Discuss ADVICE needed please! Floor tiles newly laid - Grout looking AWFUL! in the Best Floor Tiles area at TilersForums.com.

J

jj1884

Hello :)

I was wondering if anyone could kindly offer me some advice please?

I've had some floor tiles laid by a guy who has previously fitted my carpets. On this occasion the guy has been very unreliable with timing, not having the right tools etc - quite unprofessional in my opinion.
He laid some ceramic floor tiles which I purchased from Homebase, tile adhesive (from Homebase) and a bag of grout I also purchased from Homebase - "Evo Stick Tile A Floor" in grey.

When grouting I noticed that he didn't use any tools, just a thin sponge (which I provided).

Anyway, this is the end result. I'll try and attach photos.

The grout looks awful. The best way to describe it is patchy and white when it should be grey and smooth. Perhaps he used too much water?

My worry is that he isn't going to do anything about it. When he last came over to fit some lino in another room (a few days after the tiles were laid) I mentioned to him that the grout doesn't look right. He just shrugged and said 'oh right ok not sure'. I guess being a female and on my own with a child, I just didn't have the confidence to speak up. However, he is coming over tonight to finish off a job (sealant around the lino in my bathroom).

The issue with the grout has been on my mind all week, and I am just not sure how to approach him or whether it would be better for me to purchase something like a grout pen or try re grouting myself although I have no idea how to do so. I worry that a grout pen would wash off when I clean the floors, plus I've noticed that the grout isn't smooth at all like my other floor tiles (these were done by someone else a while ago - I will attach a photo of how I think the grouting should look like in my next post under this one). Just to add - just over 24 hours the grouting was completed, I washed the tiles down with clean water twice.

Anyway, I will try and attach some photos. Any advice would be very much appreciated. The guy is coming over this evening so I am kind of in two minds as what to do. I paid him good money after the job was completed (the tiles were still wet some I couldn't see just how bad the grout would look when dry).
P1070444.jpg P1070438.jpg P1070441.jpg
Kind regards,
Jen
 
B

bugs183

Re: ADVICE needed please! Floor tiles newly laid - Grout looking AWFUL

mmm bit of tricky one, i can see two problems here;
If he grouted with only a sponge then the grout would be too wet, not compressed into the joints and the dye will be washed out as shown, but..
The other problem is you bought duff grout, i doubt anyone here would ever use Evo stick tiling gear. The grout you have is really sandy, whereas the nicely grouted floor has a much finer, and slightly darker grout.
He grouted it badly, but the grout you gave him wasn't up to much either. In my opinion its a bit of a 50/50 situation.
 
R

Rookery

Re: ADVICE needed please! Floor tiles newly laid - Grout looking AWFUL

For those tiles I'd suggest Mapei Ultracolorplus in Beige, ref 132. If you want grey, Mapei do a few different shades so you need to look at their swatches. I'd also make sure he removes all the old grout not just the top layer and that he uses a proper grout float. These materials are stocked at Tile Giant shops and other places.
 

chris.tiling

TF
Arms
5
1,063
Poole
Re: ADVICE needed please! Floor tiles newly laid - Grout looking AWFUL

He needs to remove all or as much as possible of the old grout, not just the top layer. Any recognised tile shop should have a decent stock of proper grout - Mapei / Bal are just a couple of names mentioned here but any make should do so long as it is from a tile shop and not a DIY "shed" like Homebase. He will need a rubber grout float and although a washboy has been mentioned, I dont suppose he will want to pay for one for just 1 job, so a goot fine sponge and plenty of buckets of clean water.
Good luck
 
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