Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [grout]

251 questions
29
votes
2 answers

What spacing difference is acceptable with a contracted tile job?

What is a reasonable difference in gaps between tiles? We just had our bathroom floor done by Lowe’s (first mistake), and I’m not happy with the outcome, AT ALL. Is this just me being picky, or should I call and complain? I’m not sure what they can…
Slink2015
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19
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4 answers

Must I remove all mortar between tiles before grouting?

I'm just getting ready to lay down the grout after successfully tiling our master bathroom. I've been told in no uncertain terms that I must remove the spacers between tiles (or else grouting over them can result in cracking of the grout). That…
Andrew Flanagan
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16
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1 answer

Orange material in grout lines - need help to identify

Having recently moved into a new (resale) house, I looked closely at the grout lines on one of the tiled shower floors and noticed many small gaps in the grout lines with an unidentified orange material in the gaps. I've attached a…
mattbg
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12
votes
2 answers

How do I do a minor grout repair properly?

I've got grout between some floor tiles that is cracking and coming out in small chips, over time. The tiles and remaining grout are otherwise in great shape. I suspect this is just a problem high-traffic area of the floor in our hallway. I'm not…
Chris W. Rea
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12
votes
2 answers

Stains in grout

For a tiling job, I used this charcoal grout: After a few days, as indicated by the instructions, I applied this sealer: A few minutes after applying the sealant, these white stains appeared randomly in the grout: It's been a few days and the…
Martin Argerami
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11
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3 answers

Why should you add dry mix to water and not the other way round

During renovation I have used all kinds of dry compounds, be it mortar, conrete mix, tile glue, grout, plastering mud, ... On every one of them the instructions say to add the dry mix to water and mix thoroughly. Is there any reason behind this…
jnovacho
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10
votes
2 answers

With a shower, should the edge where the wall meets the floor be caulked, or is grout okay?

Some of the shower tiles have come loose in my shower and need repair (specifically the ones at the base of the wall). There's no 'tub' per-se, the whole thing is tiled, and it looks like whoever installed it used grout for the edge where the wall…
The Forlorn Ferret
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8
votes
4 answers

How can I seal the grout on kitchen wall tiles to give lasting stain and mold protection?

I have 1.5mm of white grout between rectified white tiles on my kitchen walls as a splashback (or backsplash in North America*) behind the sink and cooktop and I'm concerned about stains from food and mould. I've read on the web I'm supposed to seal…
MGOwen
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8
votes
7 answers

What are reasonable expectations about grout width accuracy in a professional tile installation?

We are currently redoing our master bathroom and our contractor just got half way through laying the tile on the floor. The grout was supposed to be 1/8" wide, but there are quite a few places (mid-field) where the gaps between the tiles are much…
Markus A.
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8
votes
1 answer

How do I stop grout in the corner of a shower from cracking?

I moved into a newly remodeled home. The walk-in shower walls are grouted. Now the corners have started to crack. How do I slow down the cracking? Should it be caulked, or would that be a bad idea?
chrisjlee
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8
votes
1 answer

Water seeping from grout in tile shower

I have water seeping from the grout where the wall of my shower meets the floor. (The tile is travertine, in case that's relevant). In the picture below, the shower hasn't been used in over 24 hours, and the rest is completely dry, except for two…
Todd Gibson
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7
votes
1 answer

Can I put fresh grout over grout that was done less than 48 hours ago?

We had bad light when rinsing last night and today the grout seems uneven in the lines. If I mix grout tonight can I fill in some of the problem areas? Or do I have to dig out all the grout first?
Kate
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7
votes
3 answers

Easy way to get crayon out of grout?

My daughter decided to get a little artistic in the bathroom and colored the grout with yellow crayon. Does anyone have a simple way to clean this out?
electricsauce
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6
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1 answer

Will I have problems from waiting to grout patio tiles?

I laid porcelain tiles on my patio a couple months ago. Life and weather has kept me from grouting the tile. Is a couple months between laying the tile and grouting too long? What problems are likely to result? How long after a rain should I…
Msraider2001
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6
votes
1 answer

Can new grout be layered on top of old grout?

I had a shower updated by a professional contractor. He removed all the old tile and floor pan. There are several areas I'm concerned about. There are gaps all across the tiles. There are spots where the grout is well below the edge of the tile. …
Marie
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