Silicon used as grout ???

[CY078]

Hi All

I laid my tiles about 18 months ago. It was originally a wooden floorboard, I then nailed cement fibre sheeting on top of the floorboards then the tiles on top. The area it covers is a lounge, dining, kitchen, and hallways to the bedrooms ... roughly about 90 sq mtrs.

Some areas must be flexing (mostly high traffic areas) which has caused the grout to crack and in some cases completely come out.

It started happening about 6 months after I initially started this project. I initially filled the gaps with grout which worked well until the started cracking again and falling out once again.

My solution is to use a water proof silicon based filler to fill it in. This will 1) flex with the floor 2) as I mop my floor every night the silicon won't become dis-coloured as the grout does. 3) Although its a slow and tedious project (taping up each tile) ... I would only have to do it once.

Well this is the theory anyway ... do you guys think it would work in reality ??????

 

[jctilingservices]

firstly mate you dont say what type of grout you used originally, was it " flexible"

was your original floor securley screwed to the joists, you say you nailed the boards, what type of nails, as nails can work loose over a heavily trafficked area, even using a silicon it will still eventually work away from the tiles if the subtrate is too springy

 

[CY078]

I don't know the type of grout ... I am unsure if it is flexible or not. I am "assuming" so because I told described to the tiling shop what I was going to do and he recommended that type of grout.

I don't think the original floor was securely screwed to the joist because there was creaking sounds when you walked on it.

Nail ... I don't know.

Not much help am I.

Obviously I am a novice and I understand now that I did it wrong in the first place.

What I will try is to use silicon in the places that the grout has come out of as a testing bed .. and then see what happens after that ?????

 

[jctilingservices]

What I will try is to use silicon in the places that the grout has come out of as a testing bed .. and then see what happens after that ?????

you could always buy a small bag of flexible grout and try that, JUST incase it was not flexi you originally used

 

[tictic]

dont think this will work mate,the problen you have got is the subtrate..its flexing/moving..etc..

 

[CY078]

dont think this will work mate,the problen you have got is the subtrate..its flexing/moving..etc..

My thinking is the silicon will flex with the tiles as they move.