Suppose you’re torn between using silicone between tiles or the decision to use grout between tiles. You’re reading the most appropriate and apt article there is.
When contemplating silicon between tiles instead of grout, we will advise you to go for silicone if you’re looking to fill edges and corner joints and use grout for smooth spaces on smooth plains.
This piece will take you through every necessary detail and the fact you need to know about Silicone and Grout as sealants, which will most certainly aid your decision.
Read on as we throw more light on this.
Related: Can You Use Thinset as Grout?
Silicon Between Tiles Instead of Grout: Filling up Gaps in Tiles
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Sealing up gaps – whatever form – is necessary for every homeowner. Be it a gap between baseboard and wall, a gap between baseboard and floor, or a gap between your floor/wall tile. It’s important to fill up gaps.
Filling up these seemingly insignificant gaps gives you and your home an unexplainable feeling of security, protection from the potential floor or wall damage, and a touch of refinement, perfection, and finish. Most of all, add to your home’s aesthetic.
The big challenge and question, in most cases, is not whether or not to seal the existing gaps in your home. The big challenge is: what product /sealant will be more effective?
This is a carefully developed piece of information for you, my dear reader, who is unsure what sealant to purchase for your tile-filing need.
Here we go!
Before we plunge into the pros and cons of each of the two popularly known sealants, let’s do a little definition and explanation of some peripheral terms, which will aid our understanding.
What is Grout?
You may be thinking: ‘what is grout, really?’ Grout is a thin mixture of water, cement, and sand usually used in pressure grouting, embedding rebar in masonry walls, connecting pre-cast concrete sections, filling voids, and sealing joints and gaps such as the gaps between tiles.
Grouting fills gaps, spaces, or joints between two materials such as stones, tiles, marbles, wood, etc. If you use grout to fill up wider spaces, add some fine gravel.
Also, ensure that your grout contains some latex for water resistance if applying grout to a water-concentrated area of the house.
Advantages of Grout Over Silicone
It is widespread knowledge that silicone is a better sealing material than grout. But still, there are a few noticeable benefits that using grout to fill up tile spaces will give you, overusing silicone.
The first conspicuous advantage that grout has over silicone is its easy application and use.
Because of its paste-like form, grout is easier to fit into tighter spaces and easy to wipe away any unevenness while applying it to gaps and spaces.
Disadvantage of Grout
Amidst all the many downsides of grout compared to silicone, the major downside of grout in relation to silicone is that it is rigid and somewhat brittle.
Under extreme pressure, grout will crack and form a thin channel for water to settle. Over time the water that escapes into the cracked spaces can cause more intense damage.
On a general level, grouts are more porous than silicones are – even the waterproof grouts are prone to porosity, unlike silicone.
Read: How to Remove Thinset from Tile Without Grouting
What is Silicone?
Silicone is a liquid form of adhesive/ sealant that looks, feels, and acts like a gel. Silicone is resistant to other chemicals, moisture, and even weather.
Due to its watertight characteristic, silicone is your best tile filing option for areas like a bathroom beneath the kitchen sink.
Advantage of Silicone over Grout
One of the biggest advantages of silicone over grout is its flexibility. Let’s put: Silicone can be used to fill up awkward and irregular spaces, such as a gap between the wall and the edge of a tile.
Silicone is your best bet for filling up spaces between tiles, especially in water-concentrated areas. Silicone is usually airtight and water-resistant, void of porosity.
Disadvantage of Silicone
The biggest disadvantage of using silicone over the grout is its application complexity. Silicone is a lot harder to apply properly than grout.
If you do not apply carefully, silicone will dry with little gaps that water can seep through. Silicone is more durable than grout.
There is a special kind of silicone that is durable: GE silicone. Silicone is more resistant to pressure. Silicone is a versatile sealant used in many DIY home/construction projects.
Step-by-Step Silicon Application Process
1. Prepare your gun.
2. Press down on the gun’s s release tab and pull the pressure valve. This will enable the load of the silicone sealant into the gun.
3. Insert the tube of silicone into the gun.
4. Adjust the trigger of the gun.
5. Prepare the surface/ area you wish to seal: Before applying silicone sealant, clean the area with the gap you wish to seal. Leaving dirt, dust, or other particles on the surface can cause a weaker seal.
6. Cut a hole in the Silicone tube: Make a tiny, close-to-the-tip, 45-degree angle cut at the tip of the silicone tube. Be sure to make the hole tiny to aid control of the sealant.
7. Apply the silicon to the tile gap: While applying silicon to the gap, be sure to wet your finger and have a water container nearby.
Use your finger to spread silicon evenly; continue to wet your fingers for as long as you work. You can decide to use a piece of masking tape on the sides to give a straight, finished look.
8. Allow the sealant to dry: Wait for 24 hours for the silicon to dry. You can decide to use a fan or even a blow dryer on low heat to help the silicone dry faster.
Read: How Long Do You Wait to Clean Tiles After Grouting
Final Thoughts
We will advise you to go for silicone if you’re looking to fill edges and corner joints and use grout for smooth spaces on smooth plains, anytime you are faced with using silicon between tiles instead of grout.
Grout is aesthetically pleasing, easier to apply, and sometimes less expensive. But do not forget that it is susceptible to cracks under high pressure.
We will say that both options are perfect depending on the purpose and filling area. Grout will leave you messy after application, so be sure to put on some gloves if you are looking to do it by yourself.
Silicone is waterproof, airtight, and not porous at all. You will certainly be choosing some silicone tubes over grout in areas where there is likely to be a deluge.
Silicon and grout are amazing tile-filling options, and their benefits cannot be overemphasized. I hope you found this piece of information helpful, do well to share with us your beautiful thoughts!
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