Regrouting tile? removing the old grout?
 

I've got a question. What's the best way to regrout ceramic tile? If you had 900sqft of 12x12 ceramic tile with a 1/4" grout line and you wanted to regrout, what would you do (besides considering dynamite)? I think I remember reading somewhere that there was something that you could put on the grout that turns the grout to mush and allows you to scrape it out.

Any suggestions?

They make a grout file that will take it out they sell it at Home Depot ,it's a lot of work good luck !

"something that you could put on the grout that turns the grout to mush"

I've never heard of this but I would certainly investigate that option.

It's a horrid job... I used a "Fein" tool and carbide disk to remove the grout in my shower alcove and that took about 3 hours.

One of these would probably work great. Oscillating Multi-Tool Accessories | Bosch
I have one for stab cuts, and I think you can get a grout removal blade.
I wouldn't even think about doing it manually.

It will you take longer to remove all the grout then to remove all the tile and redo the entire job...

Why do you want to remove the grout?


KT

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I'd actually considered retiling, but taking the old tile up (directly on cement foundation) would suck, I think.

The old grout looks like butt, and we need to put some grout in a couple of spots (where we put a new door in, etc...) and as far as I know, the grout is NLA. We had some, extra, but I think it got thrown out. Besides, the old grout is so dirty that I don't think it would look good just putting new grout in.

OK, so is there a good way to really clean the poo out of grout?

Yep, that's what I am afraid of.
I have the small hand file, and there's no way in the world that I would try using that.
They have a "blade" that is basically the hand file that would go in a reciprocating saw, but I don't know that is actually a good option either.

The pro's here get $2.00 sq/ft to demo tile. SoCal so most everything is on slab. The price includes grinding the slab to a ready state for new floors. Money well spent IMO - I tried to DIY once and nearly died. Large power tools and hefty arms and back are required.

I just did our bathroom a few weeks ago. Scraped it out with a razor knife - but the gap wasn't 1/4".
Wasn't that big a deal. Not fun, but not horrible either...
Maybe just test a small section and see how hard it is to scrape out?

Try cleaning the grout first.

Use sulfamic acid crystals ( home Depot )
Mix with warm water and scrub with a bristle brush.
Rinse well.

Repair the missing grout.

If you are happy with the results, apply a sealeer ( 511 )

If not, use a grout colorant to restore or change the grout color.
It is a simple process that you can do over the course of a couple of weekends.

Show some pictures of what you are up against.

KT

If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask here or contact me by PM, e-mail or phone.

I have cleaned, repaired and restored thousands of square feet of grout over the years.


KT

Thanks Trekkor and the rest. I'll reply in a bit, off to bed for now, and then 4 days of work that may or may not give time to respond.

Thanks again, I've got more questions when I've got time to post them.

Actually, I do have time for a question.

About the grout colorant to restore or more specifically, change the color. What sort of product does a good job and how much can it change the color? Is it a tint, or will it completely cover the old color? We (missus and I) have wondered about this option.

The product is available at Home Depot.
"Epoxy Grout Colorant", by Custom Building Products.

It's a very durable grout "paint".
You brush it on acid washed grout.
It will cover old colors well and is easy to apply.

Going from dark to light may require two coats.

What color is your existing grout?

I recently used this in 25 hotel rooms where constant cleaning is seen with good results.


KT

Looks like they have changed the name of the product:

Polyblend® Grout Renew | Custom Building Products


KT

If you tile work is in good shape, I say clean the grout and scrape the loose stuff and re-grout it.

Take an air hammer with a chisel and go to town it will pop right out. 900 sq' should take a day or two max with an air hammer. YOu can also rent a small electric hammer with a wide chisel to pop them off.

These are rough grit, and will scratch hardened tile surfaces if not careful.

Too much effort, IMO.

Its really not that big of a job. Its not hard it just takes some time. Get the rasp grout file and go to town. I just finished our bathtub / shower combo this weekend. It took a couple hours on Friday and Saturday. It made the bathroom look like a million bucks compared to the old grout. Its really worth the time it takes.

900 square feet of tile is A LOT. That's something like a third of a mile of grout lines to file - not something i would want to attempt with one of those cheap hand files.
Dremel has a few grout removal bits/blades, but i'm not sure even those would be up to the task.

Edit: I just re-read the first post and saw that the grout lines are 1/4" wide... that's a bit wider than the dremel bits.

It's not a saw. It just oscillates at a really high speed.
It is nothing like a reciprocating saw. Of all the things I could think of that work, that's it.
A router might work, with the correct bit and guide. If the only other option is demo, it's worth a try.
Kneepads, goggles and a power tool.

Do not use a router, that's nuts. Use a Fein tool (or Bosch or whatever brand) some

Not to be insulting, but you guys giving advice on an "easy" way or special tools for grout removal, have obviously never done this.

This is a HUGE job. It will be noisy, dusty, frustrating and expensive.

Using a Dremal or high speed tool takes about 5 minutes per lineal foot.
Multiply that times 900.

It's 75 hours plus. ( if you take no breaks and don't damage the tile )
Who wants to spend two weeks carefully removing grout?

There are only two correct answers to this question:

Restore the grout or replace the entire tile floor.


KT

You're the expert Trekkor. But what about an acid wash?

Yes, I suggested that in post #10.


KT

Well. in my opinion..... I would say, listen to Trekkor.;)

Listen to Mr. Wills. Grout is hard stuff. Sanded grout is hard stuff because it has sand (glass) in it. If modifers were used, it's even harder. Acid will clean and weaken the grout a little. That will make it ready for repairs and re-coloring.

The Mrs and I have considered doing hardwood where we now have carpet, 12" tile and laminate. $50K is starters. I think that the tile can stay. She didn't like the dirty looking grout. I shamed her into actually trying to clean it. Brush and Borax is what she came up with. OxyCLean is supposably good. We borrowed a steam generator cleaner from a neighbor which was good after an OxyClean presoak. But the grout was coming up in a few places from where a carpet cleaner did a tile cleaning - I figured he agitated and vacuumed it up.

3-1/2 in. Diamond Grit Half-Moon Multi-Tool Blade for Masonry

Oscillating Multifunction Power Tool w/ Variable Speed

While she was out of town I used the diamond grit half moon blade and oscillating saw from Harbor Freight and some sorta-matching grout and fixed up the voids and defects. She hasn't noticed.... but maybe that's good?

I likely did about 4 linear feet total, but 30 spots - took an hour. The saw and blade are the way to go. I wouldn't rip that up until I gave it a good cleaning or the grout restore. If you like the tile - fix or repair the grout. It is a perfect sweat equity savings plan.

Oh no, Personally I would never do this. HIre a grout cleaning company if the grout is sound but dirty. Forget cleaning or removal with all of the fancy tools and grout removal attachments that go on a Sawsall. Hey they ask thinking DIY. That is a lot of freaking grout line to remove. Chip it out and start fresh would be my choice.

Yes, those tools are great for repairs. I have them all.

Having the 900 square feet cleaned and sealed should only cost $1500 or so.
The colorant will add as much as $2000 in labor.

It's slow and tedious.

The grout in the open spaces can be cleaned with a bristle brush on a paint extension pole.
Use a commercial mop and wringer bucket to rinse the floor.

The grout can be sealed the next day when fully dry.


KT

Are any steps necessary to protect the tile from the acid? I have natural stone in my bath.

Tile and stone are completely different. For natural stone, you would need to paint the acid on with a small brush, let it do its work, dilute and vac up and then neutralize.

This.

Unless you really like the tile, I would seriously look at replacing it.

We had 1200 sqft of tile floor with the grout in bad shape, several tiles with chips and wife didn't really like the tile (the tiles were 8" so you can imagine how much grout there was). Rented a Bosch rotary hammer with a wide bit. I took two days (taking it slow and taking a lot of breaks) to take up all the tile. You will need a good pair of knee pads. Protect woodwork, walls, etc. from flying chips (some tiles pop right up, some come up in many pieces).

The biggest pain was getting rid of the tile.. 1200 sqft of busted up tile is heavy, many sharp edges, etc. and no, the garbage men will not take it.

Thanks all, the grout isn't that bad, so we are going to try recoloring

I was thinking that cleaning our total replacement were the only good options but figured I should check just in case there was something else

Unless is real bad, you might not need to use acid.

There are neutral cleaners that are especially developed for stone.
Acid tends to etch the surface polish and is not recommended at all.


KT