Cracked Tile & Regrouting Repairs in Canberra
Cracked and loose tile repair, regrouting and silicone reseal for bathrooms, kitchens and wet areas.
- Fixed price before we start
- 10+ years experience
- Fully insured & police cleared
The tile & grout problems we get called about most
Grout gone dark, crumbly or mouldy
Grout is a filler, not the waterproofing, and once it fails water can get behind the tiles. We regrout where the bond is sound and flag it honestly when it is not.
A cracked or hollow-sounding tile
A drummy tap means the tile has lifted off its bed and grouting around it will not hold. We test each tile, re-bed what has lifted and match the replacement.
Silicone peeling in the shower
Mould grows in the moisture trapped behind a lifted bead. We strip it back, treat the substrate with a mould killer, and run a fresh wet-area silicone seal.
Where water gets in when tiles and grout fail
Cracked or drummy tiles, grout gone dark and crumbly, and silicone that has peeled away and gone mouldy all let water where it should not go. In a bathroom that is a slow problem you cannot see, until it turns up as a soft patch in the next room.
We replace damaged tiles, regrout, and reseal silicone in wet areas so surfaces look right and stay watertight.
Regrout or replace?
Tap the tile. A solid sound means it is still bonded to its adhesive bed and only the grout has failed, which is a straightforward regrout. A hollow, drummy sound means the tile has lifted off the bed, and no amount of grout around the edges will hold it. That tile needs to come up, get a fresh bed of tile adhesive, and go back down.
We do that check before quoting, not halfway through the job. Where regrouting will hold, we regrout. Where tiles have to come up, we say so honestly, even when it makes the quote bigger.
What grout actually does
Grout is a filler between tiles. It is not the waterproofing. The membrane that keeps water out of the wall sits underneath the tiles and was installed before they went on. That matters because if failed grout has been letting water through for years, the problem may already be behind the tiles, and a regrout would just cover the evidence. We look for the signs (swelling at the base of the wall, a musty smell, a soft spot in the adjoining room) before pricing a cosmetic fix.
Silicone and mould
A silicone bead that has lifted at one edge traps moisture behind it, and mould takes hold in that gap. Sealing straight over it traps live spores under a fresh bead and buys a few months at most.
Done properly, the old bead is stripped back completely, the substrate is cleaned and treated with a mould killer, left to dry, and then a new wet-area silicone bead is run. Ventilation does the rest: running an extraction fan for ten minutes after a shower is the cheapest mould prevention there is.
Expansion joints
The join where a tiled wall meets a tiled floor, and any join between different materials, is an expansion joint. It is designed to move as the building does, so it should be filled with flexible silicone rather than rigid grout. Grout put there cracks out every time. If the same line keeps failing in your bathroom, that is almost certainly the reason.
Colour matching
New grout against old stands out badly if the colour is wrong. Grout fades and stains with age, so we match the current colour rather than the original, which is what lets a partial repair blend into the rest of the wall.
How much does tile & grout cost in Canberra?
Standard tile and grout jobs run $150–$180. A full bathroom regrout is quoted on area, fixed before we start.
Silicone reseal
Stripping and replacing perished or mouldy silicone.
- Old silicone stripped back completely
- Surface cleaned and mould killer applied
- New wet-area silicone bead run clean
- Bath, shower and vanity joins
Partial regrout
The section that has gone dark and crumbly, put right.
- Old grout raked out with a grout scraper
- Colour-matched grout to blend with existing
- Loose tile re-bedded where needed
- Expansion joints kept flexible, not filled
Tile replacement
Cracked or drummy tiles cut out and replaced.
- Cracked and drummy tile removal
- Bed re-laid with fresh tile adhesive
- Matched replacement tile fitted
- Full regrout of the affected section
Prices depend on scope, access and materials. Bundling several jobs into one visit lowers the per-job cost. Ask for a free fixed quote.
Why choose us for tile & grout?
We tell you when regrouting won't fix it
Grout is not waterproofing. If water has been getting behind the tiles, a regrout hides the symptom. We check before quoting.
Colour matched
New grout against old is obvious if the colour is off. We match so a partial repair blends into the rest of the wall.
Mould treated, not painted over
Mould killer goes on the substrate before new silicone. Sealing over live mould just delays it coming back through.
Clean bead work
A silicone bead is either neat or it announces itself forever. We take the time to run it straight.
How does tile & grout work?
Photos and a tap test
Send close-ups of the grout and any cracks. On site we tap the tiles: a hollow sound means the tile has lifted off its bed.
Honest scope
Where regrouting will hold, we regrout. Where tiles have to come up, we say so rather than covering it over.
Strip and repair
Grout raked out, silicone stripped, mould killer applied, tiles replaced where needed.
Reseal and cure
Colour-matched grout and a clean silicone bead, with clear advice on how long to keep the area dry.
Regrouting and resealing vs a full retile
A tired-looking bathroom is usually a grout and silicone problem, not a tiling problem. Here is how the two compare.
| Canberra Handyman Services | Full retile | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | A fraction of a retile | Full strip-out, materials and labour |
| Time on site | Usually one visit | Several days, bathroom out of use |
| Keeps existing tiles | Yes, where they are sound and well bonded | No, everything comes off |
| Fixes staining and mould lines | Yes, old grout and silicone are cut out | Yes, but at much greater cost |
| When a retile is the honest answer | Drummy, cracked or failed waterproofing | We will tell you when that is the case |
Not sure if it is worth a call for tile & grout?
Send a photo and your suburb. We will tell you straight, and quote a fixed price before anything starts.
Recent tile & grout jobs
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What customers say about our tile & grout
5.0 average across 57+ Google reviews
"Shower silicone was black and peeling. Stripped right back, treated and resealed. Six months on it still looks new."
"Two drummy floor tiles in the laundry. Cut out, re-bedded and regrouted so you can't tell which ones were replaced."
"He told me straight that half the bathroom only needed a regrout, not the full re-tile another quote pushed. Saved thousands."
Tile & Grout FAQs
How do I know if a tile needs replacing or just regrouting?
Tap it. A solid sound means the tile is still bonded to its bed and grout is all it needs. A hollow, drummy sound means the tile has lifted off the adhesive, and grouting around it will not hold. It needs to come up and be re-bedded.
Can you match my existing grout colour?
In most cases yes. Grout fades and stains over time, so we match to the current colour rather than what it was originally, which is what makes a partial repair blend in. On a very old or unusual colour, a full regrout of that wall is sometimes the better-looking result.
Why does my shower silicone keep going mouldy?
Mould grows in the moisture trapped behind a bead that has lifted at the edge, and sealing over it traps live spores underneath. The fix is to strip the old bead completely, treat the substrate with a mould killer, let it dry, then run a fresh wet-area silicone. Ventilation matters too. An extraction fan run for ten minutes after a shower makes a real difference.
Is grout waterproof?
No, and that is the most common misunderstanding about wet areas. Grout is a filler; the waterproofing membrane sits underneath the tiles. If water has been getting through failed grout for a long time it may have reached the substrate, and a regrout would only hide it. We check for signs before quoting.
How long before I can use the shower again?
Grout generally needs around 24 hours before getting wet, and silicone needs a similar cure time to skin properly and bond. We will tell you exactly how long to stay out of it based on what we have used and the weather on the day.
Do you do full bathroom re-tiling?
Repairs, regrouting and replacement tiles are within handyman scope. A full bathroom re-tile involving waterproofing membrane work is a licensed job and gets referred to a specialist tiler or a waterproofer.
What causes the gap between the wall and the floor tiles to crack?
That join is an expansion joint, and it is meant to flex as the building moves. It should be filled with flexible silicone, not rigid grout. Grout in an expansion joint cracks out every time. If yours keeps failing, that is usually why.
Still not sure?
Call and ask. We would rather tell you it is a ten-minute fix than sell you a job you do not need.
Ask us a question
Ready to book tile & grout?
Send your suburb and a couple of photos. You get a fixed price for tile & grout repairs before any work starts.
- Fixed price before we start
- Fully insured & police cleared
- Callback within the hour, Mon–Fri