The grout in my tiled master shower is cracking a bit at the bottom at the rear of the shower. A tile contractor just came over and said, because it's minor, that I could simply cover it with a silicone bead. The contractor said that they wouldn't just replace that small bit of grout because of the difficulty in matching color (it's tan). The contractor said that they'd have to replace all of the grout, which would be around $1,000, if they replaced any.

What say all of you home improvement experts on the HI board? YouTube has zillions of videos on replacing small sections of grout. Is it truly that hard to match color? Would close enough be good enough since it's at the back and bottom of the shower, i.e., not super visible? I don't think that the contractor is trying to scam me since their recommendation was for me to simply silicone it over.

TIA for any advice.

If you're talking about an inside corner, it shouldn't be grouted at all, it should be caulked.

As for the contractor, I can see not wanting to attempt to match the colors as the risk to reputation is high, especially if they are not pressed for work. If they miss the color, the review from most people, while not negative, will likely not be completely positive. All for a small money job.

If you don't want to do it yourself, you're going to need to be looking for a smaller crew or handyman type most likely and be open to being able to see a color transition.

Inside corners should be caulked, not grouted. Assuming by "bottom" you're referring to where the floor and wall meet.

MyNameIsJeff said:

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Assuming by "bottom" you're referring to where the floor and wall meet.

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Correct.

Jabin said:

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MyNameIsJeff said:

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Assuming by "bottom" you're referring to where the floor and wall meet.

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Correct.

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That should be caulk as others have said.

Thanks all for your good advice.

Caliber said:

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If you're talking about an inside corner, it shouldn't be grouted at all, it should be caulked.

As for the contractor, I can see not wanting to attempt to match the colors as the risk to reputation is high, especially if they are not pressed for work. If they miss the color, the review from most people, while not negative, will likely not be completely positive. All for a small money job.

If you don't want to do it yourself, you're going to need to be looking for a smaller crew or handyman type most likely and be open to being able to see a color transition.

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Most tile guys if they are worth their salt have no issues matching grout colors. Unless you have some uber unique tile, most contractors stick to standard colors on the initial install

OP take a photo of your grout and go to HD or Lowe's and get a tube of sanded tile calk. Will save you several hundred dollars.

+1

Any change of plane on tile should be caulked usually with a sanded caulk unless your existing grout is sandless.

Home depot has a good selection of sanded grout caulk. Lowes used to but I think many have stopped carrying sanded caulk. They usually have a color chart you can compare to. Beware the color in the tube rarely looks like the caulk exactly when dry so I always buy multiple colors and match on site. Can add up at $15-$20 per tube if you cut multiple tubes open before you get a good match. If you can post a pic, I can give you a starting point on colors.

Thanks. I just ordered a grout color matching kit from Home Depot. It cost only a bit more than a tube of grout, so I figured I'd be about even if I end up having to buy only one tube of grout. Hopefully, I'll be able to use it again.

I didn't trust comparing colors via computer, because each screen can distort colors slightly. Very few screens render colors accurately (or so I've been told), plus it's hard to know for sure unless one can hold the color right up to the grout itself.

I suspect my grout is either Linen (Linen Grout) or Bone (Bone Grout). Both are very close in color to each other.

Here's a pic of the grout in my shower:



In the pic it's darker than I had thought. Maybe it's Haystack?

I am leaning to this


https://www.lowes.com/pd/MAPEI-MapesilT-Plus-10-1-oz-Mocha-Silicone-Caulk/5013582979

Too dark for haystack

The grout in that picture is darker than haystack. However, the grout in the shower has gotten darker over time. My concern is that if I replace it with grout that is its current darker, the new grout will grow darker still over time.

Here's a pic of the grout outside of the shower. Any further thoughts or recommendations?

Scriffer said:

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Thanks to this thread I have a resealed shower and saved several hundred bucks versus a handyman.

$40 for a grout attachment for the multi tool and $8 for the sanded caulk linked above. Got it done in a few hours yesterday.

I even guessed right on the color match on my first try, so I get to return three tubes.

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