Newbie re-grouting kitchen counter tile

[globaltraveler]

Hello! I've been trawling the forums and haven't found the info I was looking for, so I hope it's all right I'm starting a thread up. Part of the problem is that I've never done any tile work before, and another part of the problem is that I'm from the US and don't know if what Americans call something is what someone from the UK calls it.

We are about to move into a rented flat. The kitchen counters are tiled in a white tile and white grout. (Which to me sounds the height of madness, but oh well.) The sink hardware is copper. It's been a rental property for a while.

You can imagine the state of the grouting around the sink.

There's also (less obviously horrible) problems with the grouting in the bath.

So I thought I'd see if it's too hard for someone who has never done it to re-grout the tile. I have a few questions... (Understatement of the year.)

1) What do you call the tool you use to remove old broken and discoloured grout from between the tiles? A grout saw? A grout remover? Enquiring mind wants to know so it can buy the correct thing.

2) What kind of grout is most suitable for this sort of area? And is it going to be a problem if I'm only doing the damaged grout and it turns out not to be the same as the grout on the rest of the counters? Can someone tell by looking what kind of grout the old grout is?

3) Is this going to be best done as a pro job rather than a DIY, and how much (approx.) should a job of this kind cost me/my landlord? (I realize this question is a "how long is a piece of string" kind of question, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway.)

I'm sure this post gives away my complete and total ignorance where grouting is concerned, but I was hoping someone would be kind. Thanks in advance for any information, direction, opinions, and help that anyone can manage for me!

 

[kilty55]

hi there, yes a grout saw amongst other things can remove grout,if its a large area though you may well be best asking a pro tiler to come in and do it,

also if its a work surface it should be epoxy grout, we do have an excellent member on here from the us called rob z, i beleive there is also a good tile forum in the us called the john bridge forum if this helps

 

[easyt]

Hi . I tiled my kitchen tops 25 year ago and the grout is still good. I used a two part light grey epoxy. I believe there are some easier epoxies now. Sure someone will give you details.

I had to enlarge the cut out for my hob recently. I used an angle grinder as breaking out tiles grouted in with a epoxy and replacing with spare tiles would have been more difficult. The epoxy is stronger than the tiles. I also epoxied the splash backs so that even behind the hob it wipes clean. The stuff I used had a work time of about 20 mins maximum to grout clean and polish. I tested on a spare tile and but a blob of grout on. 45mins later pulling the grout off pulled the face off the tile.

 

[Dan]

Generally a grout rake would be a DIY's choice of tool. A Fein Multimaster would be a professionals choice of tool.

Then once it's out. You want to use an epoxy instead of a cement-based grout. This complies with British Standards for commercial food prep areas. Some would say it's an overkill for domestic, but personally, as said above, I'd use it just for the sake of never re-grouting again ever.

Mapei is the choice of epoxy I'd go for.

 

[globaltraveler]

Thanks so much for the helpful answers!

I'm not sure what "a large area" for a beginner is -- it's probably best described as "the area round the sink." Someone's smeared what looks like silicone caulking (not sure what that's called in the UK) in some of the grubbier parts in the seam where the counter meets the splashback, which looks blackened and mildewy. Will that make it tough for a beginning DIYer to get rid of the grouting in this area, or does it just take patience and carefulness?

So an epoxy grout -- will that make for any problems if the old grout isn't epoxy grout, especially where the two meet each other?

I'm a tool geek, no matter what area I'm working in, and that Fein Multimaster looks fabulous. Probably overkill for someone like me, but I have to admit to admiring it quite a bit...

Does anyone know about the approximate range I would be paying a pro to do this for me? I'm a big fan of getting things right the first time and not having to pay someone for me over-estimating my DIY abilities...

Thanks again, this is so helpful!

 

[Dan]

A professional hates regrouting as much as a DIY to be honest. Or, in most cases I'd say that's true.

I wouldn't want to guess a price but if you post the job in THIS FORUM you'll get some responses via Private Message.

As for the silicone (caulking), remove that with a silicone remover you buy, or with a stanley knife and some elbow grease. Where the epoxy meets the old grout you may notice a texture difference (epoxy is pretty much impervious to everything it's likely to meet, so it's sort of a smooth finish with no 'sand-like' appearance) and you may also notice a slight difference in colour given the fact the old grout is old, and the new is new.

It might be worth you re-grouting the whole of the area but not the walls or whatever meets it, so re-grout the whole of the worktop bit which wont be so obvious to the eye if it's different to what's on the walls. And if it is obvious, it's a different area so like when walls meet floors with different grout colours, it doesn't really stand out at all.

Once you've removed all the old silicone and grout, and have re-grouted using epoxy, re-apply a fresh mapei silicone (easy to apply and will match the grout colour perfectly) and if required, use CornerTape when you apply the silicone for a PERFECT!!! finish.

 

[DHTiling]

You could also just re-colour the grout with an epoxy grout colourant.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7BTYdRa9Tc]YouTube - Tradetiler Aqua Mix Grout Colorant Application[/ame]

 

[globaltraveler]

Well, you can't use the colorant on bad grout, right? Because that's really the problem, it's all tatty, blackened, and falling out, and the silicone was just globbed on in both an effort to stop the grout falling out (I'm guessing) and to reseal the seam. And now the silicone is also blackened with mildew as well.

So not only was it a stopgap, it didn't really stop the grout from going bad (and I assume therefore it's not epoxy grouting), but it made it uglier on top of that...

I guess this is what I get for being rather house proud. I can't stand the thought of living in a place where it's slowly falling apart at the seams (ha. ha.), but I'd guess that if the landlord cared, he would have fixed this before re-renting the place...so either I can pay for it and repair it, or I can just watch it fall apart. And look ugly while it does it. Aargh.

Does the colorant come in white? There's some discoloured grout, which I have to try one of those melamine sponges on first, but if it's impossible to clean and if the colourant comes in white, I may do that on the grout that's just discoloured...