Tile guy telling me truth?

15 years ago

Hi, and thanks in advance

Had kitchen renovation, ended in June. Had granite counter and marble backsplash. The crease where the marble and granite meet behind the sink is already breaking down.

He said he used a silicone caulking there (same color as grout). He blamed the house (found out any problem contractor has... will always blame the house). Said that it broke down because expansion/contraction.

There is another crack in the grout in the bathroom, that is not exposed to outside wall, and said that was also b/c expansion/contraction, the wall is moving (there was some issues in floor uneveness from settling - house from 1978).

So is this true? Or more of a problem with his installation, just 6-8 months. He just cemented the marble to the drywall, some other methods I had heard of was using chickenwire also as a backing for the cement. His repair solution is to cut out that silicone in kitchen, and replace it. In the bathroom just put that silicone over the crack. Is there a bigger issue/water damage already in the bathroom??

Thanks

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Comments (12)

User
15 years ago
is the crack just at the joint where the splash meet the countertop - in other words where there is a change in plane of surfaces?
cheri127
15 years ago
I think the tile guy is telling you the truth. We live in a 100 year old house that's still moving. The caulk between our bookcase molding and ceiling has to be re-done every few years. The grout between our shower walls and floor cracked pretty quickly. I never caulked it, though. The floor slants toward the drain in the middle so I don't worry about it. The grout between the kitchen backsplash and countertop is also gone in places. I expected that. It doesn't bother me and since I don't like caulk, I just let it be.
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annettacm
15 years ago
We have fixed cracks only have them come back the next year. Where our drywall wall meets the ceiling, it expands every spring. And a crack down our corner drywall in the foyer. Every spring. Inside walls and outside walls are affected. I honestly think some houses settle constantly with the weather. We have VERY creaky floors that change in position with the change in temps. In winter, it's our closet. In summer, it's the hallway. This house is only 12 years old.

He should caulk where the backsplash meets the counter. If he did and it has moved or cracked, it is the house. Oh, and where our backsplash is caulked to our counter in the bathroom (redone 2 years ago), there is a big gap now, caulk has cracks and busted loose... the wall (inside wall) seems to have shifted. I swear, maybe we are built on sand....
motherof3sons
15 years ago
Same issues here and it is from settling. Living in an older house - though mine is 60 years older than yours - the caulk gun becomes your best friend.
brianadarnell
15 years ago
If I am understanding your post correctly, I think the crack at the backsplash is normal. I think it is because of the change in material (from granite to tile). This happened in our old house (with a recently remodeled kitchen). It didn't take long before the grout started cracking off in certain places.
User
15 years ago
I have had two NEW homes.... which have also had this issue. It only takes a matter of months :) As above, it needs to be touched up on-going..... boo!
jejvtr
15 years ago
Change of season will often be the culprit as well - heat, cool, differences in humidity will cause cracking.
Jodi_SoCal
15 years ago
Granite is heavy. Houses settle. New construction and cabinets settle. Grout and caulk give. It's all part of the process as far as I know.

Our tile installer told me outright when she was done that she will most likely be back within six months to fix the gap and there would be no charge. It's now 2.5 years later and no separation but it's good to know that if it does happen, that it's normal.

Jodi-
weedmeister
15 years ago
No one can tell if your house is settling unless they can see it themselves.

In a situation like this, where the walls or floors can move, I would think that the way to mount things that are on separate surfaces (wall, floor) is to not connect them (caulk) so that they can move separately. In the kitchen, you mount the granite to the counters and the backspash to the wall, but you don't caulk the joint between the countertop and the backsplash. This way they can move separately.

When you say 'cement', I hope you meant something else. There are specific adhesives for attaching tile (ceramic, marble, granite, etc) to a wall.

Chicken wire sounds more like a plastering job than a tile job. This is when you are putting up a wall of something that does not adhere that well to what is underneath it.
Katie S
15 years ago
Sanded caulk looks JUST like grout and should bend a little more and crack less.
marcolo
15 years ago
Did her grout the change of plane between the counter and tile before caulking it? If so, that's wrong. It's supposed to be just caulk, not caulk over grout. Which is why the bathroom fix is wrong--if there's grout there, it should come out before caulking.
xrayvision
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks

So to summarize:

Caulk is correct material (sanded grout) where granite and tile backsplash meet.

But should it break down so quickly (6 months)??

So marcolo: so where the crack in grout is in bathroom in corner where tile meets ceiling, should he take out grout, and fill with sanded caulk or re-grout. But putting sanded caulk over grout is incorrect?

Thanks again