A few months ago I tiled a bathroom using Unibond All Purpose Tile Adhesive and Grout.
When the grout dried (there is a 3mm grout width) a line formed along the centre of the grout which appeaed to be the grout shrinking back.
I spoke to Unibond who said this wasn't a problem in that the tiling would still be fine but suggested if I was concerned cosmetically then I
could simply rub some more grout into the marks which I did.
They said the cause was probably that the sponge I was using to wipe off the excess grout was too wet.
I've just done another tiling job for a neighbour and despite using an almost completely dry sponge have exactly the same problem which they
don't like because they are concerned it's a crack.
Any ideas how to avoid this in the future.
John.
Sponge moistness is a key factor, too dry and it will drag it out, too wet and it will dilute it down.
My old man is a tiler of 30+ years and I used to spend my summer holidays as a young lad grouting for him. He always used to say just do one single
sweep with a sponge, flip it over do another swipe and then rinse it out. When you wring it out just make it so that it stops dripping but still
quite moist
The all in ones (fix and grout) always shrink john
Try using a tile adhesive and seperate grout ....you wont go wrong with BAL
good luck
as above.. spot on... and allways us a good quality sponge no 99p sponges that fall to bits in your grout...
I run over with a piece of dowel with a taper on the end after it has dried for a while. Lean it over well so it doesn't dig in, like a pointing tool for mortar but not as heavy.
Get some normal dry powder grout that you mix up before use. It's miles easier to use than the adhesive / grout.
Stu
Hi, I fit bathrooms for a living and always use separate adhesive & grout. Bal products are best, but a good sponge helps. Using a plastic spatula to run over joints makes for an even depth. Make sure sponge is not too wet. Best of luck.
Never had much luck with grouting with a sponge; all the tiling I've done I've used a plastic spreader (like you get with car body filler) to force the grout into the gaps bewteen the tiles and used a bit of dowel like Pete suggests. Not the fastest solution I'm sure, but looks fine afterwards.
quote:
Originally posted by mark.s
The all in ones (fix and grout) always shrink john
Try using a tile adhesive and seperate grout ....you wont go wrong with BAL
good luck
Did our kitchen myself hundreds of the little 3" things to do
Used seperate adhesive and a dry powder grout that you mix before use a proper grout float and a decent sponge.
Rinsed the sponge out after every clean did more then one swipe but not too many Still looks bloody great after 3 years and didnt even use one of
those grout finishing thingys you can get