powdery grout Problems

[clecktiler]

hi to all, I wonder if anyone can help me out here.

I'm in Norway on holiday but also tileing my sisters bathroom walls. Tiles went on fine but the grouting has been a nightmare.

I'm by no means an expert but I've tiled for the last year or so and mixed the grout to the same consistency as I would in the UK where Ive never had any problems. The man in the shop said it was flexible and entirely suitable walls.

I don't read Norwegian so I'm not sure what the instructions actually said but I would have thought you just mix it like any other grout I've used - however straight away I noticed it was different to the grout I've used in UK - it's just like sand and water mixed together with no 'stickiness' to it. It just slides straight off the float if you don't get it on the wall quick enough.

Cut to the chase, after a few days of drying it's cracked all over the place and is patchy in colour. Some is rock hard like you would expect, not cracked and darker in colour but most is pale grey and powdery and can be scraped out with a finger nail. It comes out in pieces upto a cm long so it has obviously not stuck at all to the edges of the tiles.

The whole lot is going to have to be scraped out and done again.

Does anyone have an idea what's gone wrong?? Or how to prevent another grout disaster??

All help gratefully received.

 

[DHTiling]

Do you have a make / name..?

 

[DHTiling]

Also this guy is in Norway, so will probs know the said product View Profile: Fliselege - Tiling Forum | Tilers Forum | Tiling Forums

 

[clecktiler]

Hi, It looks like its made by 'Adda' and is described as 'Fugemasse Perlefug Lysgra' in a light grey colour and from the details that i can make out it's suitable for joints 2-5mm. I used 3mm spacers so it should be ok in that respect.
Thanks for you prompt answer.
Also while I'm on, do you think all the grout should come out back to the wall? Where it literally falls out in pieces thats fine but where it has set properly it's very difficult to scrape out. Would a depth of a few mm be ok?

 

[Fliselege]

Sounds like you've used nano fug mixed up a bit dry. If you're around Oslo I can take a look, or you can call me. 97416638.

 

[DHTiling]

Yes, it needs to come out, i have got that said member looking at this grout for you.





edit : said member has replied.

 

[Fliselege]

I've just looked up the product as I'dnot heard of it, and seeing pics of the packaging can I ask did you buy it at Maxbo? Never seen it in proff shops, only Maxbo the D.I.Y shop. Clean it out and go to a proff shop, flisekompiniet, bergenflis, norfloor etc and spend a bit extra for a decent product. Just call me for advice on tiling and where to find cheep beer. ;-)

 

[clecktiler]

Hi there, we got this stuff from 'Megaflis' I think it was called.
As for the beer, I'd love to but I think my sister would kill me. She's less than happy, to say the least, about the fine film of dust all over the basement and white footprints everywhere now I'm scraping the grout out......
Thanks for your help, may well need to get back in touch.

 

[AliGage]

Sounds to me like the grout was a bit dry when spread. What's the expiry/shelf date on the bag? Is it still in date, was the bad still sealled and dry?

 

[clecktiler]

Hi,
the date on the bag says 10th March this year - however i don't know if that's the expiry date or manufacture date - and it was a sealed and undamaged.

 

[Fliselege]

Hi there, we got this stuff from 'Megaflis' I think it was called.
As for the beer, I'd love to but I think my sister would kill me. She's less than happy, to say the least, about the fine film of dust all over the basement and white footprints everywhere now I'm scraping the grout out......
Thanks for your help, may well need to get back in touch.

I was right about the DIY shop then, MegaFlis doesn't entertain the proff trade with accounts with discounts and we in the trade do not use this shop, same with Right Price Tiles. We have customers that choose tiles from there and the tiles are inferiour to tiles from the shops we use, and if the customer picks up lim and fug from there we refuse to use it (unless the customer puts their foot down with a firm hand) and supply it for them from our own wholesalers, sorry but their stuff is rubbish.

 

[clecktiler]

Ok thanks for your honest answer.
I didn't know this or I'd have told my sis we should try somewhere else. I'll try and get her to take me to one of the places you said and get some proper product. I definately dont want to spend another day scraping out more of the same rubbish product if it cracks again.

 

[Fliselege]

Ok thanks for your honest answer.
I didn't know this or I'd have told my sis we should try somewhere else. I'll try and get her to take me to one of the places you said and get some proper product. I definately dont want to spend another day scraping out more of the same rubbish product if it cracks again.

Are you in the Oslo area? If you are let me know whereabouts and I'll send you somewhere that dropping our name might get you a bit of discount.

 

[AliGage]

Hi,
the date on the bag says 10th March this year - however i don't know if that's the expiry date or manufacture date - and it was a sealed and undamaged.

Can you post a picture and ask our kind Norweigian friend to explain any language we don't understand.
10th of March could just be the bathc production date. OR it could be the shelf date. If it's the later then the grout was past it (or best part of) when applied. That being the case there's some responsability from the suppliers. Certainly if it's a DIY shop and not a professionals outlet.
Worth investigating either way as if the products not fit for purpose your sisters pocket remains untouched to get the issue resolved.

 

[clecktiler]

Yeah that's a good idea. I'll try and get a picture of the bag on here for our Norwegian friends to advise.
Thanks

 

[Fliselege]

Is this the culprit?

 

[Fliselege]

I do hope this is powder in a tub & not ready mixed.

 

[clecktiler]

yes that bag is indeed the exact same product. I guess you can now confirm we bought some poor quality product??

 

[Fliselege]

To be honest if I've ever used it then it's slipped my mind so can't say, I just know from experiance that the materials MegaFlis, Right Price Tiles, Maxbo and ByggMakke (which is spelled wrong but sounds right) is cheaper than profesional shops for a good reason, quality. Most of the time I use Flisekompienets F1 Plan fug for rough finishes and PCI Nano fug from same shop for shiny finishes, so that I can reccomend. Some shops we use stock Mapei, never had a problem with that either. How are you getting on with removing the fug? I've got a Fein sitting here with a brand new diamond 2mm blade on it.....

 

[clecktiler]

Hi, I've scraped as much out as I can now. Some came out in soft powdery lumps where it had not stuck at all to the tiles so this goes right back to the adhesive wheras some had set rock hard and i was only able to scrape out a few mm depth.

Do you think these areas will be ok? - I mean the full width of the joint and 4 or 5mm deep. Will that be enough for the new grout to stick into on top of the old stuff??
I was going to wet all the joints with a sponge before I commence the new grouting because I'm sure there will be lots of dust still in the joints that the vaccume has not removed. Hopefully this will help the grout to stick better. What do you think?

As it happens I brought my cordless grinder which has a 115mm marchris c850 diamond blade on with me as i knew I was going to do this bathroom whilst I was here.
It works a treat for cutting awkward shapes but i wouldn't trust myself removing grout with it- one slip and it's another disaster...!!!

 

[Fliselege]

Well some tiles are only 6mm thick so a 5mm gap should be fine, but best to get as much out as possible to be sure of a solid finish. I wouldn't wet up the lines before starting the grout, can see that being more of a hinderance than a help, just go over the lines with a dry paint brush if you think it will help. If you really want to wet wash it out, let it dry 101% before you grout.

 

[clecktiler]

Ok I'll just brush it out then. Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[Fliselege]

No probs, best of luck