Silicone Colour Needed

[DavieA]

Hi Just tiled around a bath and am wondering what colour silicone i should use for the corners and around the bath , tiles are a cement grey colour and grout is Bal Microflex Grey all bought by the customer so should i be using Bal Microseal Grey to match grout colour, dark grey to match tile or clear and should the silicone around the bath be white? Ive been thinking of this for a day or so and still no further forward.

Cheers

[oldgit]

for me it think i would use white around the bath (providing the bath is white) and dark Grey in your internals.
mapei do a great colour range in silicone.

[Daveyboy]

Hi Davie..white, clear, light or dark grey silicon..I always try to look at the bath and tiles from a distance and see which grabs my attention the most..sometimes it's the contrast of the grout between the tiles, the tiles blending in with the grout or the starkness of the white...Before siliconing, I always check with the client as to the final colour choice, afterall, he/she are the ones who will have to live with it....

[Daz]

I gotta agree with Davey,

It's a judgement call, so advise your customer the options (and maybe your recommendation) then let/help them decide.

At the end of the day you just want a happy customer.

[MICK the Tiler]

I'd match the grout colour personally, 2 or 3 different colours can make your job look a bit mismatched. Just think of the internal and around the top of the bath as an extension of a grout line.

[GazTech]

Hi Just tiled around a bath and am wondering what colour silicone i should use for the corners and around the bath , tiles are a cement grey colour and grout is Bal Microflex Grey all bought by the customer so should i be using Bal Microseal Grey to match grout colour, dark grey to match tile or clear and should the silicone around the bath be white? Ive been thinking of this for a day or so and still no further forward.

Cheers

These two products work hand in hand. Both contain Microban, therefore no mould and if you match with the silicone, we give your customer 25yr guarantee....

[oldgit]

do you really need to grout the internals just grout them for now explain to the customer that if there is any cracking you will then deal with it.
on a white bath i would never use anything else on the bath except white.

[MICK the Tiler]

do you really need to grout the internals just grout them for now explain to the customer that if there is any cracking you will then deal with it.
on a white bath i would never use anything else on the bath except white.

Use caution here, try not to give the client something to complain about latter. To be safe if your not experienced get the client to pick a silicone colour. Then complete the silicone work to there specification. You do not want to return to fix cracking grout later.

Remember reputation is everything in the tiling trade. People talk.

[monty]

Use caution here, try not to give the client something to complain about latter. To be safe if your not experienced get the client to pick a silicone colour. Then complete the silicone work to there specification. You do not want to return to fix cracking grout later.

Remember reputation is everything in the tiling trade. People talk.

Agree 100% , Just ask customer what colour silicone they would prefer rather than go back to repair cracked grout.

[marc1106]

when doing a job that has 2 or 3 different colours clashing, i go for CLEAR evreytime as this lets all the colours come through as they should, (just my opinion though)

[bigandy]

i would normally go with white on bath (assuming bath is white). if you use the grey and the finish is nt spot on on the bath it will show but the grey might match in best, how about using cornertape to get that nice finish on the bath then you should have no problem which ever colour you go for!

[MICK the Tiler]

when doing a job that has 2 or 3 different colours clashing, i go for CLEAR evreytime as this lets all the colours come through as they should, (just my opinion though)

So do you grout then use clear over the top?

[oldgit]

Use caution here, try not to give the client something to complain about latter. To be safe if your not experienced get the client to pick a silicone colour. Then complete the silicone work to there specification. You do not want to return to fix cracking grout later.

Remember reputation is everything in the tiling trade. People talk.

personally i hate to see silicone in the internals and only use it on stud walls when a bath only situation.

[marc1106]

yep always

[MICK the Tiler]

personally i hate to see silicone in the internals and only use it on stud walls when a bath only situation.

You should rethink that technique, all internals or anywhere movement may eventuate should have a flexable joint, I'm not sure, but does British standards call for this?

[oldgit]

You should rethink that technique, all internals or anywhere movement may eventuate should have a flexable joint, I'm not sure, but does British standards call for this?

why would there be movement?ive used this method for 30 years no problem.
as i said i think it looks crap.
personally i think a lot of tilers use it to cover there irregular cuts.
wherever there is a real need to seal then i will but otherwise i dont.
i have been doing domsetic for 15 years plus and 75% of my work is referral.
each to there own but thats the way i do it.

[oldgit]

also with regard to silcone and bathrooms,if the suite is new and the plumber is coming back to second fit i dont silicone at all the reason for this more often than not the bath has slight movement and it aint my job to secure it and then 6 months later it has pulled or lifted around the bath and i get a call to repair it only causes problems for yourself when the real problem is the fitting of the bath or shower in many cases.

[MICK the Tiler]

why would there be movement?ive used this method for 30 years no problem.
as i said i think it looks crap.
personally i think a lot of tilers use it to cover there irregular cuts.
wherever there is a real need to seal then i will but otherwise i dont.
i have been doing domsetic for 15 years plus and 75% of my work is referral.
each to there own but thats the way i do it.

Whether you have been doing something for 30 years or that it might look crap is irrelavant. What does British Standards call for?

[oldgit]

Whether you have been doing something for 30 years or that it might look crap is irrelavant. What does British Standards call for?

you tell me

[MICK the Tiler]

You don't have a copy I take it?

[oldgit]

no i dont.
but with regard to what british standards would say about movement joints this would imo not apply to bath area internals they are not or should not be susceptible to movement in solid wall situations so therefore dont need siliconing.
also if the use of silcone in the corner joint is to prevent water getting in the joint then every tile would require silicone.

[GazTech]

I always silicone prior to grouting anything. Just flirting silicone over a grouted joint / bath interface is pointless IMO. And corners where different walls meet is for expansion / building movement reasons is it not ?

[oldgit]

as i have said you have the method you believe to be correct and i use a method i believe to be correct.
i just prefer the finished effect to look great rather than the over the top belt and braces approach which is taught nowadays.

[MICK the Tiler]

Before we/I get off track I'd like to clear the air, I'm not trying to rub up anyone the wrong way, You are an experienced tiler like myself and you do things your way and I do things my way. I work within the boundries of my local Australian Standards I have to by law, or my licsense will be cancelled.

Opinions are fine, and everyone has an opinion, but they are just that "An opinion." Opinions don't matter when and if things go wrong. What matters is the rules and regulations that are set out within your own countries work standards. I find it very strange that an experienced tiler who has obviously earnt a great deal of respect in the industry, not to own a copy of the British Standards, even just for curiosity sake. How does one know what is correct if one has not familarized himself/herself with the knowledge obtained within a local Standard.

I'm one for evidence to a proven technique one that has been backed up with written proof, times change, materials change, tiling has changed and along with it, the guidlines we all work to have changed.

I certainly tile differently now than when I first started 25 years ago I think most of the older tilers have. I have moved with the times and the ever changing ammendments that make up my local Australian Standard. I was just curious as to what your local standard had to say about silicone joints in tiling work, That's all, I apologize if I come across a little rough that was not my intention, I'm just interested in how things are done on your end.

[oldgit]

i dont know any tilers who have a copy of the british standartds i also didnt realise you were in austrailia.
there is no regulation as far as i know with regard to what we are discussing.
if i give you another example of where you and i would not silicone you may see my point.
if you have a half tiled room but on the bath wall its fully tiled would you silicone where the tile meet the wall that is not tiled?.
i most definitely would not but this joint is as likely to move as a wall where the tile meets a tile.
if you have a timber framed house the situation is totally different the joints are 90% imo more likely to crack than they are on a solid brick construction.
i do tell customers the option to grout or silicone the internal and also tell them that it is also 100% less likely to show cracks if siliconed but that the appearance is not as good imo.
i will also go back and regrout if it cracks or silicone if necessary,the latter has only happened a handful of times.
dont worry about rubbing me up the wrong way mick i do it all the time i have my opinion and unless convinced otherwise i stick to it,this is what its about to me this forum we all have different ways some right some wrong.
hows the weather your end of the world,raining here.