Newly Built House - Grout Against Baseboard

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

I'm in the process of purchasing a newly built house. The floor throughout the house is tile, and it looks like the contractors went a bit nuts with the grout. Where the floor tile meets the baseboard, the contractors added grout, and there are many places where the grout has cracked away. Some places look a bit ridiculous with grout piled up. They also grouted around my kitchen cabinets.
Is it typical to use grout up against the baseboard/cabinets? If not, should I hassle the builder to fix it?
Thank you very much for reading this!

Featured Answer

3onthetree

4 years ago

The corner mounds can be removed, probably cleanest would be an oscillating tool. Against the cabinets, buildup removed and a shoemould would look the best. Against the baseboards and door casings/jambs, hiding the grout joint with caulk may look pretty bad and the caulk will constantly need cleaned. A shoemould would work on the baseboard, but will continue the silliness coinciding with the silly profile of baseboard they chose. This is the kind of material choices, trade schedule mismanagement, and installation handiwork I see from inexperienced DIYers, so I would be looking at the rest of the house with a fine tooth comb.

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Comments (7)

Chris
4 years ago
Not ideal. Maybe there’s an easy fix?
Allison Something thanked Chris
kudzu9
4 years ago
The grouting should have been done before any woodwork or cabinets was installed. However, that's no excuse for that sloppy work. Further, with tile work, where there is any change of plane -- for example, where the wall and floor meet -- one normally uses caulking because it won't crack over time like grout will.

The fix is to have the builder carefully remove that mess without damaging the cabinets, and have a thin bead of caulk applied to hide gaps.
Allison Something thanked kudzu9
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millworkman
4 years ago
If this is a tract or developer house I doubt they will do much of anything to fix that but kudzu9 is correct.
Allison Something thanked millworkman
Ally De
4 years ago
Based on the quality of work, I would not be comfortable they would execute any fix without wrecking more in the process. If that is the only real issue for you, I'd buy the house and fix it myself. However I also agree with 3onthetree that based on that I'd be looking to see what else they crapped up.

Sadly, it's pretty standard to find new homes built with not a lot of skill or pride - it's slap them up as quickly and as cheaply as possible. If this cosmetic issue is the biggest issue about the house, I'd take that as a win.
Allison Something thanked Ally De
elcieg
4 years ago
The work is sloppy, at best. Bet there are other issues with the house, as well. Unless you love it, don't sign the P & S until you have another home inspector go through the home.
Allison Something thanked elcieg
cat_ky
4 years ago
Buying a new house, means you shouldnt have to do a lot of work. I would have second thoughts about buying a house that is that badly messed up. Mostly because, I would worry, about what I cant see, since that is done so poorly.