I have a tiled shower stall that is probably 30 years old or so. I had a few small spaces where the grout had come out that I was caulking and discovered that the grout is very soft. If I scrape it with my fingernail it comes off, sort of a powdery paste consistency. Aside from this grout issue the stall is in very good shape with no evidence of leaking (it is a ranch and there is no evidence of leaking at the exposed flooring and joists seen in the basement under the shower. The shower pan is not tiled, it is a one piece, maybe acrylic, pan. The grout issue only affects the walls.
What is going on with this grout? The grout that is outside of the shower stall seems fine. More importantly, what do I need to do to fix it? Do I need to remove all the grout in the stall and re-grout?
George
Replies
Remove the old grout,it could have not been sealed over the years and use new epoxy grout to replace. Haven't had any problems with it the past couple of years and it seems to be very tough.
Get a grout saw and get to work wear a dust mask. It really does not take as long as it sounds espicaly if it is soft as you say. As to epoxy grout unless you are experienced at grouting you could wind up with a mess. A good grout that contains acrilic should do well, If you want to go the extra step look into Quartzlock grout the link will explain it, my local Daltile store carries it, easy to use.
http://www.starquartz.com/
Wallyo
I used epoxy grout on a bathroom floor a number of years ago and once was enough. Cleanup was a major pain. The quartz-lock grout sounds interesting, I'll take a look at it. Thanks. Whoever coined the term "vacation" home obviously never owned one.
George
George The cool thing on the quartz lock is you can use it as your caulking too. I buy cheap plunger style cake decorators from the dollar store put on an angled tip, fill it up with grout and get a perfect bead. I have not used it to regrout with so I would check with them if any additional precautions need to be taken.Wallyo
Edited 2/19/2008 10:59 am ET by wallyo