Tiling pros - What did I do wrong?

[Olyar15]

First off, grouting *****.

So the first section that I grouted, I thought I did everything right. (This was my very first time grouting.) However, the grout turned chalky when it dried. The second section that I grouted turned out fine.

First section:

Next section:

You can especially see it where they meet:

So, any ideas what I screwed up on my first attempt? I don't recall doing anything different on my second and subsequent sections. More importantly, is there a way to fix this? I will need to pick up some grout haze remover since there is still some haze on the dark tiles, so I was wondering if this would also work on the grout.

 

[vpogv]

I'm no pro but I had something similar happen just not as bad. It is the mixture that got you. I am going to guess that you didn't add enough water or mix it well enough which caused the chalkiness and difference in colors. That was what happened in my case.

 

[kartracer23]

It might cure out to the lighter color...

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

you probably over worked it (burned it - happens when cement is worked past the time when it begins to set) and/or there was too much water in the mix or you used to much while sponging it. I would try scraping as much out as you can and then redo the area. In the future you should grout the entire area all at once to avoid mismatched joints...

 

[mayday0017]

Best to figure out how much you need and mix enough for all of it, at the very least if you go through 1/2 of your grout and you notice you are only 1/3 done with the room, mix your next batch in with the other 1/2 and mix together to make things "closer".

Normally I mix extra, it is easier to throw a little away then stop in the middle and mix more and risk having problems.

As recommended above I would take a groute tool and remove some of the groute out of all joints and then put a new thin layer over it all. Or if I didn't want to put that much effort in for whatever reason I would possibly buy a dye kit and just dye it all to match and seal it. Your call....

 

[PeterT]

Grout bullly

 

[gordon_gjs]

I don't think grout haze remover will work on grout, just on the tile. It will most likely set that color.

I have also been having grout issues. It ***** when it doesn't come out right. This is what I learned so far in the past few days...

- try to grout everything at the same time without mixing another batch.
- allow the grout to slake for 10min.
- do not use sponges soaked in water for the clean up process, use dry sponges for wiping and clean up. This will cause some areas to soak up more water than others and dry a different color.

 

[Kevin54]

Try some grout sealer on the grout lines. It should darken them up to the point that you can't tell a difference.

And yea, grouting is a pain. I'd rather set tile than do grout work.

Why didn't you replace the broken tile? Is this in a garage or in the house? How about an overall pic to see the work?

 

[Craftsman86]

There are a couple of possible causes for it, You could have under watered the mix, Burned it in the mixing process, not let it slake before spreading, or over-washed it.

Every manufacturer has little different water requirements, but you should generally mix up enough to do a full room or area at once. This would eliminate the 2 different shades meeting noticably. Otherwise the mixing should never be done with a drill and bit for grout. It is a wet mix and is done best with a margin trowel in a half bucket. All the box stores sell an admix for the grout that you add one bottle per pag to mix. That admix is liquid latex that you use in place of water. This seals the grout all the way through rather than a penetrating top sealer. Buy one bottle of admix, and a gallon of liquid latex from the paint dept. use one bottle full per bag and you will always have consistant results.

Slaking- at least thatws what my boss called it is the 5-10 mins you let the bucket of grout sit after mixing. This allows the consistancy to remain consistant throughout the bucket, and harden up to where it is easy to smear, and with a nice edge on the float you can pull 90% of the excess or better off the tile. This makes it where you need minimal wiping to clean.

When you do wipe the floor, make sure that the sponge you are using is not depositing water on the floor. I use a Raymondi Skipper bucket with rollers and handles on the sponges so your hands don't get full of grout. The grouting buckets are the only way to go. Be sure to wait until the grout is somewhat hard before wiping (there is a fine line here between somewhat hard, and ohh **** its too late. especially with latex instead of water)

As far as the haze, get a grout saw and start cutting it out. The tile shops sell one that goes in a sawzall, makes your life easy if you have a steady hand and dont chip the tile.
And try it again. Grouting is truly a simple process if the prep work is done.

Goodluck

 

[Olyar15]

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm guessing that the most likely reason is too damp a sponge when I was wiping the grout. The grout was definitely not too watery. If anything, it was a bit thick.

I got some grout haze remover, and will try it in an inconspicuous spot to see if it does anything. Otherwise, I'm hoping that the grout sealer will give the "wet" look, since the grout looks fine when wet.

The reason I didn't grout the entire floor at once was because I was sure I wouldn't be able to finish before the grout became unworkable, since this was my first time grouting. It took me almost an hour just to use up a 10 lb bag. I'm sure if I had an extra pair of hands, I might have been able to do the entire floor.

Try some grout sealer on the grout lines. It should darken them up to the point that you can't tell a difference.

And yea, grouting is a pain. I'd rather set tile than do grout work.

Why didn't you replace the broken tile? Is this in a garage or in the house? How about an overall pic to see the work?

Kevin, I'm not sure that is an actual crack. I certainly didn't see a crack while grouting, and examining it closely, it looks as if the edges are rounded. So I suspect it is a surface defect that just shows up because it is filled with grout. I'll see if the haze remover can get rid of it. Yes, this is the garage floor. I figured that if I screwed up, it won't be too bad as compared to something like a kitchen backsplash. You can see pictures of work-in-progress in a previous thread:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153175

 

[mobiledynamics]

What Tim said or if you got the budget, Epoxy for me all day everyday.
Color Consistent, waterproof, stainproof, etc, etc

 

[Kevin54]

Olyar...I just looked at the pics of your floor. That looks great. I'm anxious to see what it will look like when totally completed.

 

[jhelrey]

Speaking of grout screw ups... I followed the directions on a bag of grout. It came out a little more wet than usual. Followed the directions to a T and still had questions. I called the 1-800 number and spoke with someone regarding it. He asked how much water I added and I quoted the bag. He said that was way too much. Long story short, I easily dug out all of the wet grout, cleaned up the tiles, waited for it to dry, picked up a new bag, tried again, and success.

I took pictures of the bags, etc. They def. had the wrong water amounts listed. They refunded my materials and labor. I could not believe it.

 

[snorky18]

We had similiar but lest severe problems with our first tile job.

I'd say either A) not mixed evenly and consistently, B) overworked or C) underwatered
1. Mix all dry grout together well beforehand (even the same brand/color), I might give you a free pass if you know for certain the lot numbers are the same, but it's still a good practice.
2. Add dry grout to water, not the other way around
3. Set a timer when you start mixing. Times up=throw it out and make more.

 

[Jeff95TA]

I sometimes wonder if it isn't minerals in the water from a sponge that's too wet and leaves water behind.

 

[gordon_gjs]

I sometimes wonder if it isn't minerals in the water from a sponge that's too wet and leaves water behind.

I have heard that also. I read that it is best to use only distilled water when mixing the grout and wiping with a sponge.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Speaking of grout screw-ups, I replaced a bunch of tiles when I put in the lift -- and accidentally bought the wrong color of grout for the replaced sections. I have two different browns, now. But it falls into the 'it's a garage' category two different ways: 1) well, it's a garage, and 2) I spill enough oil and other stuff onto it that I can't see the difference at all anymore. Brown is brown, pretty much, and after a few spills, all the browns kind of bleed together.

But even with all the spills, the tiles still look great. I think you're really going to like having tile in your garage.

Here's a picture from Olyar15's other thread:

 

[Hobbit]

My only sanded grout tile project was an old 1200sf lake cabin and this happened on my second batch. In my case it was too much water in the mix. My mistake, I thought I would make it easier to apply and it did but the finish was affected with that chalky haze.

 

[Dakota00]

What happen the grout was over worked with too much water on the sponge when washing.

BTW, the floor is coming along nicely!!

 

[slickgt1]

I am so happy people are doing more and more tile garages. Good job, floor is looking great. I too would go with epoxy grout though, and I did. I've spilled so much on it, and you still can't tell.