Applying grout, need advice

So I guess I might be grouting this guys bathroom this weekend. Well I have never really grouted before. I have used that silicopne sealer stuff to do all the edges of my bathroom but never grout. It really doesn't seem that hard but if anyone and shed any advice on the topic I could sure use it. I definately dont want to **** it up.

thanks

I was told he has doubles of all the required tools, and has all the stuff. No I have not seen what I have to do

any advice or sites on grouting would be greatly appreciated.

WTF is grouting?

don't get the pre-made stuff, mix it yourself. It's much stronger if you get the powder form and mix it with water (just like concrete) rather than buying the stuff that's already wet.

Unless you have a heavy duty drill mixer so you can mix a full bag in a large bucket, you will need to mix small amounts at a time in order to get it mixed well (you don't want to have any lumps of dry material in it. It should all be smooth like concrete looks like when it's properly mixed). It can dry fairly quickly as well so if you mix a large amount at once, you will need to work quickly. You want to have a floater (it's basically a hand trowel with like a rubbery grit like material on the bottom of it. It's called a floater as it seems to float across the top of the tile with grout with ease.)... You take a large scoop of your grout and put it on the tile, then you use your floater to push it into the cracks. You want to make sure you cover every bit of the cracks, and you want to try to keep it all the same height (or it will dry looking sorta lumpy).

When the grout dries it will sink some, so don't be afraid to have it level with the top of the tile. It will sink down a little as it dries. You'll also leave left over grout material on top of the tile. Don't worry about that. Once it's dried for a day, you can use a damp cloth and scrub the excess off the top of the tiles. Once you've scrubbed all of the excess off the top of all of the tiles, you will need to seal the grout. You can get the sealant at any hardware store. You will want to do at least 2 coats, I recommend 3 coats of sealant on all of the grout. You can put it on with a little paint brush. It doesn't matter if you get a little bit on the tile as well. It too will wipe up when it's all dry.

What the sealant does is it makes it so the grout isn't porous so that dirt doesn't stick to it and make it a ***** to have to scrub to try and get it clean again. If you don't seal it, it will get dirty within a week or two and you will have to use a scrub brush to get the dirt out of it.

Hope that helps. I do a little bit of everything if you hadn't noticed =P I've tiled my house numberous times, built patio overhangs, little bit of everything =)

i wont be working alone, so that is a plus. It really doesn't seem that hard.

I got good hand skills too, so it should be easy(er).

it's not difficult.. it's just time consuming/tedious...

corvettecrazy wrote:

i wont be working alone, I got good hand skills too, so it should be easy(er).

What are you talking about....not working alone.... good hand skills, so its easy.???!!!

I had my bathroom redone a few months ago, and the guy who was doing the tile work said to wait about a week or two before sealing the grout, to make sure everything dries and cures properly.

Mav wrote:

it's not difficult.. it's just time consuming/tedious...

YUP...

I worked with the owner of the house, he was doing his basement floor.

It ended up that he laid the ground and I got to spend a wonderful 7 hours wiping the **** off the tiles.

But in the end, 90 bucks makes up for my back and knees still being sore.

i would have asked for 10 more

potato pusher wrote:

i would have asked for 10 more

thats more than 12 an hour. I'm happy with that!

even if he doesnt seal it he wont be the one scrubbing it anyway.