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Caulking Shower Surround

ranchodiablo | Posted in Construction Techniques on February 13, 2009 12:13pm

Hi

I’m tiling the walls surrounding the bathtub all the way up to the ceiling. On the inside corners and up at the ceiling do I just caulk it? Or do I stuff in grout as best as possible and then caulk it? The tiles are white so I don’t have to paint the caulk.

And as a last question, what type of caulk do I use because I’ve read all the posts about Latex vs. Silicone vs. PL and frankly, it’s darn right confusing. Thank you for the help.

J

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Replies

  1. Piffin | Feb 13, 2009 01:08am | #1

    Grout compoanies like acucolour make caulks that macth their grouts exact colour

     

     

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  2. Shep | Feb 13, 2009 02:58am | #2

    What Piffin said.

    Or use a mildew resistant latex caulk.  Don't use a silicone caulk. Not only is it very susceptible to mildew, you'll hate yourself when you paint the ceiling.

  3. andybuildz | Feb 13, 2009 04:29am | #3

    Just bought a case of sanded caulk with my grout from my tile supplier for a bathroom I'm finishing up.

    The good stuff is expensive. $11 a tube! Not the cheapo HD stuff that goes for $6.

     

     

     

    http://www.cliffordrenovations.com

    http://www.ramdass.org

     

    1. User avater
      Matt | Feb 13, 2009 05:06am | #4

      Would you use sanded caulk for walls and ceiling joint?

      1. andybuildz | Feb 13, 2009 05:34am | #5

        I did..it's all they carried and it seems fine to me.

         

         

         

        http://www.cliffordrenovations.com

        http://www.ramdass.org

         

    2. barmil | Feb 16, 2009 06:02am | #6

      Expensive doesn't always mean good. Try $40 for a pint of grout paint -- anything from the tile place will be costly. I just don't know -- I've used all types of caulk in the shower, and it all eventually fails. Logic says that silicone will last longest, but it never seems to harden sufficiently to not stain.

  4. Karl | Feb 16, 2009 06:10am | #7

    I caulk a lot of sinks under granite countertops and hands down my favorite caulk is DAP Kwik Seal. My first choice is the most basic Kwik Seal but they do make one with some kind of anti mildew additive.

    I like it because it seems to shrink a bit as it cures and level out any irregularities from tooling it. I think it (and Polyseamseal) is a vinyl caulk and it cleans up with water. I use as little water as possible to avoid thinning the caulk in the actual joint. If I leave a haze or residue of caulk on the surrounding area it cleans off easily with some rubbing using an acetone soaked rag after it has cured.

    The sanded caulk that matches the grout appeals to me most as it is the closest match you will get to custom grout colors. For basic white grout I don't know if I would bother.

    Karl

    1. jimAKAblue | Feb 16, 2009 06:25am | #8

      I really, really, really like the new matching sanded grout caulk.

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