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larkin04

Grout edges advice please!

9 years ago
We're installing Carrara tile and along the bullnose the grout color does not look good. Within the tile, color is great but what would you do at the edges?? This looks horrible.

There's bullnose trim at the edge of the tub and along the baseboard.

Comments (11)

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    the baseboards weren't cleaned properly. as for the gap, it's somewhat common. usually a caulking is used to fill in the gaps. you can find one to match or get the paintable caulk.

    what you're seeing is the thinset. scrape off the excess and caulk will fill in the gap

  • 9 years ago

    Against the wall should be caulk, not grout. If they used a poor color choice, it can easily be redone.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Why is there such a big gap between the tile and wall? The tile should sit flush on the wall and grout caulking used to cover where tile and wall meet. Same goes for the baseboard.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    @Cinar - that gap is most likely the function of having to use more thinset to level the wall for the tile. I'm guessing but that is generally the case. This can be fixed. Just get the tiler back and give him the advice above and let him/her know the way it is -- is not acceptable.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    @Flo, Yes I figured after I left the msg last. The wall is out of whack and should have been fixed when the bathroom was gutted. What an eye sore!

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Yep. Hope it gets fixed to your satisfaction.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    When I remodeled my bath, I said several times that I wanted the walls and shower threshold to be plumb and square. It didn't help. that much, though.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    very difficult and seldom seen, to have plumb and square drywall. that would mean the studs have to be perfectly straight and squared as well as drywall. All the tape and mud would have to be perfectly flat. Thats why old school tile guys lath and mud the shower so they can get it flat and square. If your foundation behind the drywall is off and the drywaller doesn't allow for that, then you are going to have uneven walls.

    the other point is those walls could have been ok and the tiler just globbed on too much thinset, leaving a gap. are those tiles about 3/8" thick? hard to tell.

  • PRO
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Installer used a larger trowel to get the tile level. Marble in a shower? Looks great in pics but bad choice. Without knowing exactly why that trowel was chosen it is hard to bash the installer.

    Installer is using colored caulking and it isn't a good match. Yes, the bullnose should have been closer to the wall minimizing the caulk width. It's done so try and fix what you have.

    You can get a better color match caulk. You can also use a regular acrylic paintable caulk and paint the wall color. This will mask your eye seeing the large gap. Lastly you can skim out the walls to lessen the gap and then use the correct caulk.

    Love the floor but what it the skinny piece at the tub? Also the pattern going from one wall to the other is backwards it goes from 3/4 piece to 3/4 piece vs 3/4 to 1/4 piece. Why doesn't the caulk not match in the corners of the walls? Is it caulked or grouted?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    good point on the layout wannabath. if this is real marble, he could have bullnose the outside edge on the tall wall and not had to run those thin vertical tiles. He should have kept his wide tile and run those to the edge, finishing off the edge w/a bullnose. those small verticals next to the vertical window framing is too much.

    as for the baseboard, they make an actual baseboard molding in this tile. that should have been used.