grouting nightmare

[mnemonix]

Ok, thanks for the consistency guide CJ, it certainly is much runnier than that. Is it possible my grout is out of date or defective then, as I'm following the instructions precisely and it's nowhere near that consistency.

I'd already applied a stain protector to the tiles actually! Trust me I'm being meticulous with the buckets of clean water, washing the sponge in one, rinsing in the second, wringing out thoroughly.

Is it the wetness that's making the grout so light? maybe I've underestimated how light the standard grey grout is, but it looks luminous between the tiles and the patchy appearence suggests it's not right to me.

 

[kendo1]

The float will be fine, it's not rocket science. Same with the sponge. I use the cheapest I can find quite often.

 

[mnemonix]

Bal superflex is a good grout to use...............just don't grout tooo big an area at a time. If left tooo long it can be a nightmare to clean off. About 15/0 mins then clean.

"Simples"

Well that's what I'd read too, so when I can't sponge it 2 hours later without smearing it you know it wasn't exactly going to plan over here!
Then it's not so simples...

 

[CJ]

The luminous area is i bet, in the area you have done which was tooo wet. If a small area?, rake it out, and try and do the whole floor in one hit, I dont mean grout the whole area, then wash.......but grout in small patches then wash......then move on to next section.

Chance are the area you have done...........will rack out fairly easily as it was toooo wet.

 

[kendo1]

As I said, it depends on the humidity. Use a little common sense.

 

[mnemonix]

Two test areas so far, same runny grout in both and both very light. The difference was that I over sponged the first one while it was wet, which I thought might be why it went so light. The next one I bought some grout residue remover so I could leave it messy and avoid over sponging it, then clean up the next day. It may be slightly darker than the first, but there's not much in it, and it's had a day less to dry out too.

If over wet grout causes it to dry too light then that would explain both patches, but as I said, I did follow the instructions on the bag. Both times.

Kendo, point taken, but it's not humid this time of year, and definitely not in my house - very average conditions, which wouldn't explain why the consistency should be so far out using the suggested amounts.

 

[kendo1]

A teaspoon of water can make a huge difference.

 

[mnemonix]

I went out for a bit of advice too. Topps said "ignore the instructions, they're never right, just mix it thicker" (BAL don't know their own product?). Tile Giant said "sounds odd to us and it should still be setting up after a couple of hours even if it's too wet" I told them my kitchen was about 10 degrees C and they said, it'll slow it down slightly, but not by that much.

So I've mixed it by feel, much thicker - like mortar for bricklaying, and put some down. An hour later and it hasn't set, it still smears with the sponge and I have no hope it'll dry any darker once it's set by tomorrow.

I'm sure BAL has a great reputation, but nothing else I've tackled in the last 3 months building work has behaved so differently from all expectations, advice and guidance on the packet - and no disresepct, this isn't rocket science as others have already pointed out. All I can do at this point is try another brand because I'm just banging my head against the wall here now.

 

[Rich]

It might be a little to late fir this but it might be worth a read through, its a link to a thread i put up a while ago about grouting.

Grouting...

 

[mnemonix]

Thanks Rich, but trust me, I read it many times before I started the job in preparation. There's nothing there I'm doing wrong.