I’m in the process of buying a new townhome that has tile countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms. The realtor tells me that “builders never seal the tile”, even in the showers (can’t imagine why, but…).
Can someone give me some advice on which type or brand of sealer would be best for countertops? Obviously, I’m looking for something that will help prevent stains, etc. Should I seal the entire countertop, or just concentrate on the grout seams?
Any advice on the care and feeding of tile countertops would also be appreciated. Is there any periodic maintenance involved? Can hot pans be placed on the tile?
Thanks!
Merlin
Replies
Depends on the tile. Glazed tile won't need to be sealed but the grout should be sealed. Porous stone tile normally needs to be sealed. By the way, some granites are not very porouos at all (my blue pearl was/has never been sealed >10 years).
I'd ask at John Bridge's website. JohnBridge.com
Thanks, I'll check out that website.
Merlin
A major manufacturer of tile products is TEC. Their website is http://www.techspecialty.com
Any tile dealer can get their products.
Yes, I agree with the others on the necessity of sealing. And yes, builders don't seal tiles because they're too cheap to put money into anything that doesn't show.
>>builders don't seal tiles because they're too cheap to put money into anything that doesn't show.
So why do you hang around BT if you have such a low opinion of builders. Who, BTW, usually sub the tile out to a professional tile setter.
From The Tile Doctor:
Generally, glazed tile requires no sealer. Some unglazed tile requires no sealer. Know the type of tile you are installing. Test it with a small amount of water. If the surface darkens, it absorbs water and needs to be sealed.
Generally, cementitious grouts require sealing while specialty grouts like epoxy and furans do not. If the grout darkens with water, it needs a sealer.
Glazed tiles should never be sealed. The glaze is the "sealer" and is far more permanent and resistant to wear than any sealer.
Merlin
I'ld take waynes reccommendations with a grain of salt, he wants you to seal your tile without knowing what tile you're talking about. Sealing some tile is a waste of money for no benefit. The tile in your kitchen is probably glazed and in the shower is almost definately glazed. In fact if the shower tile is not glazed, I would not buy the property, as a glaring error like that means there are usually other errors. There are exceptions, but you won't find them in a reasonably priced new townhouse, for example, expensive custom tiles from Italy.
Using a grout sealer, on the other hand must be decided case by case.
Some tile setters will not seal grout, even when indicated, unless they can educate the HO as to it's type and care, because it is hard to tell if a seal has been applied, unless you know how to check. Some sealers are incompatible with each other. If the tile setter seals, then an uneducated HO applies the wrong seal over the first, the tile setter has the hassle of dealing with the resultant situation. Usually the involved HO is someone like Wayne, who already distrusts everybody in construction.
You are on the right track in educating yourself before you do anything. The John Bridges site is very good. Here is what he says about sealing; http://johnbridge.com/Tile%20Sealers.htm
And his home page; http://johnbridge.com/
SamT
I didn't say to seal tile regardless of what kind of tile Merlin had. I said I agreed with what was said previously, which was that glazed tile should not be sealed and porous tile should be.
I don't believe most builders are up to the standards of the ones who take an interest in Fine Homebuilding. When I had a custom home built in 1999/2000 the builder was wonderful. A pleasure to work with, no cost overruns, on schedule, premium materials, attention to detail even on hidden parts, no errors, no leaks, no drywall cracks, bone dry basement with no cracks, polite employees, beautiful stonework, first class wood finishing, no callbacks, every sub was equally professional, every mechanical and building system worked flawlessly from day one, and so forth. The entire adventure with him was a pleasure.
But, I don't think he's typical. I've looked at a lot of new homes in various parts of the US and Canada over the last 25 years, and I'd say most are only fair. Due to a recent job transfer I bought a new spec home built by a builder who claims to be "Western New York's #1 home builder." It has the type of workmanship that's typical of most I see. The roof leaks and he won't fix it because it's not under warranty. The paint is peeled off of the pine trim on the front of the house. There is a big fungus growing on the door jamb of the front door. The front door won't close unless I throw my weight behind it. The vinyl flooring is as thin as paper, the fixtures are cheap, the dishwasher is plastic, the interior doors are pressed cardboard, the exterior light fixtures are rusted, the dirt is graded to slope towards the house, and even so it is so high it buries the bottom of the siding, the attic access is in a bedroom closet, he planted a tree 3' from the house and another so close to the driveway that it's ready to crack, there's a fluorescent light fixture in which the romex passes through a knockout without a connector (probably a code violation), the electrical breakers are not labeled (definitely a code violation), the front lights are not switched at the front door but from the inside of the garage, three of the bedrooms don't have phone jacks, and when I shut the kitchen cabinet drawers the burglar alarm beeps.
He says that one out of four homes in Western New York are built by him. So, if at least one of four homes is like this (and he's only one builder) and other model homes have similar quality, then I do think it's fair to say that the general homebuilder is not so good. It's because I appreciate a fine job that I enjoy reading Fine Homebuilding and learning from the folks here.
>>builders don't seal tiles because they're too cheap to put money into anything that doesn't show.
So why do you hang around BT if you have such a low opinion of builders. Who, BTW, usually sub the tile out to a professional tile setter.
In response to:
I'm in the process of buying a new townhome that has tile countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms. The realtor tells me that "builders never seal the tile", even in the showers
OK Sam,
He came here looking for advice from pro's. We all know that most, but not all (there are some good ones out there) Realtors will do or say ANYTHING, just like a used car salesperson, to seal a deal.
Actually, ya' did a good job answering.
Jon