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Question

Shower tile grouting question(s):
I just completed porcelain tiling my shower on hardibacker board. I am ready to grout. The space between the tiles averages from 1/4 to 5/8 inch. I will use a light gray colored grout. I see a very few grouts that say they don't have to be sealed? Mapei makes a ready mix one. I want the most crack resistant and moisture barrier grout that I can get. No leaks or seeping in other words. The shower will be used daily.

My questions are:
1) Is the no seal grout going to mainitain well over years? Or should I avoid this one?
2) What is the best type of grout and sealant to use?
3) How often should I strip and/or reseal the grout?

Submitted: 133 days and 9 hours ago.
Category: Home Improvement
Value: $17
Status: CLOSED
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Posted by Rick 133 days and 5 hours ago.

Answer

Hi XXXXXXXX
We have been tiling and remodeling bathrooms for over 40 years. In my opinion sealing grout is a waste of time. The toughest grout is epoxy grout. It is usually speced in commercial floor tiling jobs. It is kind of overkill for wall grout. Your best bet is to use any standard sanded grout of your choosing and mix the grout with a latex addmix instead of water. The latex makes the grout more durable and flexible. It helps it bond better too. You only need to strip the grout if it starts to fail or you want to renew the color.

132 days and 10 hours ago.

Reply

I had already heard about the additive for grout. I'm pretty much at the mercy of Home Depot, Lowes and some other local chains. I get the same response from all when I ask about a latex additive for grout and that is they don't know about or have it. They have it for mortar & adhesive but not grout. So if you have some specifics on the brands there please tell me.

 

I'm looking at these options right now:

1) Laticrete Spectra Lock Epoxy - Doesn't need sealing. But has 3 different parts to mix. But when I Google epoxy grout, I get a lot of negative blogs from even pros who say it is difficult to work with. What is the difficulty of working with epoxy grout?

2) Mapei Keracolor - Just add water on this one. Says it's good for even fountains & pools submerged but takes 21 days to cure for that. What do you know about this one?

3) A grout & latex additive but you will need to tell me the brand(s) and names. I'm getting blanks when I ask in the stores.

 

 

Posted by Rick 132 days and 9 hours ago.

Answer

Epoxy grout has a limited period of time where it is workable. If you aren't fast enough to apply it and wash off the excess before it sets up it us a nightmare to clean up. It also tends to sag so using it on a wall would be extremely frustrating since it would tend to sag out of the gap especially gaps as big as yours.

I have used Mapei products before but I'm not familiar with Keracolor.


The addmix we use is Hydroment's 425 Multi-purpose Latex admix available at tile supply outlets

http://www.bostik-us.com/markets/flooring/ceramic/hydroment-products/default.html#425multipurpose

scroll down the page it's down a ways.

Laticrete (I think is available at Lowe's and HD) also has a grout additive
Laticrete 1776 grout enhancer

I have found that the biggest predictor of how well grout and tile will stand up over time in a shower is how clean it is kept. I have seen 40 year old tiled showers with plain old white grout that looked like it was installed last week. The home owners were fastidious housekeepers. You should be fine with Laticrete's enhancer as long as you take reasonably good care of the tile.

132 days and 9 hours ago.

Reply

I am then leaning towards Mapei Keracolor based on what you say here and what is avalable to me. I'm no pro so the fear of screwing up the epoxy outweighs all else there.

One question on the sealing. Is it what keeps the moisture from penetrating the grout? If so then I would think it best to do and maybe redo yearly or something. Sealants all seem to specify their stain resistance but not much else.

Accepted Answer

At the risk of repeating myself, sealers are a waste of money. If you look at my original answer you will see 2 other experts agree with me. Sealers do not keep moisture from penetrating the grout. Moisture penetrating the grout is not an problem. Sealers do nothing to prevent staining.

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Expert: Rick
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 7/13/2009

General C&ontractor

Licensed Construction Supervisor & Remodeling Contractor 35+ years experience

132 days and 8 hours ago.

Reply

I believe you because you're a pro. But if you talk to anyone in a store they STRONGLY emphasize sealing, saying everything from it seals out the water, stain, etc. So of course I had to ask again to be sure. I don't want another leaking shower which is why I had to rebuild this one from the base plate and studs on out.

 

Thahnk you for your time.

Posted by Rick 132 days and 8 hours ago.

Answer

They strongly recommend sealer because they want to increase sales. We tried sealers in the past and they did nothing. Showers don't leak because of the type of grout that is used.

Thanks for using Just Answer

132 days and 7 hours ago.

Reply

I just want to be sure that you got paid. I can't tell from this forum so if you did receive the money then don't reply back because it makes it look like I didn't accept your answer. If you didn't get paid then please reply back and we'll fix that.

Posted by Rick 132 days and 7 hours ago.

Answer

I did get paid. I am responding because this shows as an open question on my screen until I respond.

Thanks again

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