Silicon or grout?

[gomez]

Hi all
looking for a bit more info / advice, bathroom /wet room tiled now ( in porc 300x600) just wondering about the pros and cons regarding silicon. I know which joints to seal (shower corners floor corners etc.), but here's the question, in members experience is it best to grout and then silicon, or silicon straight into the open joint (2mm). and grout up to it?
Thanks for your attention.

[cuttintiles]

never grout corners, or floor joints!

use a mathing silicone!

best wishes

[united]

Grout first leaving the internal corners and joints between walls/floors then fill these with silicone to form an expansion joint

[kilty55]

same as united grout your tiles leving internals and siliocne once grout has cured

[DJS]

Hi Gomez,

To keep the joints free from grout, I pack them with torn up cardboard from the boxes of tile's. Leave the grout 24hrs to dry, then start with the silicone.

I remove the cardboard during the first washdown, then give the ends of the grout line's some attention with a sponge to tidy up any excess.

Hope that helps.

[gomez]

Once again chaps
Thanks for your input, makes perfect sense. Also thanks for the added tips. always open to suggestions. Heres a bit of a tip back, when I was cutting the tiles (8mm porc) i was getting one or two with nibs left on the waste side, obviously the required good tile had the nib missing of the cut. If you have loads of tiles not a prob, but if your short you need to save all you can, anyway i found that if I could reclaim the nib of the waste side cleanly then i could stick it back with a spray on contact adhesive. leave it for 10 minute's then the tile can be used.

[merlecollins]

Heres a bit of a tip back, when I was cutting the tiles (8mm porc) i was getting one or two with nibs left on the waste side, obviously the required good tile had the nib missing of the cut. If you have loads of tiles not a prob, but if your short you need to save all you can, anyway i found that if I could reclaim the nib of the waste side cleanly then i could stick it back with a spray on contact adhesive. leave it for 10 minute's then the tile can be used.

Gomez, if this is happening regularly with those tiles and no matter how hard you score them you still get 'snips' then just run your grinder along the first inch of your scored line before snapping the tile

[SandyFloor]

Re. silicon....the reason this needs to be done is to compensate for the movement in the walls ( forming an expansion joint as United says). If you only grout in the corners ( even flexible grout) the chances are it will crack before long which not only looks bad but can cause a disaster in a shower. Its alarming how many 'tilers' don't do this.

Thats a good tip from Merle there. You should get all your cuts 100% with this method.

[gomez]

ok. Thanks for the swift reply, if I understand correctly the grinder disc will leave a 3mm/4mm groove or cut out in the tile, if i want to use both sides of the tile one of them will have a grinder cut. Ok if the offcut is waste but does this method work if I want to use both sides of the tile? It was suggested that I double score the first inch of the cut but I was still getting the same problem. Any thoughts?

[SandyFloor]

I think you've misunderstood. You score the tile as you would normally and then cut through the tile along the score about an inch or so. You can use a grinder or saw. You then split the tile as usual. Some times you may need to cut in an inch from both ends.

[jay]

ok. Thanks for the swift reply, if I understand correctly the grinder disc will leave a 3mm/4mm groove or cut out in the tile, if i want to use both sides of the tile one of them will have a grinder cut. Ok if the offcut is waste but does this method work if I want to use both sides of the tile? It was suggested that I double score the first inch of the cut but I was still getting the same problem. Any thoughts?

not a good idea to double score as it causes problems sounds like you may be scoring and breaking wrong or the wheel in your cutter is shot

[Phil Hobson]

As Kev (Merle Collins) with some porcelain I do exactly the same score tile, then run first couple of inches on the flat bed. Make sure you keep to the waste side of your score line. As for silicone I sometimes find clear works well as it takes on the colour of the tile

[DJS]

I'm sure I read a tip about this problem, and they recommended running the wheel backwards over the first 2 inches of the tile, then run the wheel forwards over the whole tile as normal.

It maybe your not putting the same pressure on the first part of the tile. Thats why your left with the little nib.

If you try this and still get the same problem, I would recommend what the others said.

Good Luck

[gomez]

Hi
Thanks for all the input.
The cutter I am using is a big clincker and it cuts the cross cuts (300mm) ok all the time the problem is with the long 600 cuts, it has not done much in terms of cutting, just one bathroom 30 mtr2 of tiles so I would have thought that the wheel might have a bit of life in it yet. probably it is my technique. Tried the cut on the bed tip and it works perfectly. The running back tip I've tried but still get the same result about 10-15% snips left on.
The cutting is finished now but thanks to all for your interest and advice, it is all logged for the future.
Cheers
Gomez

[jay]

dont be scared to try different methods of cutting all tiles cut different and you will learn as you go scoring lighter applying pressure with one hand on tile as you break just a couple