Interested In Advertising? | Contact Us Here
Warning!

 

Welcome to Clean It Up; the UK`s largest cleaning forum with over 34,000 members

 

Please login or register to post and reply to topics.      

 

Forgot your password? Click here

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Grout at home.
« on: November 04, 2019, 09:17:18 pm »
Had a new bathroom fitted August tiled floor and walls white grout.
When I  shower the tiles go a light grey but within 5/10 minutes they dry back white.
One area away from the shower that gets very little water on it has gone a dark grey and is not lightening up and a couple of other bits are starting to show.....any ideas....am ringing plumber back in morning but was just curious....will try and post a picture.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2019, 09:35:03 pm »
Attached
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2019, 06:26:44 am »
Before I answer you properly please confirm a few things
1.  Are you talking about the grout only or the tiles as well? 
2.  What are the tiles made of?
3.  Do you know the exact grout he used?
4.  Can you post a couple more photos of whole walls?

I will then be in a better position to help you

Kev
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2019, 09:05:12 am »
Grout only...not sure of tiles...don't know what grout he used either....will post a better picture....he's coming round either tonight or tomorrow to take a look.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2019, 09:05:42 am »
It's only happening on the floor.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2019, 09:08:40 am »
Delta bianco 30 x 60 porcelain tiles.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2019, 10:09:38 am »
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2019, 01:05:23 pm »
Before he comes round get a damp cloth and wipe the grout lines!  They should all go dark and even!  Tell me if my theory is right and that you are happy with the look of the grout when the grout is wet.  Then I will tell you what he has done wrong ;D
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #8 on: November 05, 2019, 01:40:14 pm »
Yes they go a light grey but return to white when dry on the walls......but on the floor they look like they are staying grey and no I don't like what I see.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2019, 02:31:08 pm »
Another grout line starting to go the same way.

Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2019, 03:44:36 pm »
What's the verdict Kev....before he comes.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2019, 07:09:07 pm »
The chances are he won’t be able to sort it unless he takes the grout out and regrouts.  The grout looks like it hasn’t been mixed properly and allowed to rest before being slaked and mixed again.  This means the colour balls haven’t been mixed correctly and hence the grout is uneven in colour appearance.  If you want it all dark permanently it’s easy to sort but if you want it light then you either have to regrout or colour the existing grout with my grout colour.  Looking at the tiling it looks like it was tiled by someone who thinks he can tile.  Sadly tiling is not as easy as it looks, lots of people think they can tile but the truth is they can’t in reality and a trained tiler can spot crappy tiling from a mile off even though most people think it’s OK.
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #12 on: November 05, 2019, 08:58:25 pm »
Thanks for that Kev...he hasn't been today so will be giving him the good news tomorrow.......and probably buying  some grout colour off you.
Funny how it's ok on the walls and in shower but the floor isn't.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2019, 07:25:30 am »
Is the grout the same colour on the walls and floors?  If so then all I can offer is he mixed the grout he used on the walls separately and properly.  It is certainly safer to grout colour the existing grout rather than risk damaging the tiles by raking grout out.  The grout colour will also seal the grout completely.  The danger is that grout colourant does such a good  job you will probably end up wanting to do the walls as well ;D
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2019, 04:09:50 pm »
Cheers for that Kev...he's coming round about 4.45 so will see.
I look at the tling in my kitchen which was done by a tiler and I look at the bathroom done by a plumber and I can definitely see the difference.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #15 on: November 07, 2019, 08:06:41 am »
Cheers for that Kev...he's coming round about 4.45 so will see.
I look at the tling in my kitchen which was done by a tiler and I look at the bathroom done by a plumber and I can definitely see the difference.

I am a bit of an anorak when it comes to tiling!  The set out in your bathroom is wrong, there are no wraps in the one corner I can see on the photo, the tile grout joints are not straight in 2 areas,  and the widths vary in Some places.  However what is worse is that it looks like some of the wall tiles are not fixed flat.  I may be wrong and it may just be shadow?

I once had a bathroom completely refurbished with the toilet and bathroom being knocked into one.  The plumbers who by the way were excellent PLUMBERS said they would rebuild the wall and move the doorway.  They did what I thought at the time was a GOOD job.  A couple of years later we were having a complete refurbishment of our kitchen which was done and overseen by a foreman who was by trade  a cabinet maker.  Part of the refurbishment was to move our downstairs loo from under the stairs to the hallway and build a complete room for it at the bottom of the stairs by altering the stairs and building a return on them. When it was finished I was so impressed I took the cabinet maker up to our bathroom and asked why the door of the bathroom wasn’t as well fitted as his.  He just shrugged and said the door was in the wrong place, it was not straight and  had been fitted by someone who thought they could do stud work but in his words no way was the guy a carpenter.  In other words the plumbers had done a job, which was at the time approved by me.  Just as your plumber has done with your tiles.  Not the worst I have seen but, you would be surprised what people accept these days!  If the issue with your grout had not occurred you probably would have been happy and never noticed the faults with the tiling!
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #16 on: November 07, 2019, 10:24:45 am »
Thanks for the heads up Kev.....your right on all counts....2 of the tiles in the corner are slightly proud......not sure what a wrap is so can't comment on that.
At least he's going to fix the floor and has opted to regrout.
Thanks again for your interest and input....apart from the floor the wife's happy with it so I won't point out the flaws to her...sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #17 on: November 07, 2019, 07:10:16 pm »
Thanks for the heads up Kev.....your right on all counts....2 of the tiles in the corner are slightly proud......not sure what a wrap is so can't comment on that.
At least he's going to fix the floor and has opted to regrout.
Thanks again for your interest and input....apart from the floor the wife's happy with it so I won't point out the flaws to her...sometimes ignorance is bliss.

The wrap is when you reach the corner, you cut the tile then the other half starts the next wall so that it looks like it is a follow on from the corner.
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics

JandS

  • Posts: 4267
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2019, 09:42:01 am »
Well he says he's coming this week to sort it.....I get up this morning and notice grout line is cracked and crumbling and 2 tiles have lifted slightly at the joint and there is slight up and down movement.


Impossible done straight away, miracles can take a little longer.

Kev Martin

  • Posts: 6954
Re: Grout at home.
« Reply #19 on: December 11, 2019, 12:04:14 pm »
Sorry to add to your woes but apart from the faults I have previously mentioned it would seem that at a guess your tiler has either tiled straight onto  floorboards without screwing down first at 2-300mm centres or tiled straight over a chipboard floor.  In either case it would appear you have a floor that is moving and therefore that is why the grout is cracking.  I would have either screwed down existing floor and over laid with ply, or screwed down and used a ditra matting or similar.  Sorry!

Kev
"Natural Stone Restoration Specialists" Tel: 0121 773 9129
www.tilinglogistics.co.uk | www.marblelife.co.uk  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tiling-Logistics