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Since I purchased this home a few months ago, we've noticed water from the sink can sit in this corner and possibly grow fungus or just leave mineral residue when it dries. We have tried to keep it brushed out as we figure out what to do with it.

Note that the edge against the painted wall (green arrow in photo) does appear to have silicone caulk while the edge I'm asking about (red arrow) has nothing.

I want to apply clear silicone caulk but

  1. I've never had stone countertops before and I'm not sure what kind of stone this is either and
  2. I've had countertops where is corner is missing caulk near the sink, but this corner has zero caulk all the way across two walls

Is it OK to silicone this edge between the counter stone and backsplash stone?

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  • Would imagine that silicone was used along the bottom edge to seal it, excess that squeeze out was cut/removed to leave a clean finish. Any water stains beneath the sink? Even clear silicone will be visible, if you can live with that, go for it.
    – crip659
    Jan 20, 2021 at 18:50
  • Silicone/caulk will not stop water from sitting there, will still need to be removed with some kind of rag/sponge. Back of counter would need to be raise up a bit, to allow water to flow forwards.
    – crip659
    Jan 20, 2021 at 19:06

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Some general input here as I install granite counters weekly.

  • No way the granite is bound to each other
  • trim piece probably has silicone (I hope) binding it to the wall
  • you don't have to have silicone on dry areas. If someone spills a cup of soda on that counter, some will seep behind trim but it is pretty minimal (I have tested for fun). The trim piece is cut with laser and the top of counter is sanded flat so these pieces while somewhat pourous are pretty water tight... but all it takes is a small divot and liquid pours in... and obviously this widely varies on type of granite. Yours is darker and has lower veins so I would guess it is pretty water tight.
  • but it would be normal during install to caulk there. I am not sure what the other guys are on here suggesting white or colors. All kitchens and baths get clear silicone - that's it. White, grey, black, whatever... it stains and colors fade in spots over time. Clear will last the longest and almost impossible to stain.
  • make your silicone as thin as possible to cover the crack. If you go up 1/4" and out a 1/4" and have a huge bead of caulk, even if it looks good it won't last as long as every time you wipe the counters you will put pressure on it. If you can barely see the caulk that is optimal.
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  • As a DIYer who wants to do a tidy job, the OP may wish to try it first on something like leftover tiles set up to mimic this arrangement, including mocking up the tap - keeping going evenly past that is perfectly doable but probably not first time. Also there are various ways to shape the bead, including little plastic tools, that the OP may want to look into.
    – Chris H
    Jan 21, 2021 at 10:07
  • Putting on caulk is pretty easy. Wash hands and tile area. Tiny even bead all the way down the crack. Wet index finger, press index finger into crack and evenly pull finger in one direction the entire length with a tiny bit of pressure. If the silicone globs up at a point then you stop, try to gather the "glob" with finger, wipe finger on paper towel and continue. Yes practice but its not that bad. I am highly unartistic and caulk fine... people who have an artistic side are way faster than me.
    – DMoore
    Jan 21, 2021 at 16:02
  • Almost exactly what I do. Judging "tiny" is important or you end up with a stripe on each side of the join (not hard to remove while still wet) and getting past obstructions makes "even" fiddly with a big caulking gun. It sounds like it might be the OP's first time.
    – Chris H
    Jan 21, 2021 at 16:19
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Silicone was probably used to join those two pieces together so that water does not get behind your counter and damage the cabinet, wall, nor floors.

Yes, you can apply 100% silicone to that corner to try and help with shedding water back to the sink but you will not appreciate the yellow tint which it acquires after as little as one year; regardless of whether its clear or white silicone.

My suggestion would be to get a grey tinted silicone to minimize its appearance. You'll probably want to re-silicone it every few years anyways.

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    never ever use any color of silicone on kitchen/bath counters or understand they will stain and fail much quicker (plus it looks worse).
    – DMoore
    Jan 20, 2021 at 20:17
  • @DMoore Can't say I have long term experience with your claims but the reviews at lowes.com/pd/GE-Silicone-2-10-1-oz-Gray-Silicone-Caulk/3084943 seem to indicate the color is good. I'm not suggesting a huge streak of the stuff but just enough to fill the crack and wipe off the excess from the surfaces.
    – MonkeyZeus
    Jan 21, 2021 at 15:09
  • If you spill coffee on it, it will stain. GE2 is the best but they join the crowd of staining just like the rest. The clear can stain too... It is just really really hard to stain it.
    – DMoore
    Jan 21, 2021 at 16:03
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Is it OK to silicone this edge between the counter stone and backsplash stone?

Yes.

I am surprised the installers did not do it.

I would use a 100% silicone, white. Use painter tape to mask off the wall and the top of the backsplash, caulk, smooth and remove tape immediately then lightly re-smooth the tape lines. There many YouTube videos on how to do that.

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  • "white" + "mask off the wall and top of the backsplash" makes sense for the top. The question is about down below - between the two pieces of stone.
    – manassehkatz-Moving 2 Codidact
    Jan 20, 2021 at 18:56

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