Grout it Out

Now, guess what, kids? When you weren't looking I finished laying the tile. It has been so long since I did an update on the sunroom project, I wanted to get caught up.

So here we are.

I need to go back and check, but I believe where we left off was when we were cutting and laying the tile. Now it's all done and I need to grout.  But you can see the more-or-less finished floor on the right.  The middle 'tapestry' piece came out fairly well I think.  It almost looks like Someone Who Knows What They Are Doing did it.

I have picked out a nice brownish-tan shade of grout which I believe is called "Mushroom."   We mix up the grout per the package directions (as they say...) in a big bucket which will never get to be re-used. Aka a disposable bucket.

Usually for paint stirring-up I would use a paint stirrer thing which I attach to a drill. But this time I figgured it wasn't necessary, and besides, I was too darn lazy to go get it and attach it to the drill.

After the grout is all nice and mixed up (sounds like someone who writes this blog...), we can start!  I used a 4" or so wide putty knife to spread the grout on the floor.  You'll notice that it is a way darker color than it will dry to.  Do not let this alarm you, comrades.  It will dry to the correct shade.   I pretty much spread it over the spaces between the tile, which, if you think about it, is where you want it.

I did the grout in small-ish sections, two or three tiles at a time. After the grout is put down, we need to use a grout float and pack it into the seams. Just 'float' (heh heh) the float over the seams. I turned it a bit to the side to scrape up some of the excess grout as I went along.

It ain't rocket surgery - after all, if I can do it, anyone can.  Trust me on this.

Did I mention earlier that a pair of kneepads is a must?  I can't imagine doing any kind of tile job without them.  Although I find that my wrists get worn out quickly from putting my weight on them.  At quite a few stages I just wind up sitting down and working on the tile.

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't bother to get my paint-mixing attachment to mix up the grout.  Instead, I used a paint stick to do it.

One thing that I seem to have an eye for is typos and grammatical errors in signs and stuff.  This one jumped out at me..."Don't forgen..."  Sigh.  What is the English language coming to?  

One of my real big pet peeves is misused apostrophes.  There is a pupusas restaurant I saw a couple years back that was called "Irene's Pupusa's."  Argh.  Makes me crazy.  I should, however, add that Irene has subsequently fixed her sign, so at least someone caught it.

After the grout is done for a section, go back with a damp (not real wet) sponge and wipe it off. Keep a bucket of clean water handy so you can rinse the sponge out. I have a package of big sponges made 'specially for this which I got at the Despot.

Just wipe the grout off the tile with the sponge. You don't have to get all of it, just as much as you can.

If you know what I mean.

After the grout has dried for about 20-30 minutes, go back and wipe off the haze with a piece of cheesecloth.
If you don't get all of the haze off, don't panic. You can get a chemical from the Despot (or elsewhere) that will remove the haze. It's called (surprise) "Grout Haze Remover." Because we are fairly picky about this sort of thing, we're going to use it as a final cleaner before we seal the grout.

One thing I was musing about during this phase of the work was this: If you had purple grout, what color haze would it leave? Do not answer now. Ponder.