We Grouted this SHOWER and IT LOOKS BAD!!! --- Inconsistent DARK and LIGHT Spots
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- čas přidán 1. 11. 2021
- One of the issues we have with grout is that it can dry with inconsistent color shading with some areas lighter or darker. Since it is a cement product with acrylic polymers and color pigment, many factors can attribute to the color that ultimately dries to. What kind of water is used, drying time, humidity, and application can all lead to inconsistent color and shading of the grout.
On this project we used Custom Building Products Polyblend Plus non sanded grout and it came out bad. The only thing we could do to fix it is scrape it out, and re-grout it. - Věda a technologie
Man, I wish all contractors would be like you. Love your honesty!
Would be a lot easier for consumers if they were. Finding a good contractor is like winning the lotto. You literally have to interview them like a job interview to make sure they actually know what they're doing and before you do that you have to do a ton of research yourself.
Had this happen even with Prism and Ardex grouts on occasion as well. The problem went away 2 years ago after I stopped using sponges for grouting. I get a big pack of yellow microfiber towels from Costco and they are amazing to work with. fold them 2 times and you have 8 clean surfaces to wipe before you need to rinse. they are much cheaper than sponges and they don't wet the grout nearly as much. I think this was the main issue here, since corners and the niche needed to be washed more intensively and the sponge just left too much water on the grout there. Props for bringing this up.
The shirt is very fitting for this video! It’s refreshing to see someone with the integrity you have!
It's because the ceramic tiles absorb water really well. If you notice it's mainly on tiles that were cut on a wet saw. To prevent it you have to grout almost 48 hours after install to allow the tiles to dry. I used to have the same issues with that grout.
Great information, thanks for your knowledge !
honestly love this comment section, so many great tips just reading through, this is what the construction industry as a whole needs more of, this open honest communication with everyone
We aren't perfect! I love that you said this. I hate being told by a customer that something isn't just right for them, but I do love the learning experience, and making my blunders a lesson to be learned. Great content
Customers stay happy and are reassured when you can honestly tell them you've experienced this before and can make the professional repair. If you dodge it then you van never call yourself an experienced tile setter. Problems occur time to time and everything is a learning experience. Lobe you too coach, thanks for sharing, it was encouraging
I've seen this on a project years ago, it was advised by the Customs rep to wash the area with Sulfamic Acid Crystals it actually worked. He mentioned it can be caused by washing with hard water and or using too much water to wash areas that may have went off when grouting too large an area at a time which is what we did.
Another great tip, thank you!
I agree too much water or water related
Where can you buy the Sulfamic Acid to do this?
@@smallenginemst3450 Our Home Depot stocks it might find it there.
This happens when the tiles absorb and hold water often from wetsaw cuts. Try Restore from Stonetech or Sparks cleaner first.
Respect how you handle this call backs! Most of the ppl on CZcams only show off ! Not often to see such an honest person! Respect
I had a similar issue a year ago. Different brand of grout but all the tiles cut with a wet saw had darker grout around them. The tiles held onto some of the moisture from cutting and caused the grout to dry slower (darker).
Next level content here. Thanks for uploading this! I think this can happen with some grout colors if they're mixed at high speeds. Sometimes color pigments will pull away from centrifugal force.
Thanks so much for posting this video! This looks exactly like a problem I had with that same exact grout. But not only did I have dark spots, I had a lot of light spots too. I had probably less than 10% of my grout the true color I was going for and ended up begrudgingly painting over all of the grout with a grout paint to avoid scraping everything out. Incredibly frustrating.
For reference, I tiled both my kitchen and bathroom with the same porcelain tiles in each room set on top of Ditra with All-Set. I was using unsanded Polyblend in Platinum. I grouted the kitchen 3 days after the tile went in and the bathroom about 24 hours after the tile went in. I live in the PNW where our municipal water is quite soft. I used a scale to weigh out my grout and water for the mix and followed the mix instructions to the letter. I mixed (thoroughly) by hand since it was a small batch both times.
I'm not a professional by any means, but rather a DIY homeowner renovating my house for the last year. I've been following your channel for tiling advice - you're one of the best out there that I could find. I was very frustrated with this discoloration problem and this was the first that I was able to find somebody with the same experience. Thank you again for putting this out there. I finally feel vindicated knowing that this wasn't just my inexperience showing, but a problem with a seemingly a defective product that an experienced professional has encountered too.
Do you deduce that the all set or the grout is the problem ?
Years ago I had this happen on a massive shower, the rep for the grout company came out, all said and done they determined it was old grout. Also water quality/hard water contributes to this problem as well.
The measure of a business is how they address the job that doesn't turn out as planned. Good on you for putting the customer first. Some times as contractors we just have to own a problem that occurs from issues out of our control.
I really enjoy and learn a lot from your videos by the way! I've been tiling for 4 years now! I try to watch all the videos I can to learn
I've had problems with that grout as well. Also little tip with those blades, you can take some pliers and break the end of, it'll give you a "fresh" sharp point
OLFA LBB black blades are also very good to work with.
Thanks for the input and the context behind it. I have always been using Mapei Ultracolour Plus FA, Always turns out nice.
These are the kinds of videos we need as a community of craftsman and contractors. Transparency and honesty. Good for you for honoring your work and fixing it.
I had this issue a few times with polyblend. I was told by a custom rep that color variation is not only common but expected in portland cement based grout. Apparently, the color of that cement is so close to the grout that the added color isn’t strong enough to overpower the natural shade of portland cement. I found in the technical specs a clause that actually confirms this. It’s just a bad product.
I did something similar to what you did here to repair it and never used grey polyblend again.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for what you do brother! I just started a tile business and I always learn something new from your videos!
Good luck 👍
Thanks brother!
Well done mate , nice to see someone cares about there work👍
Love your instruction. Really good fine tool to use to remove tight grout joints is a carbide tip cutter for cement board. Easy to detail due to thin profile and strong enough to not dull.
Also called a backer board scoring knife.
First off just want to say you're the man tile coach love the videos!
I only use mapai fine aggregate sanded grout now, never get discoloration anymore. I found discoloration happens if you dont pre mix the bag first before adding water, or adding grout to low grouted spots after its starting to set, also if you wipe out the color with to much water. I find it best to quickly wipe lines smooth after grouting, then once more with very little water 10-20 mins or so after, lastly use cheese cloth for final to remove haze. Works like a charm havent had discoloration in years.
This... it's from pulling the pigment out with the sponge when cleaning imo. The issues is likely related to the cheap chemicals used int eh polyblend that need more time to set up for the colors to bond before people go crazy sponging.
I agree, it's an issue with polyblend. When ever I have to use it I always mix with bottled drinking water, it's crazy but it works
Props for putting out this video. Sometimes it's just as important to be able to fix an issue than not having one at all. I'd go with laticrete permacolor or mapei ultracolor plus fa grout to avoid the poly blend issues. And I'd make sure to use white thinset for lighter color grout and grey thinset for darker color grout to avoid the thinset inspecting the shade or color of the grout. I know the tile store Floor & Decor carries both mapei and laticrete grout and thinset.
We just did this with a customer/vendor supplied grout it was expensive and we were waiting for it to dry out to be uniform but to no avail, so I will be following this video for sure and make sure to follow up when we know what is happening! great videos as usual. Thank you for all the help!
Our job was on a backsplash in a kitchen btw, forgot to mention that
Class act as always solving a problem, love that ! I believe it's the grout product, too many guys won't use it for this reason. I see a lot of comments about this occurring in the gray range as well, perhaps those pigments separate more easily with machine mixing?
I like the honesty and integrity keep up the great work!
Thank you!
It's the polyblend and how it was mixed for sure. Polyblend in my experience does this sometimes and the fix for me has always been to use the mapei grout stain and sealer and get it all back to one uniform color. I also only mix grout by hand never with a mixer. Used to have this issue every once in a while, but since switching to mapei FA the problem was resolved.
I also mix my grout by hand.
Bro, if you are using Mapei Grout Refresh to fix discoloration, I can't imagine you will keep customers. That product is way too thick, like paint, and within a short time, it will peel. Especially applying it to non sanded grout, it's just not going to soak in, not going to get any traction on that grout. And then, have fun stripping it all off just to regrout the areas that should have been corrected in this first place. 👏.....👏.......👏 Great idea.
I had this problem and it was due to thinset not being fully cured
We do the samething. I stopped using custom products
Yep always mix by hand. I used a mixer once years ago and the pin hole hell that ensued was enough to make me a hand only mixer.
Had it recently with floor grout, it was grey powder mix, I think it was to do with the adhesive in the joints. I cleaned it rigorously before grouting, but small patches came up darker, luckily not to many, so was an easy fix, but couldn't be left like that. Good job man 👏
Thanks for the utility knife tip. Never thought of that, but it works like a charm and it's safe. 👍
I have had a similar experience with that grout on a project afew years ago. I found that mixing all the dry mix together first without water then making batches stopped it from happening. From what I understand it can either be due to the dye settling or inconsistent dispersion in the mixing process, takes time but alot less than cutting out the grout or having to redo the tileing Just my 2 cents. Thanks for the videos and transparency not alot of people who are in the trades are as open and honest! Keep it up
Had this happen when using gray thinset and fast setting which is also grey. 90% of the time was where it "oozed" close to the surface of the tile but still deep enough for grout to cover. I think the dark color bleeds through the lighter color grout. But have had it happen with white thinset also but only 14-15 hr cure time. Never had spotted grout after a weekend of curing. So now I always skip a full day to allow thinset cure more and never had any more issues in 10+ years. Sucks to delay jobs a day but 100% customer satisfaction and perfect finished tile work and the unlimited amount of word of mouth referrals more than pays for itself.
Love the saying on your t-shirt. Imagine a world where people lived by that.
Same thing happened to me with that polyblend NS once. Havnt used it since. I started with using a blade to remove but I switched to a dremel grout removal bit and it was so much faster and did not chip any edges. I did use distilled water on that job. Polyblend is definitely very sensitive to mixing, water, and timing on clean up.
tile coach you're the best for showing us this kinda stuff
I JUST had this happen with polyblend delorean gray on the basement bathroom floor over concrete. I've had efflorescence (sp?) before from using too much water wiping grout but I don't think that was my problem this time. I did a very light "wash" after 4 days of drying with distilled vinegar and a small steel brush and it seemed to even things out a little. Next step is going to be a stronger acid wash and if that doesn't work I'm going to use the grout stain. Not ready to try and get all that grout out without destroying the tile......AS ALWAYS thanks for this great content and insight. Your channel is awesome!!
Excellent stuff. My belief is that it’s always a combination of factors, but it amounts to inconsistent drying time in different areas. When I must use non-sand grout, I follow the final wash with a dampened microfibre. This will generally produce the darkest form of the colour.
A great solution for it is to mix the grout while is still powder specially for unsanded grouts that will pre activate the chemicals in it then add the manufacturer recommended amount of water mix let slake, remix and apply…
Good luck with this repair and thank you for all your videos!
I had to redo a backsplash after a similar problem. We concluded the grout wasn’t mixed before water was added.
It happened to me in a bathroom using mosaic and charcoal gray unsanded grout even though I use the proper amount of water here in Chicago, after doing some research and understanding how complex is grout now a days tried mixing my powder and it worked it even looked different in my bucket when l was mixing it with water as well as the consistency of it, was more pliable and it had a slight longer life in the bucket.
I mix my powder before mixing it with water including mortar.
I' ve had some similar problems with the same grout in my experience it's two possibilities, one is inconsistent mixing of the grout, or two the more likely cause is when you sponged it off, the best way to avoid it is to use a microfiber as your grouting to wipe all excess moisture from the joints, when you have water on top or the cream left behind it leaves some pretty bad color differences once the grout dries.
I've been a tilesetter for over 45 years. Seen this with Custom brand grout for decades. We used TEC brand for years and never had a problem. We now use Mapei and don't have problems with it. Mapei rep told us that too much water won't cause color problems with the ultra color.----In the old days we only had 3 colors (white,grey and black.)Things were much simpler, but there were still color problems back then. High humidity would cause color problems , maybe it still does.
If you use the the same mixer paddle from the thin-set or even the same bucket it could cross contaminate the grout batch like that or even hard water (which I don’t this is the case ) it will actually change the color by a slight variation. I hope this might help . Looks good 👍🏼
Very interesting, i have not seen this when it goes dark and stays dark as if it was wet. I would have probably wet/sponged the entire shower first and put a fan on it to see if that helped the evaporation process. Also maybe you could buy a moister tester and poke the dark areas to see if it actually is more wet than the lighter areas, that would help you figure out if it's wet still or if it's a chemically reaction issue.
Such a great channel. Love how you do business.
This just happened on tile we had installed in our kitchen. The tile people came back out and removed grout and redid the parts that were dark. Unfortunately, they chipped a lot of tiles, and it did not work. Some grout was lighter, but other spots are still dark. At this point we're planning to use a grout recolorant.
I have had this happen to me. Make sure the grout is properly mixed, the couple times it happened to me I had rushed the mix. Go above and beyond mixing recommendations especially when using additives such as stain blockers grout enhancers.
Might be the over glazing on the edges of the tile. But that usually causes it to lighten, not darken. I've had several issues back in the day. Found that mixing the polyblend with super cold bottled water helped. These days use 100% prism. Even on tight joint. Make it a little loose and pay attention to the vertical joints as they tend to "run". Wring your sponge tight and wipe the verticals. Works pretty good.
I'm from Toronto. A Mapei rep told me, sometimes the cement has to fully cure before grouting. My black grout went light on me. I tried what they told me, it made a little bit of a difference after I tried to fix the grout. I think it is the grout in my opinion.
Super professional. Well done.
Thank you very much!
I've been doing tile for 35 years and I have a feeling when it was wiped out more water was used in the corners to get them cleaner the longer it takes to dry the darker it dries it's a typical poly blend issue I always use a heat gun or a blow dryer to dry the corners and never have that issue because of that exact reason good luck with your final
Great tip
When more water is used, it will dilute the color and turn lighter, not darker. This is completely different.
Ive dealt with this several times with multiple products which is what led me to determine it was likely not the product but something we were doing. Not having any scientific research to back this ive stopped using well water to grout with and the issues have seamed to go away. This is a bit of a pain but not nearly as painful as fitting a regret into an already full schedule. Id love to know for sure if this is why I haven't seen this issue again but until I have some expert opinion Ill continue hauling my water. One thing I noticed was the majority of my issues seemed to come from the premixed products such as flex color cq although that wasn't 100% of the time. Also I only experienced it on jobs such as the one you showed with a tub or on a floor because I always use epoxy on full showers so something about the epoxy curing process seems to make it immune to this issue. Unfortunately my area in Ohio consists of mostly rural sites making about 70% of my job sites have well water and most simply use a water softener to treat it. I did have mapei inspect one and claim this was a mildew issue which I didn't feel was reasonable in 3 weeks of use so I never bothered going through that again. Still what's important is how issues are handled when they arise and thats what keeps us working.
Yes. Not curing at the same rate. I have had this happen when I didn’t let the tile dry after washing it before grouting. I try to final wash and clean the joints the day before grouting so that everything is dry. Or clean with a damp microfiber with minimal water.
I just had this happen but on a shower floor; in my case it's moisture trapped but now may have dried a different color since it took weeks. Tried fanning, heating, dehumidifying . . . nothing. Might use colorant and seal, if it dries that is. Glad it worked for you though!
Maybe it was the spacers/spacing that was a little funky in those areas? Is it always exact? Love that you just want your customer to be happy. 🙌🏾 You're so kind! 😉
A Formica scoring tool works great for grout removal it’s solid carbide.
I’ve had this problem a few times and never figured out why
Same,,, great tool to have on hand for a variety of tasks.
And the tip has the perfect profile
@@wallacegrommet9343 I sharpen these with the little diamond files you can find in stores, I use the little plastic ones onsight, or a bench grinder at home, 4 1/2" grinder will do in a pinch.
Per a local former Wedi rep, BEFORE pouring dry grout into container to mix, shake/mix the grout well in its bag, to REMIX the colorant that has settled.
That has solved my issue with discolored grout.
I wish I would have known this. Used polyblend delorean gray. Such inconsistent coloring. Ugh! Two people recommend staining. So I guess that's the way to go. 😒 Never had a problem with Mapei. Thanks for your informative video. 👍
A couple of ideas: 1> The lighter (right) parts were the easy areas to grout so they were done first. The fiddly parts were likely left until last when the grout had started to dry off in the bucket as the clock ticks away. 2> Thickness of the tile set behind the tile, exposing the darker backer / membrane colour. 3> bad grout line clean out before applying grout in the fiddly sections. 4> Insufficient time left between tile setting & applying grout...don't rush! Good tile work takes TIME. 5> Inconsistent application of grout sealer or too little set time left for the grout before application of the sealer.
Your comment about fixing it sooner is a good one...fresh tile cement or grout i still soft for a few days after application so it is much easier to scrape out...leave it a week or two & it goes REALLY hard making more work.
Same thing happened to me this year with floor tiles- I ended up using as little amount of moisture as possible but even then there was a variation- I found I had re-do areas, one tip I had was using a multi tool- it saved time and once I took out one element, I was able to remove large areas of grout quickly. Frustrating but in the end I did the best I could and it has a rustic charm. To me its about moisture levels and how well the product is mixed.
Always with good tips 👍🏼
i have had this with insulated or cement board i think it is so waterproof the adhesive struggles to dry locked in if you like it does go after a while
I have grout color differences showing up where I tried to use grout remover. basically, i think i should have only used the grout remove on the stone tiles and not let it get into the grout lines. Great video--thanks for the advice & pro tips!
It happens when you leave to much moisture on top of the grout when sponging . You just have to make sure to wipe up all “standing water”
I used to have this problem years ago when I used polyblend grout from home Depot. I think it happens if you use too much water. I haven't experienced the same problem with permacolor, prism or mapei ultracolor plus. A light duty acid can fix that problem in most cases. Epoxy grout is definitely the best quality grout but it's a pain in the ass....I hate grouting with epoxy.
I use Ultra color a lot, it requires a different technique, but the results and longevity are worth it to my customers. Stove top back splash areas proved it to me, grout looks original 10 years later.
Hi coach,,
Fabian Lopez here Owner of Sun Diego Tile Installations in San Diego CA...
22yrs experience.
Well, we stopped using Customsgrout years and years ago,
Its litterlycomplete garbage!
We use Servo Royal Kiesel grout instead of the Non-sand.
Kiesel allows down too a 1/16 grout joints...
Thanks for sharing, good luck!
One solution,
“Don’t ever buy polyblend” not to pick on you but it’s worse product out there. It washes color out also, first I though it was me until I switched to a different product, all problems went away.
I stopped using that crap 10 years ago
It’s polyblend. Haven’t used that garbage in a long time for this exact reason. Stopped using plolyblend, stopped having shading issues:(.
Shut up
I agree, I don’t use poly blend anymore. Especially the non-sanded, it’s the worst. Even when customers have picked a poly blend color I will cross reference a different manufacturers similar color.
Yes! That stuff is total shit
So what's the option then, use one of the many newer hybrid grouts that u can scratch out with a fingernail.
I personally like to use mapei hybrid grout cause it actually gets hard enough to last long term. But I consistently use custom when I need a longer working time with the grout. I'm very picky on how mix it and the water I'm using so maybe that has something to do with it.
Each to their own though. If it works for u, use it.
@@liverpoolliverpool6688 such an intelligent rebuttal. Clearly a person of higher intellect.
I think you will be fine after a few weeks tbh. With a tight joint and schlueter system I think that's what I would say to that. Slow drying thinset keeping the grout from fully drying
DIY'er here. I had this happen with Polyblend as well. The grout was fine when I tiled a shower surround with the new bag; there was some powder left over so I used it a couple years later to grout a small tile tabletop I made for fun and the grout cured in different shades just like yours. Best I can figure is that the dye particles clumped up or it aged somehow despite being stored in a cool, dry basement. Check and see if your bag has an expiration date. I'll be looking at other brands of grout for future projects.
Great video! Bummer when this happens but it DOES happen.
How fitting. I just did some Mapei Sanded grout just this past weekend with similar blotchy results. My theory was that I had my sponge too damp when I was cleaning off the tiles so made the upper layer of grout more 'watery' than the rest. My tiles were set weeks ago so the thinset was totally cured and I used their sealer mix instead of water, so it had nothing to do with what was coming out of my faucet.
Interesting.
Yesterday I used the Mapei pre mixed (light grey) for an outdoor 80sq ft (uncovered) area by my front door. I have this problem too. I am so annoyed. I also let our mortar sit for 2 weeks (we had a family emergency and had to leave it for 2 weeks). We swept and used a toothbrush to get out as much debris as possible. I’m frustrated since idk if maybe it was mold/dirt that we missed and it’s leeching up or if it was too much water to wipe off. I don’t know what to do but I know I will NEVER lay tile again lol. I am extremely good at DIY, but tile is an art and I do not have the skill/knowledge.
I’ve ran into the same issue with the same brand. I am still kinda puzzled by it but I had better luck on one of my last tile jobs with mixing it on slow speed for 5 minutes. Might be something else but that was my best guess.
Have you ever tried the safety blades with the carbide grit instead of a sharp edge? Made especially for grout. Also a multi tool with the same type of blade? I would think that they would give good control and speed up the process greatly (plus save many blades).
I’ve had that same problem using custom unsanded grouts. For some reason it’s only the grey colors that did it. Haven’t had it happen again since I primarily use laticrete unsanded grouts. It could be the thinset still curing because the new grout would dry just fine. All my wall tiles were set over Kerdi with white ditra-set thinset.
I know that I use to have have this problem if I didn't mix for 5 minutes, let sit for 5 minutes and then mix again. Once I started doing that I never had that problem again. I had this issue on a tile floor that was on a slab and started doing research. And one person said to mix the grout 5-5-5 method
Thank you, as always
7:36 For those who don’t know, make sure to vacuum and/or use paint brush to “clean out” the grout line so no “dust/particles” left in there. If there is and you apply the new grout, not gonna go so well for you in the end; as could have some issues; so just make sure clean and even use damp cloth/sponge after vacuum/dusting with paint brush (I like a wood handle chip brush) and wipe down areas gonna grout just be sure not to soak everything….don’t want water dripping or collecting in the grout joints before grouting.
Weird though Isaac, this just happened on my last job. We had matte black 15x30 porcelain tile for shower walls and the 10x11 hexagon (mat backing) floor tile and used black grout for entire shower. Afterwards we had areas of black, grey, and whitish grout after 3-4 weeks. Used Laticrete thin set as well, same as you.
Would like to know why this happened (grout for this particular job was Mapei UltraColor FA black). So, your not only one this has happened to. Definitely need patience and blades for this kind of work, as you said…..😉; for a my personality…..this WASN’T EASY, AS I LIKE TO KEEO GOING/MOVING/ETC….AND being patient, yeah….had to play music and become mind numb to do🤦🏼
Will say, this is FIRST time has happened to us using this brand/type/color of grout; as we using have great results.
Bathroom floor was a blue/grey color and was epoxy grout and TURNED OUT PERFECT. Used Mapei as well and same water as the shower…so we know not the water. Same person mixed both (as usual) with same tools etc always does.
APPRECIATE this vid, as it shows “TNINGS” happen, but in most cases able to “fix” and move on. Also tells ppl they ain’t alone and if happened to [you] it’s happened to other as well😊
Have a good one, cheers☺️✌🏻
I’ve watched a few videos from this champ and somehow I’ve managed to get the algorithm to show me only when he screws up. On the face the videos show a fairly terrible tradesperson. In the end they are extremely valuable because as a tradesperson myself, I know that often a mistake is truly when we learn our lessons.
Good t-shirt. Totally agree
My first mistake as an installer was grout failure. 13 years ago I did a job using white mortar to set tiles and black grout. The black grout was absorbing the white coloring out the thin set.
I just remodeled my shower this past weekend and run into the same exact issue although I used Mapei’s keracolor s and it almost has me believing it may be a problem with the water. My house is fed from a shallow spring with extremely hard water and everything was mixed and applied the exact same way. The Thinset had set and cured almost the entire week before because I could only work on it during weekends. So rules out a Thinset issue.
It happen to me with delorian grey since then I don't use custom grout/ problems as well with pro exel from tile shop/ ardex from tile shop as well.. I always use mapei ultracolor even on subway tile no issues and sometimes tec power grout no problems.. another good grout it's mapei CQ. but don't use it on polished porcelain/marble polished/ and limestone/peebles stone
Had this exact issue with the exact same product. It was not as bad as this example, but there is light coloration differences in the grout. I would love to find out what caused this. I thought it may be the water amounts used when mixed, but after thinking about how I grouted the tile, the difference was in sections that I grouted at the same time.
Two important things to know about grouting that can create problems.
Watch for consistency in the grout. It may need de--clumping or more mixing to prevent spots.
Material/moisture,etc. from below can end up getting drawn into the grout as it cures and show up on top of the grout or along the edges between the tile and grout.
Hey brotha, I use an RV water filter from Walmart when I mix grout. I only use customs grout and it comes out flawless, regardless of the color I choose. Customs is a great company too, they back up all their product. Try the RV filter next time from here on out, let me know how it works out.
I love watching your videos. There are 3 possible reasons why grout discolors in my exp.
1. Too much water on your wash. Normally due to it drying before you can wipe properly.
2. Dirty water buckets. Have to keep clean water.
3. If you put sealer on too heavy.
Adding water to drying grout in the bucket also discolors.
I've got this going on too with some Mapei grout. I thought it was the colourant in the grout not being mixed thoroughly so I tried again mixing it through thoroughly but it still happened. I'm going to try a different grout brand and see if it helps.
It happened to me once as well.
My employee pissed in the water that we used to grout.
I fired him. And we had to redo it all over again, but with clean water this time and it turned out great.
lol wtf
What did you do to the poor guy that made him piss in your bucket lol?
Integrity. Good man.
I had this happen with Power Grout by TEC also. A Gray SHADE AS WELL.!The Darker grout I scraped out and it was Lighter JUST underneath the surface. Grout scraper used to just etch the bad areas worked.🤷♂️
This was similar...the dark seemed to only be on the surface
Happened to us years ago using the same brand. Deducted it down to everything overall, probably mixed it slightly too fast, we definitely did not wrong out the sponge enough, the site was always humid (had bad mold problems prior to demo), and poly blend is really not forgiving material
Dude that's crazy!! I had the EXACT same issue on ONE tile with that exact box of unsanded custom grout on 1/16 grout joints. I mixed one batch of grout and it only happened on ONE of the grout joints but I don't understand how or why it happened. The area where the grout color was different was on a tile that I replaced the day I grouted so I figured that it was taking longer to dry due to moisture leaving the mastic (tiled a backsplash with 4x12 subway tiles and used 'rolling fog' grout color)as the grout was drying but after a week it never lightened up. I also replaced 3 other tiles that day and grouted them as well but none of those areas had that same issue. Haha, I have been beating my brain trying to understand why it only happened in that one spot
The glazing on the sides of the tiles would be my guess.
just fyi...not sure where this is located but Folsom has major water problems which is actually eating the copper pipes here and pitting them, the City maintains that it's not whatever additive they're putting in the water, but there are several homeowners who recently have had the pitting of copper pipes which flooded their homes (there are news articles on this). So, I wonder if the water here may impact the grout? Also, I'm literally calling you next week because I am ready to redo my front bath and want to hire you! I need to convert the 1990 tub/shower combo to shower only, I'm even open to having you use the FlexSeal method! Great stuff, so happy you're located in my community!
i like the fa i used gray ,i did have a little color variation,my guess is too wet of a sponge ,when washing,i still like the fa ,good video
In the past i have had issues and now buy efflorescence free grout. Also, on a job once i mixed up some beige grout by hand with a trowel and when putting on the wall red streaks appeared. Upon research these are red colorants thats added into the dry mix to colour the grout. I now mix all grout's with a electric paddle, let it sit for 5 mins and then mix again. Also, when washing off, don't use a very wet sponges as pushing water into the joint also causes problems/
Mixing inconsistencies. It happened to me once. One mix was wetter than the next. I had to remove the old and renew it. I used a power grout removal tool. It worked pretty well.
Sand a light layer of grout off the top. A drywall sponge. Or go back and wet down the wall until it looks like it has a consistent saturation. Allow time to dry. Check ✔
Prism grout does this as well. Most problems with prism is on shower pans. Most likely due to mixing and or moisture behind the tiles and not able to dry properly
Love the videos, been following for a couple years now.
Been setting tile for about 8 years professionally (or at least on my own and not tending another setter)
Just wanted to offer up 2 solutions ive found that have worked for me at least!
1, carrying a knife sharpener, you know cheap ones that have a V groove you drag the blade no through.
2-3. Passes and I’ve got a edge that will cut grout, cut my blade usage 3fold.
2, I personally love using my multi tool except instead of using a grout removing blade I’ll use a normal blade, preferably a half moon shape, that I’ve already worn out smooth (I’ve even taken the blade to the back of a tile to purposely remove the teeth) and run the joints that way. Pulling it back towards me letting the oscillation work its magic. Used this method on both ceramic and glass subway :)
Hope these work for you and looking forward to the next one!
Wow, it's these things that make today's world so awesome. Before YT no one would ever learn this from you, now these days there's NO EXCUSE to not educate yourself if you're willing to poke around and ask questions and listen to people online. Thanks for sharing Dan!
Same happened on my kitchen floor. Same grout in DeLorean grey color.