Took me 5 hours to grout a kitchen splashback....Ahhhhhhh

[tysfoot]

Alright folks.

Did a mosiac splashback and finished it today, thought it would take 2 hours max to finish the grouting but the customer bought Black wide joint grout.


Ive bought this before and its a nightmare to put on cos it doesnt come off without costantly sponging it. Even with a washboy i rekon it would take a long time.


Just so i know can you buy grey and black grout that is cement based and isnt for wide joints.

Also after today i might invest in a washboy. Shall i go fr the Rubi or 'Karl Dahm'

Adivde woud be great

 

[DHTiling]

Try using bal micro grouts....

BAL Microcolour Wall Grout

A fast setting, efflorescence free, water and frost resistant cementitious grout with water repellent properties and built in Microban® antibacterial protection to inhibit the growth of bacteria and black mould. Suitable for use with ceramic tiles, porcelain, marble, natural stone, glass and fully vitrified tiles with joint widths from 1-7mm in interior and exterior locations including power showers.
BS EN 13888 CG2F Grout.

• Set in 5 hours
• 12 colours available
• Water repellent
• Anti-bacterial

Coverage : 400x300x10mm tile 3mm joint = 0.25kg/m2Powder/ Water Ratio : 4 : 1Joint Width : 1 -7 mmSpecific Gravity :1.40 g/cm3Pot Life : 40 minutesCure : @ 20°C 5 hoursPackaging : 2.5kg & 10kg*
Colour : Brilliant White, Champagne, Pebble*, Gunmetal, Smoke*, Straw, Saffron, Denim, Scarlet, Emerald, Chocolate* & Ebony*. (* Limited colours available in 10kgs).Temperature Resistance -30°C to 150°C


And as for the wash boys BOTH are good makes......i have the BAL one.....

 

[tysfoot]

Cheers mate, just glad today is over with. Also forgot my gloves so my finger nails are full of black grout i cant scrub out. At least i got my first mosaic splahback on my belt now and i did it in good time.

Out of interest what would you have charged for 5sm of mosaic splashback tiling with 6 sockets and 1 window frame

 

[DHTiling]

really depends on how quick you are tysfoot...probably 2 days at day rate...

Did you take any pics to show us..??.....:yes:

 

[tysfoot]

not a good day, forgot my camera. I only charged £150 but it was for my local barber so i hope am gonna get some work from this one

 

[Grace'sDad]

I did similar in about 4 hrs - went an absolute dream - surprisingly.
B&Q's finest glass mosaics with only a dozen or so broken tiles to replace.

3 sockets to cut round (flush to wall type) and no windows!

I charged £150. Took me 4 hrs plus 1.5 the next day to grout and polish, and it was only 6 streets away from home:hurray:

I'd never use wide joint grout on mosaics - I bet you struggled!!!

I got my karl dahm washboy for that job and it has saved me a fortune since. It's the best tool I ever bought - every tiler should have one.
(except tilers in Lancashire - so that I can maintain an edge!)

 

[tysfoot]

cheers. am gonna get a washboy defo for my next job. yeah it was a pain with the wide joint grout. its gets everywhere

 

[turtle-tiling]

ok mate only problem i have with my washboy (rubi) you have to fill water up to level top of bucket nearly pain if your up stairs in bathroom quite heavy to take away hope it helps cheers

 

[Tilestiles]

Never used a washboy yet. Can someone please xplain the benefits. I understand that it seems to be quicker for cleaning after grouting but why is that compared to sponging clean??

 

[brian c]

well done tysfoot m8:yes:

 

[White Room]

ok mate only problem i have with my washboy (rubi) you have to fill water up to level top of bucket nearly pain if your up stairs in bathroom quite heavy to take away hope it helps cheers[/quot

Don't use washboy on walls, for 2-3m bathroom floor would'nt use, waste of time.

 

[Grace'sDad]

The Karl Dahm is filled less than half-way, so I prefer to the Rubi.

I tend to use mine for everything - even small jobs. Gives great grout lines.

 

[grumpygrouter]

The Karl Dahm is filled less than half-way, so I prefer to the Rubi.

I tend to use mine for everything - even small jobs. Gives great grout lines.

I have to agree with 'Dad, I have a Karl Dahm, use it for everything unless I can't get the sponge board in.

Once you get used to the technique of using one, they are much quicker than sponges and 3 or 4 buckets. Also you tend to keep your hands dryer as you are not sticking them in and out of water all the time.

Grumpy

 

[LM Ceramics]

i also have a karl dahm its so time consuming to have a wash boy i used to use a sponge and a bucket of water it used to take make ages but not no more

 

[cam_low]

ok mate only problem i have with my washboy (rubi) you have to fill water up to level top of bucket nearly pain if your up stairs in bathroom quite heavy to take away hope it helps cheers

why not just fill in the bathroom :lol:

 

[Fekin]

ok mate only problem i have with my washboy (rubi) you have to fill water up to level top of bucket nearly pain if your up stairs in bathroom quite heavy to take away hope it helps cheers

I don't get this post either :lol:

Still never used a wasboy, keep meaning to get my hands on one to give it a whirl.

 

[Daz]

With regards to grout, I quite often offer my customers the option of Mapei coloured grouts (2-20mm grout lines).

It's nice to work with, although, I find that the white is more of an "off white" rather than a brilliant white so beware!

I bought a cheap washboy from miraktools.co.uk and got them to bundle a couple of extra hydro sponges in for approx £39. The rollers are strong and it seems to be holding up well. I only use it on floors and large wall areas but it certainly saves a lot of time so well worth the investment.

 

[Fekin]

With regards to grout, I quite often offer my customers the option of Mapei coloured grouts (2-20mm grout lines).

Yeah I have seen they do a good selection of colours, but have you ever gone anywhere near a 20mm groutline ?

 

[Daz]

Nah - usually max out at 10mm on large floor tiles.

 

[Fekin]

Nah - usually max out at 10mm on large floor tiles.

That's still a hefty groutline though.

 

[Daz]

I did a 100m of 400 x 400 porcelain floor in a barn conversion, last week with 10mm grout lines - looked good (even is I say so myself)! Lady Whatsername loved it too!

* Used quite a few bags of grout though! - LOL!

 

[Fekin]

Bet you did :lol:

 

[Dan]

Never used a washboy yet. Can someone please xplain the benefits. I understand that it seems to be quicker for cleaning after grouting but why is that compared to sponging clean??

There's an article on www.buybrandtools.com and Broken Link Removed that explains it in depth.

The whole thing has basically been designed to keep the sponge clean, it's a real time-saver which is why its worth the money.

I know many tilers that have shunted the idea until they tried one and every tiler I know has said they're worth it for the bigger jobs all day long (floors mainly) though on the smaller jobs they can save time too if used correctly.

 

[tiler burden]

rubi washboy vs karl dahm

i have had both, and i agree that the rubi is a pain because you have to fill it nearly to the top with water and they are not the strongest handles in the world. if you are lugging that down a customers stairs then there will be a fair old mass if you drop/spill the contents down the new axminster...

karl dahm all day long and the replaceable plastic hand held sponges are better than the wooden handle ones that rubi give out...just my humble opinion

ed