The Next Phase: Grouting and Sealing Your Tile
When it comes to grouting your tile, you have two main options: sanded grout or unsanded grout. The choice between the two ultimately depends on the type of tile you're using and the size of your grout joints, as well as personal preference. In this article, we'll be discussing the use of sanded grout, which is generally considered to be more durable and less prone to shrinkage than unsanded grout.
It's true that glass tile may seem like it shouldn't be used with sanded grout, as it could potentially scratch the top of the tile. However, we've checked with the tile manufacturer and were given the green light to use sanded grout on this particular tile. The key is to be gentle in our application to avoid any potential damage.
In addition to grouting, sealing your tile is also an important step to take. If you're working with a porous tile or natural stone, you'll need to apply a sealer to protect the surface from stains and moisture. This is especially crucial if you don't seal your tile before applying grout, as the haze and set can build up and soak into the tile, ruining the job.
Grout comes in two main forms: powdered mix and premixed. While some people may prefer the convenience of premixed grout, we find that the powdered stuff works just as well – if not better. The key is to stir the powder until it reaches a consistency similar to peanut butter. If the mixture is too wet, it will drip out of your grout joints and down your walls.
Once you've mixed the grout, let it sit for about 10 minutes to allow the water and mix to activate, a process known as "slaking." This will help the grout spread evenly and prevent any unevenness. After slaking, you'll typically have around 20-25 minutes of working time with most grouts. The key is to only mix as much grout as you can fit on your wall or floor within that timeframe.
Before you start grouting, make sure to remove any spacers from the previous tiling process and take a damp sponge to wipe down the surface of the walls. This will prevent dust from getting in the way of the grout. Use a rubber grout float to scoop up some grout from your bucket and smear it across your tiles in a diagonal direction to the grout lines. Hold the float at a 40-45° angle and continue working the grout into all of your seams.
One important note is that you should not grout the bottom seam where the counter meets the tile, as this will be addressed later. For now, focus on spreading the grout evenly across your tiles.
After the grouting process is complete, let it sit for about 10 minutes before wiping down the surface with a slightly damp sponge at a 45° angle. Rinse your sponge frequently to avoid adding water to the grout and breaking down its bond. Repeat this process until the grout has dried completely, usually overnight.
Finally, clean up any leftover grout haze from the face of the tiles using a damp sponge and a grout haze remover. If you're working with glass tile like we are, this step is especially important, as the dried grout shouldn't stick to the surface of the tiles and can be easily wiped away.
The Final Touches
Once your tile job is complete and you've applied the grout, there are a few final touches to consider. After about two days when everything has set up, it's time to apply a grout sealer. This will protect the grout from mold, mildew, or stains, making it an essential step in maintaining your tile job.
In addition to sealing the grout, you'll also want to finish off any edges where the backsplash meets the countertop or side seams with a grout caulk. This caulk should match perfectly the color of the grout and will give you a nice, finished look around all your edges.
One final tip is to pick up some longer screws when replacing wall plates, as the thickness of the tiles may require it. And there you have it – we've given this kitchen a dramatic upgrade for under $300 that's sure to impress!
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwell our tile is finally dry and we are ready to move on to the next phase and that is grouting when you're grouting you generally have two choices either a sanded grout or an unsanded grout it's going to depend on the tile that you're using and the size of your gr joint and also just personal preference we're going to be using a sanded grout generally the sanded doesn't shrink as much and it's a little more durable most people would think though with glass tile you can't use sanded grout it would seem that it would scratch the top of the tile but check with the tile manufacturer we can use it on this tile we just have to be gentle in our application now the other piece of this puzzle is a sealer you'll need to seal your tile if you're working with a porous tile or a natural stone we don't have to worry about this cuz we have glass but if you don't seal it before you grout there is a haze and set that can build up and soak into your tile and actually ruin the tile job so make sure you seal it first so grout comes in either a powdered form like we're using here or premix I don't know any pros that use the premixed stuff you're not really saving that much time if you're buying it premixed and the powdered stuff works great so I'm going to stir this up I'm looking for the consistency of peanut butter in here if you have it too wet on the wall that's almost a little too runny for us it'll drip right out of your grout joints and down your wall and then once you've got it stirred up you're going to let it sit for about 10 minutes let it do what's called slaking and that means that the water and the mix are activating and then you've only got with most grouts about 20 25 minutes working time so only mix as much grout as you can get on the wall or the floor in that amount of time if you have any spacers left where you were tiling make sure you take them all out now before you grout take a sponge that's barely wet and wipe down the wall this will prevent any dust from getting in the way of the grout use a rubber grout float to scoop some grout from your bucket and smear it across your tiles in a direction that is diagonal to the grout lines hold your float at a 40 5° angle and continue to work grout into all of your seams do not grout the bottom seam where the counter meets the tile this will be caed when the grouting is done use your float to wipe any excess grout left on the surface now we've let our grout set for about 10 minutes and that means 10 minutes from the place that you started not 10 minutes after you finish grouting you want to take a just a slightly damp sponge and wipe it over the top of the tile at a 45° angle rinse your sponge frequently for best results you want to make sure not to add any water to the grout you don't want this too wet because that breaks down the bond of the grout and you're really just taking off the haze making sure that you're not pulling any of that grout back out of the grout joints once the grout has dried completely usually overnight clean any leftover grout haze off the face of the tiles with a damp sponge and a grout haze remover if you're working with glass tile like we are you shouldn't need the haze remover since the dried grout shouldn't stick to the face of the tiles and will probably wipe right off now that you finished your tiling and you're grouting and it looks fabulous you want to keep it looking fabulous you're going to need two things the first is after about 2 days when everything is set up you want to apply a grout sealer this is going to protect the grout from any mold or mil or stain so it's an important step the other thing you want to do is go around each of your edges where your backsplash meets the countertop or maybe on the side seams and finish it with a grout caulk this caulk should match perfectly the grout that you put into your grout joints but what it does is it gives you a nice finished look around all your edges one more thing you might need to pick up some longer screws when you replace your wall plates to compensate for the thickness of the tiles and there you have it we just gave this kitchen a dramatic upgrade for under $300 that ain't bad\n"
