Darkened grout colour + Shinier tile area

Joined
17 Nov 2012
Messages
267
Reaction score
3
Location
London
Country
United Kingdom
Hi. My builders laid 60 x 60 glacier ivory tiles in my kitchen a few weeks ago. I bought the tiles from B&Q, perhaps some of you know the tile? They come three in a box and cost about £19 per box. I bought about a dozen boxes. I stupidly didn't check the batch numbers so you'll probably notice the different shades in my photos below. I'm really annoyed at myself about that, but I didn't even think to check batches. Kind of ruins the whole effect for me. I'm going to have to live with it since I'll never find an exact match now to replace a few of the tiles. There's about three different batch numbers in the shop but I'm told there could be many other batches from the factory.

Anyway, then the builders grouted with Flexjoint Premium Ultra Flexjoint which I bought from Tile Depot, in Limestone colour to best match the tiles. The grout wasn't sealed so I'm going to seal it, I've bought Fila grout protector from Topp Tiles. Before I seal I'm trying to get the colour to the way it's meant to look as it mostly is blotchy, more dark areas of grout than light. The builders laid cardboard down after they finished the tiling and grouting as they had other work to continue with in my kitchen. When the cardboard was removed, I thought the grouting was just full of dirt that would sweep away easily but it doesn't. I bought Fila grout cleaner from Topps, tried it on just one grout line, let it sit for a few minutes then scrubbed, let it dry, and the next morning checked it. But it hasn't really done anything. I've also bought HG grout cleaner and will try that now, see if it makes any difference. I've put photos where you can see how the grout lines are mostly dark, and even light and dark patches together in any single grout line. The picture with the two bottles shows the grout line that I tried to clean in between those bottles. The fourth picture along of intersecting grout lines is one of the rare areas where the colour is correct. What is going on there, is it dirt or something else? Did they put too much water with the grout and it's dried blotchy, or clean up the grout too soon before it had dried sufficiently? When I put any water or cleaning fluid on, the grout goes immediately dark so it's impossible to tell if it's cleaned it until it dries. If the HG cleaner doesn't work, I suppose I could try and regrout the whole lot or buy some grout colour? I've never done grouting so colouring it would be preferable.

Secondly, I've attached an image (the last picture along) where I've drawn a yellow line about a centimetre distance from the edge of the tile that I used the cleaner and a brush on. The camera doesn't show it but depending where I'm standing and the lighting, that line to the edge of the tile is now shinier than the rest of the tile, like looking at a car that's just been T-Cut next to a non T-Cut area. Or to put it another way, as though the area between yellow line and edge of tile has been buffed to a higher shine with a polish, and where I can see a faint feathered edge where it meets the rest of the tile that wasn't affected. The tiles came pre sealed but needed wax removal. My builder told me he'd removed the wax. I'm wondering if the chemical and brush I used took something off the tile that shouldn't have, or, if it's simply taken off some wax that actually wasn't removed? The shiny part gives a slightly clearer reflection, although not really noticeable if I'm not standing in the right light, so it doesn't seem to be a bad thing? What is your opinion on these things guys? Thanks.









 
Sponsored Links
Blimey, does anyone read this forum. :(

I gave as much detail as I could of the problems along with a bunch of photos to help, and no replies in nearly 4 days. What do you want, blood? :D
Noone have any advice for me then?
 
I am not an expert by any means but it look like one of the following
A grout is wet at the darker parts
B the grout was not mixed properly before use
C the tiles were not properly cleaned before grouting and the coulour of the surface dirt has mixed with the grout locally
overall I am not impressed with the tiling, the beds are not the same and the tiles are badly lined up at the corners just my opinion!Mind you it could just be that the diferent grout colour is making it look off on second thoughts :oops:
 
Sponsored Links
Adhesive not cleaned out between tiles..
Grouted to early...adhesive not cured...
Grout mixed in a dirty bucket...
Grout badly mixed..
To much water in the grout...
Amongst others....

Best to de-grout it and then redo..

Ps the shade variation sticks out a mile...next time employ a tile fixer..

IMO I don't think sealing it will help any..
 
jwpzx9r - Yep the builders did a **** job of the tiling and grouting. There's lipping all over the place, unevenly spaced grout lines, and bad grouting.

tictic - Yeah, I'll have to de and regrout it all. You say sealing won't help any, but I did say I wasn't intending to seal it until I've sorted the colour out. But then sealing it will help keep it clean.


it's too long

ask a shorter question.

Right yeah, I should have just posted 'what's wrong with my grout?' so that members can say they have no information or pics to go on. I didn't realise 3 paragraphs providing as much info and pics as possible would make it harder to answer my questions.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Back
Top