Regrouting around jacuzzi tub tile

Unsanded wall grout is a very consistent product that will work for you every time and look great for years….if you don’t make a few common mistakes. Here’s what to do and what to avoid.

1. First, make sure you are using the right type of grout for the size grout joint. Unsanded grout is made for thin joints, from miniscule up to 1/8^th of an inch. It can go a bit larger, but it’s not recommended. Why? If it is put in wider joints, it shrinks too much as it dries. It can look ugly if it’s shrunken down.
2. Second, make sure you bought powder form grout, not the premixed kind. Premixed is a low end product that is not worthy of your attention. Mixing is not that hard. You add water and stir. Kind of like cake batter. Anyone can do it.
3. Most grouts sold today have an additive called polymers. Pure cement doesn’t have polymers, but they are an improvement. They force the cement to dry a bit slower, which makes it harder and more durable. Plus they permit some degree of better bonding and elasticity, which also helps the cement work better as grout. The only company around the Boston area that doesn’t have these polymers that we know of is Hydroment. Not that Hydroment is bad grout, just that you need to add your own polymers, which is also easy. It’s called a latex admix, and it’s sold by the same dealers as the grout. It is a liquid that looks exactly like milk, which is its nickname. When you use Hydroment grout, instead of water you just use their milk. Is this an unnecessary burden? No, technically Hydroment is making a slightly better product than the others. Reason is that liquid latex performs a bit better than the powder form the other manufacturers use. So by not adding the powder in advance, they allow you to mix a stronger batch on your own. Conclusion: if you buy Hydroment grout, also get the milk that goes with it.
4. Clean out the grout joints before grouting. If it’s a regrout, that is much harder. If it’s a new installation, then the only thing that needs to be cleaned out is the thinset cement that oozes up between the grout lines. A utility knife and vacuum should work fine.
5. Get 2 buckets – one for mixing and one for clean water. In the mixing bucket, add some water first and then the grout powder. The best thing to mix a small amount is a margin trowel. If you have less than a whole shower to grout, you’ll need less than a solid gallon of mixed grout to do the job.
6. It should mix up to the consistency of peanut butter, somewhat spreadable but not drippy. (How’s that for scientific language!)
7. After you mixed it the first time, let it sit for about 10 minutes to absorb the water better. This is called slaking the grout and it helps make it stronger.
8. Using a grout float to push the grout in to each joint. It takes a few passes at varying angles to force it in and pack it down well. 45 degree angles work best, but that won’t always work on corners and edges.
9. After you finish applying grout to an area about 2 feet by 3 feet,  stop and wipe it with a damp sponge. This has to be a tile sponge, not a household sponge. It will take at least 2 passes to get the majority of the grout off the wall. One important thing at this point: minimize the water content. Wring the sponge as dry as possible before wiping the wall. That means wring it twice after washing it in the clean water. The clean water will get cloudy almost immediately, but don’t worry, you can do a 50 square foot area easily with one 4 gallon bucket of water.
10. Flip the sponge so you don’t keep using the same surface. One clean sponge can get flipped 4 times, and then both sides are used and need a rinse.
11. If you’re doing this for the first time, you might find it surprising that you can’t get all the grout haze off with the first 2 wipings. Or 3. Or 4.  This can get annoying and make you think you gotta go at it like Godzilla and keep going till you win. Don’t bother. Each time, just use a bit less water till you’re barely dampening the surface. The key to getting the last part is; you let it dry for about 45 minutes and that last bit of haze comes off with a dry buff towel or even a paper towel. If you keep wetting it, you keep bringing more haze from the joints.

The next post will cover problems that you may find during or after the process.

Of course, if you don’t want to deal with any of the above tasks and you just want us to do it for you, just give Boston Grout a call at 617-500-9271 and we’ll do the regrouting for you. Then you can relax and we’ll handle it for you while you sip hot chocolate and think how smart you are to avoid all this work!

For instant quotes, just fill in our handy dandy contact form below.

Towns where Boston Grout does grouting and regrouting : Boston, Brookline, Milton, Wellesley, Newton, Weston, Wayland, Dover, Concord, Acton, Lincoln, Lexington, Bedford, Westford, Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Winchester, Belmont, Woburn, Waltham, Ashland, Framingham, Sherborn, Holliston, Hopkinton, Medway, Millis, Norfolk, Walpole, Norwood, Westwood, Sharon, Stoneham, Foxborough, Foxboro, Canton, Stoughton, Needham, Ashland, Chestnut Hill, Natick, Sudbury, Maynard, Stow, Watertown, Dedham, West Roxbury, Roslindale, Jamaica Plain, Randolph, Weymouth, Cohasset, Scituate, Braintree, Holbrook, Quincy, Rockland, Hanover, Hingham, Medway, Franklin, Wrentham, Medford, Malden, Everett, Revere, Charlestown, Winthrop, Chelsea, Melrose, Saugus, Peabody, Marblehead, Ipswich, Swampscott, Lynn, Wakefield, Tewksbury, Woburn, Burlington, Reading, Lynnfield, Wilmington, Middleton, Wenham, Hamilton, Essex, Manchester, Gloucester, Topsfield, Boxford, Boxborough, Boxboro, Rowley, Georgetown, Andover, North Andover, Haverhill, Carlisle, Billerica, Ayer, Harvard, Lawrence, Methuen, Salem, Beverly, Salisbury, Amesbury, Newbury, Newburyport, Harvard, Lancaster, Bolton, Franklin, Mendon, Newtonville, Hopedale and Milford.

But, you cry, ‘what are the zipcodes that go along with those town names?? Don’t leave us in suspense!’

OK, OK, here they are!

02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142, 02141, 02141, 02140, 02140,  02163, 02108, 02109, 02110,  02111, 02113, 02114, 02115, 02116,  02118, 02119, 02120, 02121, 02122, 02124, 02125, 02127, 02128, 02133, 02163, 02199, 02203, 02210, 02215, 02222, 02283, 02284, 02126, 02129, 02130, 02131, 02132, 02134, 02135, 02136, 02128, 02127, 02215, 02128, 02127, 02420, 02421, 02458, 02459, 02461,       02462, 02464, 02465, 02459, 02460, 02461, 02462, 02464, 02465, 02459, 02461, 02462, 02464, 02466, 02467, 02468, 02459,  02459,        02465, 02478, 02446, 02445, 02447, 02143, 02144, 02145, 01801, 01890, 02155, 02155, 02155,  02148, 01803, 01730, 01731, 01821, 01862, 01862, 01862, 01810, 01845, 01845, 01742, 01742, 01742,  01741, 01720, 01718, 01719, 01720, 01720, 01776, 01776, 01776, 01864, 01867, 01701, 01702, 01701, 01701, 01752, 02184, 02184, 02184, 02184, 02184, 02169, 02170, 02171, 02171, 02171, 02171, 02169, 02169, 02169, 02186, 02186, 02067

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