Hi,
I just finished my first attempt at grouting a few hours ago. I removed and replaced the grout in between the last row of tiles and the tub in the buddy bath of my 5 year old house. The grout looked great immediately after I finished but after an hour or two it seemed to shrink in a few spots creating cracks. I followed the instructions on the bag verbatim. I know I still have to caulk over the grout, which should hide the cracks but I am obviously worried about water seeping thru.
Thanks in advance,
Tom
Replies
Greetings.
Sounds like it is possible that the grout was mixed too wet -or-
You used too much water to clean up and tool the grout joint and tile -or-
You tooled the wet grout too soon.
If the grout line is 1/8" or larger, did you use sanded grout? Is it a modified grout?
Shouldn't be too tough to dig out the repair and try again. By the way, regular grout is not waterproof.
_______________________________________________________________
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. - Peter F. Drucker
Aw Heck.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
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Wow, thanks for the quick response.
Could be I used too much water - never did this before so not sure what properly mixed grout looks like. I followed the instructions on the bag (non sanded) for 1.4 liters of water per 10 pounds of grout. The directions said the final consistency should be "non pourable" which I think I achieved. Is there a special kind of grout for showers? The bag said OK for bathroom use where the other types available specifically said do not use for showers. The HD guy said it was the right kind but they have been wrong before. Most of the gaps were 1/8" or so, a few spots were wider. If it sets up ok with the cracks not increasing do you think I would be OK just going over the seam with the caulk?
Thank you very much for the help!
Tom
Edited 1/28/2007 6:17 pm ET by TomMagda
I second using only caulk between the tile and tub, movement will occur.
Especially since you only have a a 1/8" gap. Think of it as another one of those 'learning lessons'.Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
It is always hard to describe consistency. Is it like pancake batter? LOL If you had ever seen me make pancakes, you would know I never make the batter exactly the same.
In this case, pancake batter would be too runny. You need a stiffer mix, especially if you are doing a small area at an intersection, but it does need to be plastic and smooth textured so that it can be pushed into the voids.
For 1/8" and wider lines I wopuld use sanded grout. In your case, the unsanded will work if you start with a drier mix, push it into the gap until you are certain it is full. Remove the excess from the tile without dragging any from the joint.
Now - let it set! Tooling too soon and with too much water will weaken the grout. Let the grout on the tile dry to a good glaze before tooling. Here's the best tip - Using a grout sponge, dip it in water and then wring it as-dry-as-you-can by hand before taking it to the joint. You don't want to introduce more water. The idea here is to tool the joint itself, you want to make sure there are no voids, and that the joint is smooth and full. Lightly drag the tile surface slowly with a freshly wrung out sponge. Let it set again until a dry glaze reappears. Now use the sponge to clean the tile surface. Wring the sponge well and drag slowly in one direction across the tile, lift, turn the sponge over and drag again. Rinse the sponge after each side is pulled.
To anwer your question, I would caulk over only if the caulking joint completely covers the grout joint._______________________________________________________________
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. - Peter F. Drucker
What type of grout-sanded or unsanded.
How big a joint?
Was it packed in full? Did you use too much water in the mix or in cleaning off the grout?
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I don't even grout that joint- the tub will move, and the grout will eventually loosen.
I prefer to use only caulk there. I'll usually fill the tub 1/2 way to put some weight in it, caulk the joint, wait for it to set up, and drain the water.
By caulking with water in the tub, the caulk won't have to try to stretch during normal use.
Nice tip.
If it looks good and you like it, let it set up a day or so and then tape it off top and bottom then caulk it with clear super silicon.
The tape gives you the crispness you would like. And make the caulk a little fat so it's not paper thin.
Thanks for all of the advise guys! This place is a goldmine!
It's been setting now for about 6 hours and looks ok - no new cracks and the old ones look like they actually closed up a little. When I shaped the seam, I carved it out a little to make room for the caulk so I should be able to put a nice bead in there. I will use painters tape as suggested - I have had good results doing vanity tops and such that way. If it fails again I will be sure to use a drier mix and let it really set before tooling.
Now on to that waincot in the half bath - never done this before either.
Thanks again,
Tom
Mix it to the consistency of toothpaste.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Tom, Grout is porous Cracked or not water will pass through.
OK, I know it's a dumb question, but what is the *purpose* of grout? It's not to hold the tile on, that's what the stuff the tile is set in is supposed to do. It's not for waterproofing, you're supposed to set onto some kind of waterproof backing material and then there's caulk for the edges. So what's the grout for? Appearance only?Rebeccah
keeps junk from accumulating between the tiles, makes it more comfortable to walk on, the tiles are less likely to get an edge caught on something dragging across the floor and lifted, more sanitary, looks better, hides the fact that the tiles were not set perfectly straight or evenly.
That'd be my guess. It fills in the imperfections between the tiles.
BTW dont feel bad, I can build a whole house and my grout ALWAYS cracks. I always put grouting off on my helper.