even go into people "getting freaky"!! :-)

Anyway, all that causes movement, and that movement must be taken into account, which is the reason for the caulking. If you use something like epoxy, now, you've just joined one rigid material to another rigid material, with an extremely hard material-- one that's harder than either the two materials it joins. Being that movement won't be denied, and that it'll follow the path of least resistance, now that the joint can't crack, what do you think is going to happen?

Not a good thing!! :-)
xoxosmom
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the explanation Bill V. But the grout crack is messy and looks awful. So what can I use that will bend with the movement? A latex buffer for my granite and back-splash so to speak so they can live in harmony. Can I use a sanded siliconized acrylic latex caulk ??? *insert my confused face here* Can my tile guy pick this up at Ace Hardware or where?
bill_vincent
16 years ago
Can I use a sanded siliconized acrylic latex caulk ???

That's exactly what you want to use. He can pick it up in the very same color as your grout from the same place he bought your grout.
nodirthere
16 years ago
Wish I'd known this -my guy used clear silicone-it looks ok-and has held up- but pigmented would look much better.
kitchenkelly
16 years ago
Hey Bill,

I have the cracked grout. Would it be silly to add more grout every once in a while to patch?

FWIW, the grout hasn't cracked because of anything freaky going on here ;-)
bill_vincent
16 years ago
LMAO-- I was WONDERING how long it would take someone to call me on that!!

As for your question, no, it doesn't make much sense at all. Who was it that gave that definition of insanity? :-)

best bet would be to see about finding a siliconized latex caulking to match your grout, scrape out all the grout from that joint, and caulk it. Done. End of story. Period. SSSSSSEEYA!! :-)
kitchenkelly
16 years ago
Fine, fine, fine. Shop for caulk, scrape old grout, caulk it.

That sounds like a lot more fun than doing something freaky in my kitchen :(
kitchenkelly
16 years ago
Go away now.
bill_vincent
16 years ago
coffin??
deegw
16 years ago
Actually, to be more specific, Kelly has some very useful morgue drawers in her kitchen. Her dogs help her with them when they get too full. I was going to post a link but apparently the thread has disappeared.
bill_vincent
16 years ago
Ummmmm, Kelly, ummmmm, just what kind of cooking do you do?

:-)
kitchenkelly
16 years ago
I don't cook.

I DON'T have a coffin. (Barely a dark side....a few old tatoos.)

I do have morgue drawers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Banquette thread with morgue drawers
bill_vincent
16 years ago
And, ummmm what, pray tell, do you keep in your morgue drawers?

(This reminds me of something my ex always used to say to me-- don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answer to! :-) )
sue_ct
16 years ago
OK, I may be dating myself here, but you guys are dredging up childhood memories of someone named Barnabas Collins and reruns of a soap opera called Dark Shadows. I don't have morgue drawers but my college dorm was the Barnabas Collins mansion and it DID have a coffin. If Barnabus is alive today, I am sure he has morgue drawers in his kitchen, too. Any relatives staying with you that you would care to tell us about, Kelly? Does that kitchen serve as a guest room also? :)

Sue