JASON PETTINATO TILE HAS BEEN SELECTED AS A PARTICIPANT FOR UPDATING
THE:
2011 TILE (C54) CALIFORNIA STATE EXAM
Caulking Keeps Tile StrongYour tile and grout needs your help. Especially where horizontal areas meet vertical ones. For example, Have you seen a tile kitchen counter have a crack or hairline separation where it meets the backsplash? This is fairly normal and does not indicate a structural problem. You see, any time you have expansion and contraction, which can be a temperature change by itself, you may have those visible cracks in your grout. The horizontal surface may move at a slightly different rate than the vertical area. This tiny movement between the two areas usually cause the separation.
Grout is not flexible, even the modified stuff doesn't have enough additives to "flex" and absorb that movement. Grout is mostly cement and does not perform very well with moving areas. So you would caulk that counter where it meets the splash with the same color as the grout. Most home improvement stores and all tile stores will carry a tile specific caulk with several colors available to match grout. The caulking can absorb much more movement than grout and make those cracks disappear!
Bathrooms, especially shower floors really need caulking. For some reason, you can just about bet that there will be a crack all the way around the shower floor. Expansion, contraction, and temperature changes i'm sure are a big part of why. That's why a high quality caulk is recommended. ceramictilepro usually picks up a tube of the same color when getting grout. I like to run a bead at window areas to keep the water from finding it's way below the tile and grout. The flexibility of caulking allows quite a bit more protection from water intrusion. Expect a 2-3 year life that would need replacing to keep protecting your tile and areas below the surface.
