Wife wants new grout on our cermic til kitchen floor. Do I just put another layer on like I did orginally?

Question

Grout is too light and looks stained. I used "spray" sealer from Lowes... wondering if that was not the best. Can I just get a different color and spread it over the same way I did when I put the floor in the first time?

Should I seal it differently?

Answer 1

Your wife is asking a lot of you. You need to remove the old grout first. Not a small job.

Answer 2

Yes, you can refurbish your grout easily. Get a bag of ordinary portland cement and a can of hardner and some colorant all at Lowes. The cost will be no more than $25 for all this.

Mix 5 cups of portland cement with about 3/4 cup hardner and colorant to suit. add water to make it a consisency of thick toothpase. Then mist the existing grout and get it good and wet. Take a leather glove finger and go over those tile grout grooves with this mix. Keep this misted and keep the room cool so it doesnt dry too quickly. Wait about 3 or 4 hours then clean up the excess from the surfaces surrounding.

This will give a permanet smooth sealed grout. One that you will never ever have to buy that usless Silicone sealant for.

This is used in commercial building to seal grout. I was in the commercial office construction and it never ceases to astonish me how much of that useless Silicone sealant is sold to homeowners when such an easy and durable grout finish of portland cement , hardner and a little colorant is so far superior and so much cheaper.

I guess that there is no money is such a solution as this, seeing that that silicone sealant is like $30 for a small squirt bottle.

Answer 3

No, no, no, no, NO ! ! You must strip the floor first. Then use a grout tool to remove at least 1/2 the top layer of grout. Then you can mix and apply the new grout to the floor as you normaly would. Get some knee pads. It's gonna take a while.
Better yet, let her remove the old grout before you apply the new stuff.

Answer 4

With no offense to your Wife, others who answer, or you, and after having installed thousands of sq. ft. of tiles and Miles of grout, I suggest you have a dillema. Keep a smile on though.

In essence GROUT is similar or mortar, and at times, once cured, might be "harder"

I'm in the middle of re-doing 11,000 sq. ft. of tile repair due to a shoddy job initially and it is a challenge. I'm only GOOD not GOD, but I suggest you'll be sadly disappointed and probably nagged at later if you JUST GROUT OVER. I'mnot only removing OLD tiles, but replacing them after grinding off old mortar and grout.

SEALER degrades over time, and without knowing the substance or the properties of the last Sealer you used, I suspect there are Opaque sealer/stains available. I NEVER seal grout. I use poly blend grouts initially and kept CLEAN they hold color for years.

If you still have the spray can, check its ingredients, and any disclaimers about longevity. In any case, no offense or pun, you're between a Rock and a Hard place.

Email me if you wish with more details, but a deep cleaning, perhaps even, CAREFULLY using Muriatic Acid, a good rinse, then deciding a color of stain, might be your best, only option.

Steven Wolf

Answer 5

Do get out as much of the old grout as possible and then put new. Anything else will be a "cover up job" which will not Last long.

Answer 6

I've seen the pro's re grout tile counter tops to make them look new again so I'd say it could be done on the floor.. Clean it really good before grouting...
I think you just go over what you have with another thin coat...

Answer 7

You can buy Grout Paint that will match up with any color of Tile. I redone mine in the Bathroom in white and its looks very nice. Lowes carrys it and Most Home Supply Stores.

Answer 8

No you have to remove the old grout first.