Tile does not expand; did he perhaps mean the baseboard?

I thought he said it 's the tile that expands, but I could have misunderstood. Either way, do you know of any reason why it would be inadvisable to caulk? Thanks!

The tile guy is correct in that the floors and walls can move and the caulk won't hold up. Use a shoe molding of a profile that works with your base which will bend and conform (to some extent) to your floor. Definitely Do Not let painters caulk.

Caulk can be flexible, however it’s a tough job to caulk at the floor. The caulk absolutely needs to be covered with paint, so it is really a tape job to ensure the paint completely covers all the caulk. It caulk is not painted it gets filthy at the floor level, and can not be cleaned.

Shoe works if the tile is level, otherwise it is a very tricky job and obviously will still have gaps at the grout joints.

In this particular case I would be listening to the tile pro, not the painter. Very hard for homeowners to know who trust, and then the opinions of so many on these forums only complicates that.

Adding a piece of molding there will only draw more attention to the area. I think it looks fine, just needs fresh paint.

Agree with others....leave as is, with the exception of getting the moulding painted.

No caulk it will not hold up to all the dirt and floor debris, also the tile guy is right for technical reasons.

grout caulk, hate quarter round