Grouting Ceramic and other tiles.

Preparation, make sure the tile joints are free of thinset, mastic or whatever adhesive you used to install them. Take a utility knife and remove any adhesive that is sticking up beyond the tile and which would be visible after grouting.

Read the instructions on your grout! Most grouts will tell you to wait after you have mixed a batch for the grout to "Slake". You will know when it has slaked because of a dull appearance, mix it again and your ready to grout. Wall grout should be the consistancy of drywall compound when you get it in a pail. I like my sanded floor grout a little wetter so I can force it deep under the corners.

You should always use a grout float, and not the cheap foam ones or the rock hard ones you can buy. Your grout float should be the kind that has foam in the middle and a rubbery surface on the outside. Although the hard rubber ones do work pretty good on a floor, they are really heavy and a day of wall grouting with one would be a killer.



If your going to be doing a lot of grouting, I reccomend the following grout float as the handle is really nice on the hands and it will last a long time. The cheap grout floats do not work well at all.


Take your pail of grout and put a big dollop on the floor (or a nice scoop on the wall) and start working it in a diagonal against the grout lines. After a while you will be able to apply in long steady lines and turn the float to scrape it off. Keep repeating this until all the joints are fully packed. Grouting is an art form, and you will suck at it in the beginning.

Now the key is waiting the right time before you start wiping the excess away with a sponge. For a floor the grout on the face of the tile should be fully hazed over and the grout in the joints should be just starting to turn color. For a wall it would be about the same but you can start wiping earlier. I like to let my floor grout sit for as long as I can before removal, this leads to a nice high grout joint.

As your wiping the floor, with a well wrung sponge. (you dont want it too wet, nor too dry, its hard to explain but you will find the optimal amount over time) You will see some holes pop up, this means you probably didnt force enough grout in. Just grab some loose grout which should be available all over and fill the hole and wipe it smooth.

When wiping the tile, try not to use much force on the joints as it will drag out more grout than you want. You will need to look at every single joint while wiping to ensure the lines are smooth and without holes. Now you are done, go clean your grout pale and wait for the tile to haze over. With a floor you can give it another quick wipe but i prefer to wash it the next day, or not at all because usually i can clean the face good enough to pass. With a wall let the tile haze over fully and grab a dish towel and gently wipe the face of the tile clean of grout to make it shiny again. Clean it well, silacone the joint where walls meet and your done.

The DIY Bible.

I highly reccomend this book, It Truly is the DIY Bible, I keep a copy in my garage and it's real handy for a quick double check or handy info for any project. This book, even though the original is 3 years old, has been recently updated for newer building codes and products.

Caulking Removal

I worked as a tile setter for over 20 years, so you can imagine that i have removed a ton of caulking over the years. The bottom line is that there is no miracle caulk remover, and no magic tools to do the job.

But the number one tool I prefer over all is a razor scraper. The common, 4 inch replaceable blade scraper. I have personally destroyed like 18 of these things over the years as I use them for floor preparation and all kinds of nasty tasks. The best kind I found so far is the richards scraper as they last the longest, you can find these in any home depot in the paint section. Be leary of buying one that has only 1 screw, as they easily become filled with gunk, bent and broken.

There is a trick to using this tool, and i dont expect you to pick one up and use it perfectly. This tool is very sharp and can damage the surface near your caulking joint if you arent careful. The way I normally remove caulking is to loosen it up with a utility knife first then use the scraper. I hold the scraper so only the corner of the blade actually touches the surface near the caulking, you dont want the entire width of the blade running along the counter or bathtub. Simply pass down one surface to loosen that side then run down the other to completely remove the bead. If you don't feel comfortable using this tool the above way then you can also take advantage of the sharp blade and cut the silacone in 4 inch sections with a stabbing motion where it wont be possible to harm any uncaulked areas.

When you have the bulk removed there will still be a very thin layer in some areas, run your hand along the joint and the silicone will turn darker and be easier to spot (provided you have dirty hands like mine usually are). Keep running your hand across until its smooth and dont turn dirty anymore, now you have a nice clean dry joint ready for some new caulking.