# Forum Contacts & Links Estimating & Quoting  Cost to silicon/caulk bathroom tiles

## kostjazz

Hi, 
We are going a renovation in 2 bathrooms and a laundry and our tiler out of sudden said that caulking is not included in the initial price, but said that he can do it for $10 a meter. 
We have about 60 meters worth of corners which makes it $600 and too be honest it seems to be way to rich for someone to silicon the corners. 
When I told him that 600 is too much and I'm gonna get quotes he dropped the price to 400, which is much better but still seems on expensive side. 
What do you think is a fair price(in sydney)?

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## kostjazz

So how I look at it is that it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to do 1 edge. We have 24 edges = 2 hours. So since he's already there it should really cost only about 100 extra. 200 max. 
Correct me if I'm missing something....

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## Gaza

It's between 5 and 8 bucks a meter for Silcone guy   
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## heavytrevy

:Arrow Up:  what he said

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## Craigoss

Also don't forget the cost of the silicon, some tubes are over $20 each.

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## kostjazz

And how long does it take a pro to do it? I think it's crazy to pay anything over $50 an hour for something as trivial. Especially considering that the pro is already on site.

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## heavytrevy

> And how long does it take a pro to do it? I think it's crazy to pay anything over $50 an hour for something as trivial. Especially considering that the pro is already on site.

   How bout you run your own business for 50 an hour...................yeah didnt think so  :2thumbsup:

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## kostjazz

Not trying to be rude, but I don't see any problems with charging $50 for applying some silicon (material is supplied).

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## Craigoss

If your not happy with the price, why don't you just do it yourself?

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## Gaza

Are you sure 60lm in bathroom ? 
The guy already agreed to do it for 400 just get it done 
Pro Silcone is an art form and a skill that takes awhile to get   
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## woodchip

Caulking is usually not up to the tiler to do, usually the builder does it. This is not a job for an amateur jazzy!, I think your bloke is doing you a favour at $400. 
We are talking bathroom silicone here, not roof & gutter silicone or NoMoreGaps. Needs to be spot on imho, or could end up being a right mess. Have a go yourself if you've done it before. Or have a go yourself if you haven't done it before....& regret your decision (or practice somewhere first). 
All imho & my 2c worth of course. I am very, very fussy about this task being done perfect (one of my pet peeves)

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## shauck

I've caulked a bit but will say a pro is better for sure and worth a small outlay.

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## Oldsaltoz

2 things. 
1/ Call your local tile shop and ask them to point you to a good applicator. 
2/ Consider using a sealant other than Silicon based. It's a bugger to repair because nothing sticks to silicon, so if you do not remove every trace of the old stuff the new stuff will not stick anyway.
There are number of alternatives t silicon, may be ask the tile shop when enquiring about an applicator. 
PS. I never use Silicone based sealants. 
Good luck and fair winds.   :Smilie:

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## goldie1

What he said  :Arrow Up:   I'm not a fan of silicon either

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## heavytrevy

> 2 things. 
> 1/ Call your local tile shop and ask them to point you to a good applicator. 
> 2/ Consider using a sealant other than Silicon based. It's a bugger to repair because nothing sticks to silicon, so if you do not remove every trace of the old stuff the new stuff will not stick anyway.
> There are number of alternatives t silicon, may be ask the tile shop when enquiring about an applicator. 
> PS. I never use Silicone based sealants. 
> Good luck and fair winds.

  You realise bunnings sell silicon remover?
Its a liquid and comes in a bottle

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## phild01

This prompted me just now to look into silicone removal.  Have done it before manually and wonder about the silicone removers.  The Selleys one is around $30 and am not hearing much positive about using removers like this.  Some people are saying to use acetone, or would you believe WD40!
I have to do this again soon and I will probably just use a sharp chisel, scourer and metho.  Interesteed in any informed comment that removes the very last bit of silicone that doesn't create more work like the need that involves removing a remover.

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## heavytrevy

> This prompted me just now to look into silicone removal.  Have done it before manually and wonder about the silicone removers.  The Selleys one is around $30 and am not hearing much positive about using removers like this.  Some people are saying to use acetone, or would you believe WD40!
> I have to do this again soon and I will probably just use a sharp chisel, scourer and metho.  Interesteed in any informed comment that removes the very last bit of silicone that doesn't create more work like the need that involves removing a remover.

   I use a bladed scraper and a stanley knife and remove whats left buy rubbing with a rag .(the friction removes it )
Ive done loads of silicon refreshes and never had a problem

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## phild01

> I use a bladed scraper and a stanley knife and remove whats left buy rubbing with a rag .(the friction removes it )
> Ive done loads of silicon refreshes and never had a problem

  Thanks for that, I'll dig up an old singlet.  Seems better to me to use a 'dry' type of method like that.

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## goldie1

> Thanks for that, I'll dig up an old singlet.  Seems better to me to use a 'dry' type of method like that.

   I'm  not to impressed with silicon remover its only good to get the last difficult  bit out  
 You still have to remove the bulk of it manually

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## phild01

> I'm  not to impressed with silicon remover its only good to get the last difficult  bit out  
>  You still have to remove the bulk of it manually

  Yep, realise you still need to remove the bulk of it, it's just the last little bit of residue being the problem.

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## kostjazz

Just to update, did the whole thing myself. Probably took me about 3 hours  but came out pretty good! 
Started with laundry where the finish wasn't as important and moved into bathrooms. 
Overly I'm happy with the end result!

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