Submitted by eagleslanding t3_10jkdw2 in DIY
The caulk in my shower running along a 270 degree edge / ledge wore out and needs to be replaced. I tried running silicone caulk along the edge, and it stuck in initially but came out the first time it was cleaned. Is there anything special I should do in terms of approach or materials to successfully caulk this?
Thank you! This is very helpful and glad to hear that I’m not totally incompetent for having issues here
Wear a dust mask while grinding the grout! That dust is not good for you
Thank you! Is N95 sufficient or do I need a respirator?
A regular dust mask from Lowe's or Home Depot would do the trick, but if you want to spring for a 3M half face respirator you can usually find one that has a combination particulate and vapor filter cartridge. P95 or P100 filters are your friend for anything cementitious you are grinding. Very occasional grinding with a dust mask will not be too bad, but repeated exposure damages your lungs. Just make sure to ventilate the space well and maybe try to use a shop vac to capture the dust as you generate it or even consider using water as you grind to cut down on dust even getting into the atmosphere. A respirator is an easy safeguard though in case you don't want to mess around with all of the other dust control systems. Make sure it's snug on your face though
Technically, any mask meant for filtering breathing air is a respirator. N95 is alright, we called for that any time concrete would be cut or drilled dry. But you would need to take care that it's fitted well. If you can't find any regular masks that fit well you might need to go with an elastomeric half-mask or something.
Yeah, you gotta push it in deep..
I mean, 270 degrees? That’s just 90 degrees with extra steps 🤣
You don't. You grout the tiles there.
The simplest way is to take a piece of rigid cardboard and a straight edge. Cut out the shape of your edge and drag it length wise down the edge.
In your case, apply a little more caulk than you need and you would cut out a 90⁰ section of the cardboard (round the corner a bit) and then start at one wall and work your way to the other. This should deliver the results you are looking for.
Edit: you should look for caulk removal tools as well
Great, that sounds very straight forward
Cardboard as in the back of a legal pad might be what you want, right.
re grout is the way.
alternately, you could clean it out and fill with epoxy. get yourself a grout removal tool, and get as much out as possible. then put tape on each surface, leaving maybe 1/16 from the tile edge for epoxy spillover. you want to overfill just a little bit, and when the epoxy starts to get tacky (but before its fully cured) you peel the tape, and trim up the epoxy overfill with a razor blade to make a nice edge. ezpz
What is the advantage of grout over caulk here? From what I read you should caulk corners, but I’m a total amateur
Just fyi you caulk inside corners. Don’t grout inside corners. But an outside corner - as you saw someone explained it should be a butt joint that allows the vertical face to have the grout line there so that the top/horizontal surface is all tile.
grout is theoretically waterproof and rigid, where caulk is waterproof and flexible. the flexibility is because it will go through extreme swelling/shrinking cycles and over time will separate from its surface and eventually fail. grout does not have this problem and is more permanent.
Sorry but this is incorrect on both key points.
First, grout is not waterproof. It doesn't pass water easily but it's not waterproof.
Second, the reason you caulk changes of plane is precisely because caulk is flexible. The two planes will swell and shrink at different rates over time, causing grout to fail. Having said that, grouting a mitered tile assembly around a niche is quite common because the one plane is so small it won't move much.
Grout isn't waterproof, it is porous.
modern grout is waterproof
Any cement based grout which is the most commonly used grout is not waterproof. Water resistant, but not water proof. Epoxy grout on the other hand is, but it is not as common.
i said modern grout, yes? which would all have an epoxy element to them.
also, i said "theoretically” waterproof originally. didn’t think that the minuscule amount of water absorption was material to the conversation.
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The pros would use an akemi epoxy to fill then polish it with a rotary sander / polisher.
Grout will do the job but may pop out after a period of time as it’s a small joint.
To caulk blue tape either side then a very small bead I guess, probably wet finger finish. I’d do grout personally as it’s easy to remove if you mess up.
Use 3M 5200. If it’s not at your hardware store, check with a Marine Supply or order off Amazon.
Very carefully! Lol
What about using some peel and stick caulking? If you could find some that wasnt very wide, that may work and look pretty decent.
not sure why you're getting downvoted. I too saw the peel and stick ones and I think they make one that you can fold down the middle to form a corner bead. Is peel-and-stick "caulking" known to be useless trash? Are they known to lose adhesion fairly quick? What if they're properly prepped with alcohol and such? Just curious before I try some out myself...Thanks
Thanks, me either. I mean, it's not amazing quality, but it would work in a pinch, especially if OP didnt want to spend a lot of time dicking around with a frustrating situation. Meh. Just a thought.
UpgrayeddSmurphy t1_j5kz5ca wrote
Typically, this isn't an edge that would necessarily need caulking. What should've been done is bring the surface tile flush to the face of (or just proud) the wall tile, so the grout edge is on the flat of the wall, instead of the corner of the transition.
Secondly, an 1/8th on an inch is minimum for a grout edge to bind well, and this looks too thin, which is likely what's giving you problems.
You should remove as much of the grout that's in there, maybe use an angle grinder with a diamond wheel, or dremmel to help widen the gap just a scotche.
Make it clean as possible, and wipe it down with something like mineral spirits. Tape the two outside edges and then caulk it with a good shower n tile caulk (dap 3.0 I like), making sure to "push" it in deep.
The alcohol will help dry it out before the caulking, cuz any water left in there is just going to fail your silicone. Also: it says 2 or 3 hour "shower ready", but I always recommend letting it cure overnight before you get it too wet.