When laying ceramic tile floor in a bathroom, do you need to grout/caulk where the floor and walls meet?

Question

I am having a bathroom remodeled and the contractor that did the ceramic floor, put down wood baseboards and then durock before installing the ceramic tile. He then grouted everything, but he didn't grout or do anything around the edge of the bathroom where the floor meets the wall. When I asked about this to another of the contractors, he said that that area would be covered with the shoe molding and didn't need to be grouted. Is this true. Is this common practice or should the very edges of the rooom be grouted too or caulked or something. Is this just a matter of preference among contractors or did they miss a step?

Answer 1

You need to allow the floor to expand and contract at a different rate than the walls. Do not fill the voids. Put a shoe moulding over the ends of the tiles near the walls.

Answer 2

They missed a step....Use a good clear silicone caulking in the 'crack' where tile and grout meet wall. Otherwise, if for example, someone showers and gets water on the floor, it will get into this area, go under the tile and start to ruin the flooring under the tile. Mold and mildew can also grow in these wet areas. Molding trim only covers the edge of the tile giving it a neater more finished appearance, but it's still cosmetic...to protect, you need to seal or caulk around the outer edges of your flooring. You will also need to use a sealant on the grout between your new tiles as well, or the same problem can occur, as grout is porous and can absorb water and soapy liquids which then go down into the underflooring, and different liquids can stain the grout.

Answer 3

A bead of silicone caulk should have been placed between the tile and the wall, then the baseboard put on. The idea is that since this is a bathroom the potential for water spills is very high. You don't want the water escaping and getting under the wood studs and framing.

He took the easy way out.

Answer 4

The other contractors are right. First you lay down the tile, then you normally put on the shoe molding. You don't want to fill in the gap between the wall and the tile, there has to be room between the two to allow for expansion. Also I believe there is sheeting that can be laid down over wood flooring to prevent the water from leaking down and ruining the wood of the floor. For tile showers, they put a metal pan under the tile that prevents the water from ruining the wood underneath. The metal pan runs to the drain.

Here's a good website on how to tile properly.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,221776,00.html

Answer 5

When doing tile the base should have been put on after tile. So since you want a floor that is water tight I would caulk the base to the floor even if he wants to put shoe in.

Answer 6

The tile should have been put down before the base board to have been done properly. Often times in your case, the tile is done this way. You can put a small piece of trim on the base board. I would use the trim used for corners and paint to match.

Answer 7

We grout, it is necessary because if moisture gets in there it can creep up the walls and cause problems.

Answer 8

I would want the grout to fill all voids to prevent moisture from getting in.

Answer 9

in reality it should have been grouted first how bout if the bathroom floor becomes flooded?so that guys dead wrong make him grout first!

Answer 10

the shoe molding will be grouted or glued in place....when they get to it...