Sealant Between Wall Tiles And Floor Tiles

[havelo]

Which sealant is used between wall tiles and floor tiles in hotels ? Every time I stay at a hotel I find the sealant in the bathroom neat and solid !
Yet even using the most expensive sealant from B&Q or other DIY places does not replicate the finish. Which make do they use ??

[The Builder]

When I've done this in pub toilets, my tiler uses regular trade silicone. Nothing special. It's not so much the material, but how it's applied and finished. I honestly don't know of anything special being used.

Finished and smoothed off properly, there should be no problem.

[alavahalf]

That's exactly my thought TB .. If the surfaces are sound and clean and with a nice little gap under the bottom tile, you shouldn't have any issues. It's down to how good you are with a mastic gun .. it's operator error after that !

[havelo]

Thank you for your reply TB. I just don't understand why I can not get the same results. When you say finishing off, do they do anything that makes it cure hard ? Most of the ones I do they tend to be slightly sticky.

[The Builder]

It's possible to get over-technical with silicones. For different uses, there are

High modulus; low modulus; acetoxi cure; neutral cure.

Most common general purpose ones are Acetoxi cured (smells like vinegar.) That gives the quickest cure.
High modulus is more rigid, less stretchy.

To sum all that up, you just need the regular kind, available everywhere. Don't worry about it.

Run the bead, then (this is just my way, of course), keep a cup of water handy. Keep dipping your finger in the water and smooth the bead to finish.

Silicone hates water. It just will not stick to anything if wet. Keeping the finger wet lets you smooth it out without any drag. That's where most people go wrong.

Nothing else needed :o)