Apparently you need a specific blade designed just for grout removal. Good to know since we completely ruined another blade by using it the wrong way on our tiled fireplace makeover. This blade was more curved and much rougher than the other attachments and it helped with grinding into the grout at angles rather than straight down (where you risk breaking or lifting up a tile).
repairing cracked grout from a tile floor
Before you can apply any new tile grout you need to giveyour surface a thorough cleaning. Going over the grout lines again with avacuum and wiping down the tiles with a soft wet tile sponge should be all thatyou really need to do to prep for your new grout.
The last thing you need to do is clean off the fresh groutfrom the surface of your tile. Use a clean wet tile sponge to wipe down yourtiles, being careful to just glide over the fresh new grout lines. You may needto rinse and repeat this step a few times to clean off your tile surface.
Measure the width of the grout lines on your tile floor. If the lines are less than one-eighth of an inch, you need unsanded, epoxy or acrylic latex grout. Grout lines wider than one-eighth of an inch need sanded grout. The exception to this is marble tile floors. Sanded grout scratches the surface, so use unsanded, epoxy or acrylic latex on them.
Cut out the damaged grout with a grout saw. Insert the blade of the saw, which looks like a screwdriver or round handle with a saw on the end, into the joint with the damaged grout. Move the saw back and forth along the joint to cut out the grout. If the grout is particularly difficult to remove, apply more pressure to the grout saw as you move the saw along the joint. Take care not to damage the tiles.
Note: If you have small, hairline cracks in the grout, mix a small amount of unsanded grout and apply it directly into the damaged joint with your finger. Wipe off any excess from the surrounding tiles and allow the grout to dry.
Do you need to fix some tiles? You can do tile repair in many ways, but the most common is by using epoxy grout. This will fill any cracks and holes found in the tile and make it look new again! The process of fixing tile is not difficult at all.
This customer contacted us about repairing the grout on their bathroom tile floor: they had observed the grout separating and cracks forming around the tiles. Upon investigation, however, we realized more was needed than a simple regrout. We noticed that the tiles had actually lost their bond to the floor. When tapping on the tiles, we could hear the loose tiles move. This will often be a smacking sound as the tile hits the substrate, or a gritty sound as the sand in the joints crumbles and grinds against the tile. The video below shows the type of sound we are listening for:
Repairing grout around loose tiles will never fix the issue as a tile assembly can only absorb minimal movement. The extra movement in the tile as it is walked on will be enough to crack the tile or grout over and over. The only way to fix this problem is to remove the tiles and reinstall them to industry standards.
The next steps to repair the bathroom tile were to clean the remaining mortar off both tiles, and plywood substrate. In order to reuse the existing tiles, we had to grind the backs of the tiles. This in particular was slow work as we needed to minimize heat and vibration to ensure none of the tiles cracked.
Using ceramic or stone tiles in a home is a great way to create an aesthetically pleasing space. Tiles can provide a durable water resistant barrier on floors, walls, and in shower or bath enclosures. With so many color and textured options, tiles surfaces can allow a home to be unique and beautiful.
Grout is a material made from sand, water and cement, and is installed between tiles where tiles meet other surfaces. Grout helps to fill gaps and create a water resistant seal. It is common to find cracked grout at locations where the tiled surfaces meet other surfaces, such as at floors or countertops. Grout is not an elastic material, and will not stretch when building materials expand and contract, or when building structures settle. Therefore, when movement occurs grout can crack.
Cracked grout lines at countertops and floors are a common defect in newly built homes, and cracked grout repairs is one of the most common warranty claims for new construction homes. It is also common to find grout cracks inside tiled shower enclosures. These cracks when exposed to excess moisture can allow water to leak into walls and floor, and could cause substantial damage over time if not addressed. Best building practices calls for sealant to be installed at shower enclosure corners and transitions to prevent cracking and water intrusion issues.
Tile grout is vital to maintain and repair throughout its lifespan because it creates a seamless appearance between tiles on your floor. Grout is a notoriously porous element that traps moisture, creating the perfect atmosphere for mold and mildew to grow. Learn how to clean this area of your tile and how to fix cracks or gaps to prevent mold and more damage from occurring.
Using a putty knife or grout saw, begin scraping away the old grout that is cracked or needs replacing. Vacuum or sweep up the mess you make as you work through the joints in your tile. This prepares the floor for new grout.
Once you fill in the gaps entirely with grout, you need to wipe and scrape away the excess mixture so that it does not stick to the tiles. Take the float from before and gently scrape over the joints to pick up the leftover grout. This will create a flush line with the rest of the floor.
Before you apply the sealant, you must allow the grout to dry for one to two days. You need to seal this area of the floor because it can be prone to more cracks and chips the more you walk over the surface. Sealants will protect this material and prevent water from entering the pores and growing mold and bacteria.
Tile flooring is both beautiful and luxurious to have in the home, but in order to maintain the appearance, you must know how to clean and repair the grout. Do not neglect this component of your floor or more severe damage will set in. Ensure you are doing regular maintenance and cleaning the grout at least twice a year.
Tile and grout restoration contractors encounter many problems with tile and grout flooring, but the most common problem seems to be cracking. If your tile and/or grout is cracking, you may want to ask your restoration contractor about the solutions in this article.
When the conditions of soil under a house change because of moisture or soil shifting, a downward movement, or settling of the structure may occur. Often, this movement is not structurally significant, but it can cause problems with building materials, including floors. If cracking in tile and grout is caused by settlement, fixing the problem may be a complicated and expensive ordeal. Sections of the floor and underlayment (the material between the floor and the foundation) must be removed, cracks deep underneath must be repaired, and then the floor has to be rebuilt. Most floor restoration contractors leave this type of heavy-duty repair to building contractors.
On the other hand, flooring that is installed on a weak underlayment may also have problems with cracking. When we walk over floors, we apply a lot of pressure over a small area. If that pressure causes the underlayment to flex, then tile and grout flooring, which is not designed to be flexible, weakens. In time, the grout loosens or cracks, and tiles become hollow, or worse, they crack. If weak underlayment is the diagnosis, there may be two easy and inexpensive ways to resolve some cracking problems.
A very frustrated couple had called three different restoration contractors on three different occasions because of problems with the grout in their floor cracking year after year. They wondered whether the floor needed to be replaced entirely and called us as a last resort. I knew right away that if three different companies had tried to fix the problem by replacing the grout, then doing the same thing a fourth time would obviously not be a viable solution.
A flexible grout called QuartzLock 2 was our best solution. It is a pre-mixed, ready-to-use urethane and colored quartz-based grout that is very easy to install. It requires no sealing and is resistant to typical food stains and most household chemical products. The advantage of this type of grout is when it dries, it becomes flexible, and if there is any movement in the floor, the grout flexibility dissipates the stress that would otherwise put pressure on the tile.
For this reason, the customer asked me if we could solve his floor problem. Several tiles in the front of his shower were hollow, nearly lifting off the floor but still attached. We did not want to simply pull up and then reset the tile for two reasons. First, we might crack tiles, and the customer did not have any replacements. Second, the floor heating system could be damaged during the repair process.
Replacing the floor would have been a very expensive and time-consuming project, not only because of the cost of replacing the heating system and flooring, but also because the cabinets and baseboards were all built directly on top of the tile floor. Everything would have had to be removed from the bathroom.
Vibration can cause flooring to separate from the underlayment. For example, when workers remove asphalt or concrete, they use automatic hammers that employ vibration to break up the hard materials. Though not as powerful as a jackhammer, if a washing machine transmits vibration into a floor, it can cause the construction of the flooring to fail.
Instead of rebuilding the entire hallway, which would entail the near-impossible task of finding stone tiles to match the existing floor, we decided to use the flexible grout to regrout a ten square foot area. Because the builders made the mistake before the flooring was installed, this was not a permanent fix. But for the homeowner, this resolution was preferable to ripping up the tile and rebuilding the hallway and steps. I spoke with the customer recently, and she said everything is still fine. 2ff7e9595c
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