Tile trim - or not?

kerri_gt

We are having some exterior tiling done shortly which will include corners being tiled.

Do we need to / is it advisable to 'finish' these corners with tile trim? My concern is if we don't, water my ingress into the raw edges of the tiles and cause them to crack in the cold weather.

Many thanks

missile

Why do you think grout would crack in cold weather?

If tiling is done properly, you do not need trim to "seal" the corners.

If tiling is not done properly, trim will not seal the corners.

kerri_gt

Because there will be exposed raw edges of the tiles at the corners without trim. The tiles are being used as external cladding of a cube shape. HTH

missile

You can buy tiles which have a rounded corner. You overlap the tiles on the corner, so there is only a narrow layer of grout.

You can use trim in a variety of materials to match or contrast with your tile.

There are many options to consider. I would suggest you visit a tile showroom where you will see samples on display.

Your tiler ought to be advising you.

kerri_gt

Thanks Missile. We have already chosen the tiles for the feature so really it's a case of trim or no trim. I haven't spoken directly with the builder about this but I believe his thoughts are that it's up to us what we want to do. I'm just trying to cover all bases before the job is done so we don't end up with and surprises further down the line.

phill99

You need to find out if the tiles frost resistant. If not, you will be wasting your money and the discussion about tile trims is academic.

missile

kerri_gt wrote: »

Thanks Missile. We have already chosen the tiles for the feature so really it's a case of trim or no trim. I haven't spoken directly with the builder about this but I believe his thoughts are that it's up to us what we want to do. I'm just trying to cover all bases before the job is done so we don't end up with and surprises further down the line.

I would suggest it is personal choice. I like trim and have chosen chromed steel which I think looks well with my tiles.

Do the tiles you have chosen have wrap around glaze on the edge? If not, I would suggest you need to use trim.

lg13mza

We did a step recently. I only used a trim as I wanted a rounded corner rather than risk the corner to the tile being clipped by peoples feet when stepping up.