BAL Problem with bal grout ebony

[Tommythetiler80]

I only ever use grout 3000, and I only have ever had good things to say about tilemaster products, I do have a strong dislike for any black grout but I must say that I’ve never experienced such a thing like bleeding. I can only assume it must be faulty batch . I’m not much of a lover of mapei grout either but if customers purchase it I’ll use it.

 

[Dumbo]

In my experience under hydration usually comes from a very absorbent biscuit to the tile and this usually manifests itself with shrinking back from tile edge and also grout cracking . If you have neither of these I wonder if their may be some value in allowing grout to dry and then putting a grout sealer on it to stop further water absorption which in turn leaches back out .

 

[mark0161]

I did consider a grout sealer on the rest of the bathroom as it would take quite some time to do the clingfilm technique on the whole bathroom.

Can you recommend a grout sealer? There's so many out there I don't really know what's good and what's not.

The quality of the tiles was not fantastic to be honest, the customer bought them without me, which I wasn't thrilled about, but I never considered the tile to be at fault for the grout. I did a small patch of the tiles behind the mirror in the downstairs toilet, grouted with black mapei leftover from a job a few weeks back but had a slight issue with colour uniformity so decided to change back to Bal for the en-suite. Wish I hadn't now but I guess it's a lesson learned, I'll have to give tilemaster a go on the second bathroom, which I start next week.

 

[Dumbo]

If the tiles are really absorbent . I have this it is usually with a white biscuit you should damp your joints down before grouting to reduce absorbency (don't think that's a real word ) as for sealer use something like lithofin grout sealer probably best on the market .

 

[Tommythetiler80]

I did consider a grout sealer on the rest of the bathroom as it would take quite some time to do the clingfilm technique on the whole bathroom.

Can you recommend a grout sealer? There's so many out there I don't really know what's good and what's not.

The quality of the tiles was not fantastic to be honest, the customer bought them without me, which I wasn't thrilled about, but I never considered the tile to be at fault for the grout. I did a small patch of the tiles behind the mirror in the downstairs toilet, grouted with black mapei leftover from a job a few weeks back but had a slight issue with colour uniformity so decided to change back to Bal for the en-suite. Wish I hadn't now but I guess it's a lesson learned, I'll have to give tilemaster a go on the second bathroom, which I start next week.

Don’t let customer talk you into black grout use your charm and wit!if all else fails you should consider an extra charge for sponges and floats and buckets

 

[mark0161]

Thanks for all the advice, I'll definitely take it all on board, and I'll do my best to avoid the black stuff in future. Hopefully some lithofin sealer will do the trick on the rest of the bathroom.

 

[Matthew Holloway]

Erm so I think I have the same issue here.

Grouted on Monday it’s now Saturday if I run a damp rag over the grout lines I get the ebony grout line on the rag. I’ve been told to wait for the Bal rep. Nightmare as I have the plumber booked in on Monday to fit everything... I probably should cancel that.

What is this wet and cling film method?
Is it worth doing?

 

[mark0161]

Erm so I think I have the same issue here.

Grouted on Monday it’s now Saturday if I run a damp rag over the grout lines I get the ebony grout line on the rag. I’ve been told to wait for the Bal rep. Nightmare as I have the plumber booked in on Monday to fit everything... I probably should cancel that.

What is this wet and cling film method?
Is it worth doing?

It’s a pain in the arse but the cling film method works. Topps tiles refused to do anything about it and by the sounds of the original post it seems like bal won't do much either. They all blame under hydration but I had some areas to do after I found out about this bleeding issue, followed the instructions to the letter but same issue. No one accepts liability though so your left with this cling film method or removing the lot a starting again. Both are a pain but if you decide to remove it I can personally vouch for the tilemaster 3000 stuff someone else recommended. Did the customers second bathroom in that stuff and it worked a treat. I had grouted round tiny odd shaped mosaics so removing the grout would have been nearly impossible. Tried the spraying water then covering with cling film and it worked well enough, it took a few days of doing it twice a day, probably wasted over a day in total work time. But after 5/6 goes it seems to do the job. No phone calls back from the customer after 6 months so hopefully it'll stay good. Last time I use bal!

 

[Matthew Holloway]

Thanks for that, I am pretty gutted with this. If I get the grout out to start again Im sure I will ruin the tiles so this water or a sealer is the only way to go.

Anyway some photos, have I got this technique right?
First of all this was my batch, purchased late June

damp rag on the grout

using this to mist some water on the tiles

wet about this much

clingfilm

grout bleeds out under clingfilm

so is next step, tomorrow morning, remove all the cling film, rub down with a dry sponge/microfiber or a damp one? and repeat the spray clingfilm method.

If I do one in the morning should I be okay to do another around 6pm?

I want some bloody BAL compo after this one let me tell you. Seems funny how its all happened to us???? I'll keep thread updated anyway with whatever Kieran the Bal rep says.

 

[Dumbo]

Good luck with their mitigation department I had limestone grout that was grey and they reckoned nothing wrong with it .