Shower Corner Grout: Hairline Crack

A

Anrich

New Member
Good day everyone.

I am a complete newbie looking for some advice from some seasoned veterans.

I recently moved into a new property with an en-suite added to one of the rooms; last night, I noticed a hairline crack running the vertical length of the shower corner grouting.

I have read that you should use caulk in corners where the tiles change planes. Is this the case, or should I be re-grouting the corner? (Please see attached image)

Furthermore, above the shower grouting, the drywall corner join has a hairline crack that may have caused the grout cracking. (See attached image)

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers!
Anrich
shower Corner-min.jpg Shower and Drywall-min.jpg
 
Corners shouldn’t be grouted they should be siliconed. Use a good quality one like Dow Corning sanitary sealant and if u are going to attempt to do it yourself make sure u watch some tutorials as it can be very messy if u don’t know what u are doing and look awful.
 
pppmacca43 said:
Corners shouldn’t be grouted they should be siliconed. Use a good quality one like Dow Corning sanitary sealant and if u are going to attempt to do it yourself make sure u watch some tutorials as it can be very messy if u don’t know what u are doing and look awful.
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Great, thank you very much!

I want to try this myself and learn something for a change. I will make sure to watch a tutorial.
In this case, would I use a grouting saw to remove the grouting entirely and then fill the corner with the sealant?

Finally, is there a way to colour match the Dow sealant to the existing grout?

Thanks again.
 
Grout looks white to me in photos. So just Dow 785+ sanitary sealant. If it’s not white other brands of silicone that are good are mapei, I think screwfix sell it and it comes in a variety of colours. Get a decent brand whatever you do, as the cheaper ones aren’t as good and will go mouldy quicker.
I don’t think u need to rake out the grout. Just make sure when u silicone everything is bone dry or the silicone won’t stick. Also it may be worth buying some silicone profiling tools.
1: make sure area is clean and completely dry
2: cut silicone nozzle at an approximate 45 degree angle
3: apply silicone using a gun, making sure of no gaps for spray to get behind in next step
4: spray silicone with water mixed with a little fairy liquid
5: Tool silicone
6: leave to dry for 24 hours or to manufactures instructions

like i say watch some you tube videos and they will be much more detailed than I can be.
 
you can just run a flat bladed screwdriver down the grout to remove any loose bits of grout, and then silicone over. Masking tap and a profiling tool will be your friend

(pppmacca beat me to it, more advice in his post)
 
pppmacca43 said:
Grout looks white to me in photos. So just Dow 785+ sanitary sealant. If it’s not white other brands of silicone that are good are mapei, I think screwfix sell it and it comes in a variety of colours. Get a decent brand whatever you do, as the cheaper ones aren’t as good and will go mouldy quicker.
I don’t think u need to rake out the grout. Just make sure when u silicone everything is bone dry or the silicone won’t stick. Also it may be worth buying some silicone profiling tools.
1: make sure area is clean and completely dry
2: cut silicone nozzle at an approximate 45 degree angle
3: apply silicone using a gun, making sure of no gaps for spray to get behind in next step
4: spray silicone with water mixed with a little fairy liquid
5: Tool silicone
6: leave to dry for 24 hours or to manufactures instructions

like i say watch some you tube videos and they will be much more detailed than I can be.
Click to expand...

Thank you, you have given me a great starting point!

Regarding the sealant gun, would the no-nonsense gun do the job? No Nonsense Sealant Gun | Caulking Guns | Screwfix.com
Or would you recommend another product?
 
That’s pretty much the same gun I use. I have tried the more expensive fancy ones but always go back to a standard type gun like that. When u are doing it, each time you have finished applying it, press the metal lever at the handle end of the gun to relieve the pressure and stop it from pushing more out.
 
Well done. Shame the original fitters didn’t do a proper job and silicone the corner, but I’m glad you sorted it and that the advice helped.
 
I-Man said:
have you sent this to @fizzy2 yet? :D;)
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Haha - just seen this thread. None of the corners were cracked on my daughters rooms but they are solid tied brick walls.
It seems that the silicon has become the answer to mitigate the issues caused by modern cheap & unstable construction methods.
It's funny... I know someone with a new house that's had the builders back several times to fix cracks and now they tell him 'it's normal' (with or without tiles).
 
JimTiler said:
Ah, next time I price a bathroom refurb I will insist on the walls being knocked down and rebuilt in solid brick just so I don’t have to bodge the corners with silicone! :rolleyes:
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Ho ho ho - merry Christmas. I know it's all in the preparation, but rebuilding a wall may be going a tad too far. If you haven't got clay tiles on clay brick walls with similar thermal & humidity expansion coefficients to compliment each other, I'd stick to the modern solution - use a flexible plaster in the corner of flexible walls. A modern solution to mitigate modern internal cheapo construction methods (floating/unbonded plasterboard, reconstituted unseasoned wood and aero bar plastics), assembled with nail guns & PU adhesives.
 
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