Spectralock epoxy grout cracked twice, two separate applications

5 years ago

We hired a local tile and grout company to regrout our tiled shower floor and also re-caulk in the kitchen where the backsplash meets the quartz countertop. They recommended the same epoxy grout for the kitchen as for the shower which was the Spectralock product. The shower seems to be doing fine, tho I worry that the corners were done with the same material which I'm reading could be a problem. The backsplash grout has cracked twice now, but only about 3' long directly behind the sink below the window. The first time it cracked they came back, removed everything and redid it and now it's cracked again. Also it is stained in a small area which is odd because we've had a dry towel protecting it for almost the entire time since it was grouted. This is a newer home, about 5 years old. The old caulking never cracked but kept disintegrating which we had redone 3x in 4 years. So my questions are, why does the epoxy grout keep cracking? And what material would you recommend for this area that often gets wet that doesn't look like shiny silicone?

Featured Answer

millworkman

5 years ago

Changes in plane need to be caulked not grouted for this exact reason. Remove all the grout and replace with 100% silicone caulk.

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Comments (7)

kudzu9
5 years ago
Amen...
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Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
5 years ago
You do not grout changes of plane, as millworkman stated. Spectralock is a great grout product, but should be used as grout between tile on a plane, not for the changes of plane where silicone caulk is required. 101 tiling.
Seabornman
5 years ago
If you don't want the shiny silicone look at the backsplash, you can use a matching caulk, either from the grout manufacturer or another manufacturer. I have used the Mapei Keracaulk successfully.
Susan C
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for your replies. Weird that their only business is grouting and they said they'd never had a problem doing the backsplash countertop spot with the epoxy grout. Is there something besides regular caulking? Or is there a good quality caulking you'd recommend? We've already replaced the caulking that was there 3 times because it disintegrated from getting wet.
kudzu9
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Once the inappropriate grouting is fully removed, any decent quality silicone caulk will take care of the problem. And I’m talking less than $10 for a tube.

P.S.: If these people say they’ve never had a problem with using grout where there is a change of planes, they are both lying and incompetent.
millworkman
5 years ago
100% silicone caulk would be the best and like kudzu mentions should be in the 7-8 $ range per tube.