When there is a significant amount of movement on the substrate of a tiled floor or wall it may lead to grout cracking. When this happens it will leave what looks like a crack in the grout where it has come away from the tile. Unless your grout was installed very recently this is always due to movement in the tile. If your grout is new it may be caused by incorrectly mixed grout. With grout that has been doing this for a while it may lead to whole chunks of grout coming loose and leaving large voids in your grout lines.
While it may be tempting to simply mix up some more grout and fill these voids you need to know that it will not last. If you do this it will fill the grout lines just like new but over time will lead to the same problem. Grout over grout is not a permanent solution.
Why it won’t last
The first reason is that when you go over the top of grout that is already cured with new grout, there is no adhesion to the old grout. It will instead simply create a layer of grout on top of the old grout. These layers have no way of sticking to each other. When you grout tile the grout actually sticks to the sides of the tile rather than whatever substrate is beneath it. While it will stick to the substrate at the bottom of the grout lines to an extent, it is not a permanent bond. Attempting to grout over the top of old grout is simply stacking two seperate layers of grout. It will always remain two seperate layers.
The second reason is no matter how much of the old grout you may take out to install new, if you do not fix the actual reason the grout failed in the first place, eventually the same thing will happen again. As with any problem you may encounter with a tile installation, you must figure out the initial cause and fix it to prevent repeated problems. This is an involved process which I will cover in a different article. For now I’ll stick with the solution for the grout problem.
What to do
Rather than simply filling the grout line where the grout is missing, you must remove the old grout at least 2/3 the depth of the tile so the new grout has a feasible surface to grab onto. The easiest way to do this is with a grout saw. Ideally you would remove the old grout all the way to the substrate before regrouting it, but 2/3 will be sufficient if it is difficult to remove.
You need to remove any of the old grout that seems loose or has come loose from the sides of the tile. You also need to make sure the spot where the new grout butts against the old is a 90 degree angle, or close to it. In other words from the top of the grout line straight down. You do not want a slope. Eventually a slope must be feathered to a very thin edge. That will be the first place it will fail again, any very thin layer. A 90 degree angle prevents that.
It is also better to make the transition from old grout to new in the middle of a grout line rather than at one of the corners of the tile. The grout line at the corner of the tile has six different spots it can fail, the middle of a grout line has only one. It lessens the chance of failure.
After you remove the sufficient amount of the old grout just mix some new grout and fill the lines. You must make sure you force the new grout into the grout lines very well. You want to make certain there are no voids and the lines are full.
The above method will work to temporarily fix your cracking grout. As I pointed out above, you must find the initial reason for the grout failure before a permanent fix will last. It’s difficult to say how long this fix will work, it may be two weeks, it may last a year. That depends on the severity of the problem that caused it. It also depends on the application (wall or floor) and how much use it gets. A floor in your main entryway will not last as long as a shower that is never used.
You should also take into consideration the age of the grout. If you are repairing grout that has been installed for five years, the new grout, even if it is the same brand and color, will not likely match perfectly. The best solution, of course, would be to fix the cause of the cracking and regrout the entire floor. Depending on what you’re fixing and why this method may solve your problem.
We have been in our new home less than a year. we had our bathroom done in tile on the floor and in the shower. the floor is fine so far but we had decorative tile installed in the shower, floor and walls. In every corner of the walls and where the walls meet the floor it is cracking and my builder told me that was normal. should i be OK with this answer. I cant believe someone would build a $400,000 home and expect to have cracks in the newly built home.
Hi Danny,
It’s completely normal if they incorrectly grouted that change of plane rather than siliconed it. the movement between two changes of plane – where the wall meets the floor, corners, etc., is normal, that’s why installation standards dictate that those gaps are filled with flexible sealant rather than grout. It should have been siliconed. The grout (or acrylic-based caulk) which is currently in there should be removed and replaced with silicone. You should be able to get silicone that matches your grout color – try latasil from Laticrete.
Hi Roger,
I bought a new home 19 months ago with porcelain tile floor in all the wet areas and the hallways. The tile grout is cracking near baseboards and in the hallway, in the middle of the hallway. While the home was under builder warranty, they repaired the grout. They told me this was normal as the house was settling. Now, I’m on my own. I have a partial bag of grout to use. I have read a lot of this site and think I can not just grout on top of the grout already in place. Do I need to remove 2/3 of the grout throughout and then re-grout?
Thanks so much.
Hi Pam,
Yes, to regrout an installation that old you do need to scrape out the grout lines. The bad news is that the problem is almost definitely not your grout – it’s your substrate. There is likely improper support or substrate beneath your tile causing movement which is causing the cracked grout. Until that is fixed you’re likely to have the same problem in the future.
Hi Roger:
We had our kitchen floor tiled last month and the colour of the grout is uneven, the darker colour that it should be is only showing on some tiles, on the others it’s almost white. What would cause this to happen and what is the best way to fix this? The contractor says it’s probably a faulty bag of grout, but I’m not buying that one.
Thanks for your help.
Hi Daisy,
It is likely efflorescence. This happens when there is too much water mixed into the grout or too much water is used when cleaning the grout. The minerals in the water are left on top of the grout after the water evaporates. Find one of those white areas and scratch down a bit, 1/8″ or so, and see if it’s the proper color underneath. If it is you can get some muriatric acid from home depot and scrub it off of there.
Roger, Thank you for the information. I was really hoping you weren’t going to say what you did about the greenboard, but I figured you would. It seems to me that years ago doing it that way was ok, but perhaps I am remembering wrong. The $200 project has turned into the $2000 project. Well, it is what it is. Thanx again
I have one more question- Do you recommend acidic or non-acidic grout cleaner on colored sanded grout in floor tile?
A neutral ph cleaner is always best. Most natural stone cleaners are neutral ph as well as products such as soft-scrub. Believe it or not one of the best things I’ve found is oxy-clean. Very effective.
I have a faulty mixing valve in my tiled shower and had to cut out several tiles to reach the valve. I now need to replace the tile, I have two issues. First, the old tile is adhered to the mildewed green board that I cut through when I removed the tile and I have to use that tile again because I can no longer find tile to match what is already there on the walls. How do I clean off the old green board without damaging the tile? Second, I have been told that adhering the tile directly to the green board is wrong and that I should use backerboard, but the rest of the shower is not set up this way. Also I’ve been told that when I replace the tile even though I regrout it, it will leak and mildew the new green board. Why would water get through the new grout and destoy the greenboard? Doesn’t grouting the replaced tile seal the area like the rest of the shower grout? I’m confused
Hi Debra,
Water will always get through grout – always. Grout is not waterproof. The green board to which your tile is adhered is mildewed because water got through the tile and grout and soaked the greenboard. Greenboard IS NOT an approved substrate for tile specifically for this reason – mold will feed on it. As far as getting it off of the tile you can simply scrape all of it off except for the very first layer of green paper, which is what the tile is stuck to. You can use a sander to get the paper off at that point.
Water has already gotten through the grout in the rest of your shower – the tile you’ve taken out is an indication of that. Your shower is improperly built, it’s really that simple, and should be replaced with a properly built substrate. So the rest of your shower is not ‘sealed’, your substrate is likely soaked and beginning to mildew.
Roger,
We re-caulked the area of our shower between the tile and the royal bath rectangular pan this last week. When we cleaned the area it appeared the builder had used silicone over the caulk. It looked like it had mildewed behind the silicone, but on top of the caulk at the base, though there were no other problem areas that we could see.
The gap between tile and tub is non-existent in most areas and only 1/16″ max. I used my finger to finish the caulk, but I’m worried I applied too much pressure and is too thin in the corner. Also, I left a gap in the caulk when we came to the little gulley’s in the shower pan mid-way along each edge and in the corners. Was this necessary? The builder had left a gap. (you can see the gulley’s in the picture here).
http://www.royalbaths.com/index.cfm/products/shower-bases.
I think what happened before is that water got behind the shower wall due to evaporation, or from the gulleys at the bottom of the pan, and then had some trouble getting out because of the silicone, causing some mildew.
Thanks, Daniel
Hey Daniel,
The gulleys should be left open to allow water to drain. Water did get behind the tile – it always will – through the grout and tile. So yes, the open spaces are necessary. There really shouldn’t have been silicone over the caulk – they don’t stick to one another well. That is likely why moisture got between the two. Once it does that it will have trouble dissipating – leading to the problems.
Hi Roger,
We had a contractor install a backslash in our kitchen. They put the grout in 2 days ago and on the second day we noticed that the grout was not evenly put in and there are some holes where it bubbled. Can they sponge on more gout over the grout that already exists? They say “oh yes, no problem” but I’m a little concerned. Its not going to be walked on – but ever blog says it will crack and crumble / fall out in about a month or so. How do we fix this to make it look nice and have it be correct? We used a glass tile and its not cheap… I really don’t want to have to re-do it.
Thanks – Jenna
Hi Jenna,
It actually depends on why the grout is doing that. You mentioned holes where it bubbled. This leads me to believe that unsanded grout was used and was not mixed properly. In that case it can be gone over with more to fill in the bubbles without problem. If you have areas where more grout needs to be added to fill the grout lines that grout should actually be scraped down to at least 2/3 the depth of the tile to the new grout has something to grab (the sides of the tile). Grout will rarely be stable enough only adhered to the face of more grout – it needs to grab onto the sides of the tile.
Roger,
Thank you for the info. Yes – they used unsanded grout because they were afraid of scratching the glass tiles. I’m a little nervouse that its not going to turn out
But I guess I’m stuck at this point and have to trust that they will make it right.
Thank you so much for the information. Have a great day!
Hi Roger,
I need a good advice. I renovated my master bathroom very recently. The shower floor is made up from river stone tile on a mesh. Regrettably from one side there is a slight “cave” before the drain, so I always have a little pond after I take a shower. The grout was treated with a sealant. If I add a bit more grout to this cave I will improve the slope. However, I will cover stones with the grout, so nice shower floor look will be lost. Then since the grout was sealed I presume I cannot just add more grout on the top. Since this is not a regular tile I cannot simply remove the grout in between tile edges. The stones are incorporated in the grout. So, I have no idea what to do!
Need help!
Hi Val,
About the only viable solution would be to remove the stone in that area, build up the shower deck there and reinstall them. Other than that there really is no way to heighten the area without ruining the look of your floor.
Hi Roger,
You appear to be a man who knows his craft, so I’d like to ask for your advice.
We installed new flooring tiles in our bathroom a week ago and some of the grout is flaking away in small bits. Since the grout is new, can I simply clean up the problem spots a bit and apply new grout on top? Or do I need to remove to 2/3rds depth and then regrout?
installation details:
2′ x 1′ porcelain tiles
sanded grout
grout lines approx. 1/8″ or larger
under the tiles: joists, then glued and screwed 3/4″ plywood, then levelling compound, then tiles. there is also an electric radiant floor heating pad under the tiles.
other relevant info:
a contractor friend laid the tiles, but I did the grout. I’m a first time DIYer when it comes to tiling. I followed the directions for mixing the grout (hand mixed), but maybe I didn’t pack it deep enough….?
Many thanks!
Hey Conrad,
Not packing it deep enough may be the problem. You should scrape it out to 2/3 the depth before replacing it. My concern is with the heating element. More often than not if there is a grout problem where heating elements are concerned it is indicative of either improper coverage of thinset (tiles are moving, however slightly) or the heat was turned on before the grout was cured causing it to release moisture too quickly. I would regrout it and see if the problem happens again. If not you’re good to go. If so we need to figure out what the problem is from there.
Hi Roger,
We have tiled around a bathtub and then caulked between the tile and the tub. The space between the tile and tub turned out to be significant (almost 1/2″) in some areas so that we could keep the first line of tiles horizontally level all the way around the tub. I have caulked in the gap with an acrylic bathroom caulk, but it has sunken into the gap (although there are no holes or cracks) so that it does not project level with the walls. Will caulking over the first application to fill the gap more work, or will the new line of caulk not stick to the other one and cause problems? Thanks.
Hey Becky,
Caulk will stick to caulk, so that won’t be a problem. What may be a problem in the future is actrylic caulk will dry out over time. Once it begins to do that the bead will start to come loose from the tile and tub fairly quickly with a bead that thick. Just be sure to keep an eye on that.
I’m installing flooring tile for the first time. I’m installing it in a mobile home. The cement board has already been put down and the tile is all in place. The tile grout lines have also been cleaned up and I’m ready to begin grouting, for the most part. I will be installing tile “joiners” between the carpet line and the tile. Go figure that is a special order item and can take up to two weeks to arrive. The tiles along the carpet line have not been set because the tiles are suppose to sit inside a groove on the joiners (they are Flexco brand). I don’t want to wait until the joiners arrive to begin my grouting though. My concern is grouting the currently laid and adhered tile then coming back in two weeks and grouting the carpet bordering tiles. Do I do the grouting a special way so that they adhere properly to one another without a line of seperation? Or is there little enough time between the two grout applications that it won’t make a difference? . . . Thank you ahead of time for your time and help.
Hi KT,
Just make sure you stop the grout in the center of a grout line rather than on a corner of a tile. If you do that you can grout right up to it after you finish your tile without a problem.
Roger,
Thank you for the information. When doing something new it’s always nice to get correct information from someone with experience, who actually knows what they are talking about.
KT
Hi Roger, thanks for the great info! One of my shower tiles has a gap line (1/4 inches long verizontal line) underneath the tile (on the edge & in the middle) of the grout line. When insert a flat head screw driver, it can reach in and can feel it’s empty. I wonder if the tile was installed properly at the first place? The tile is not loose though. Can I just fill some new grout in the gap line or I have to remove the old grout at least 2/3 the depth of the tile and then regrout as u suggest? Or completely reinstall that piece of the tile and regrout? Thanks!
Hey Mel,
You may be able to regrout it (scraping it out and regrouting) but I don’t know how long it will actually last. Cracking grout is indicative of movement where there should be none. While the tile may not be loose (yet) the movement will first break the weakest part of the installation – that’s the grout. I would probably at least pop out that one tile and see what’s beneath it and whether or not you’ll need to do more repair work than just grout.
Hi Roger, many thanks for your quick reply! Much appreciated! Since I’m a novice on this, would u mind letting me know the steps on how to reattach the tile back if I decide to pop out that tile? And should I take out the tile underneath it too? If the backerboard is in great shape for example, how do I reattach the tile back? What material (thinset? adhesive?) I should use to attach the tile back to the backerborad and what other things to know to do the repair right. Can I diy this or have repair main to do the job if just reattach the tiles back? Hope I can diy this as i’m trying to save some money.
Looking forward to getting your expertise advice! Many thanks!
btw, how do i tell what material the constructor used to attach the tile to the backerboard? What kind of material you suggest to attach the tile..
Also you mention in this article that we also need to make sure the spot where the new grout butts against the old is a 90 degree angle, or close to it. What does this mean? Do you have a photo u can email me so I can understand how it look?
sorry so many questions so hope u don’t mind…
Always use thinset in your shower, never mastic. You can tell what was previously used by scratching it with a knife or screwdriver. If it is sandy or crumbly like concrete then it’s thinset. If it’s soft or rubbery (or it’s actually turning to liquid in places) then it’s mastic. Once you take it off just scrape as much of the old stuff off as you can, install thinset on the back of the tile and stick it up there. The old grout needs to be scraped in a diagonal so that where the new stuff butts up to it that line is NOT a 90 degree angle. It doesn’t need to be a perfect angle at all, just not 90 degrees. You don’t want to create a straight line which would end up being a weak spot.
Thank you Roger!
Hello Roger,
I’m confused (nothing new). Is what Mel is doing that much different than replacing old grout? I would have thought your reply would be, after replacing the tile, to remove the grout past all the corners, to somewhere in the middle-ish of the next tiles. Then, “make sure the spot where the new grout butts against the old is a 90 degree angle, or close to it” , as stated in your original post. Why does Mel get to angle his butt?
Hi Lory,
Mel can angle his butt in whichever manner he chooses – it’s a free country!
Just kidding. Once the initial grout is fully cured then a 90 degree angle will create a cold joint. A cold joint coupled with a separate installation of an individual tile will lead to it cracking again right there.
Thank you Roger for the explanation about the single tile replacement.
It’s not for water proofing or holding tile in place, right? Is it so we don’t slice ourselves on the tile? Aesthetics? Because we all need something to do? 
More questions…why do we grout?
So nasty stuff doesn’t begin growing in the spaces between the tiles.
hi roger,
i just finished grouting(sanded, natural gray color from home depot) my shower with 3×6 white subway tile. Used 1/8 spacers. I grouted the corners and change of planes with the grout but some of the tiles on the corner butt up close to each other. Can i use the matching caulk and caulk the corners over the existing grout?
Thanks
Hi Binh,
Yes, you can. But you really should have only caulk in any change of plane (corners) rather than grout.
Hi, our 10 year old bathroom stand up shower is tiled and the colored grout is chipping out in several places on the walls. We just noticed it, because it the missing grout is near the bottom of the shower walls. My questions is could water from the shower have caused damage to the floor beneath or the walls behind the tile and would we need to chip the rest of the grout out first and then regrout or just fill in the missing places?
Hi Leigh,
It sounds like water has gotten into your substrate and it is swelling. This is normally due to installation of tile directly on drywall. The tile and substrate need to be replaced. Tile and grout are not waterproof and simply replacing the grout will only slow the inevitable. The fact that the substrate is already wet will only make it happen faster. The only lasting solution is replacement. Sorry.
We just had tile layed in both of our bathrooms about 3 months ago. My brother in law layed it for us and he layed it directly on top of the old linoleum that was there. Since then there has been several places that have cracked and chunks have come out. He used sanded grout. There are places that have a normal line of grout and then a big chunk missing all the way to the base, so can you just add on to that normal line or do you have to replace it all?
I’m not the professional — However, I would suggest chipping out everything you can & replacing the grout.
Although, if it’s over the old linoleum it might be due to that too… (Depends on the permanence of the linoleum and if it’s unstuck or not.)
I chipped out the grout in another place; replaced it & it worked fine.
Hey Shelly,
The problem does not lie in your grout, the problem is with your substrate (the linoleum). It is simply not appropriate and will not properly support a tile installation. It’s likely that the mortar or thinset is becoming debonded from the linoleum – it just doesn’t stick long-term to it. That’s causing movement where it has come loose and the movement is cracking your grout. So a specific answer to your question would be yes, you can add to it to fill the grout. Or, you can remove all the grout and regrout. Neither one of them, however, are going to last a significant amount of time. The tile should be removed, a proper substrate put in place, and reinstall it.
Mark,
I recently refiinished our basement after a flood and decided to build a bar. We ripped up the carpet and I layed tile on the cement slab. Although ordering what appeared to be every tile in Maryland we came up short by a few tiles. My question is: In the meantime can I go ahead and grout the floor? There are a few tiles, mostly by the doors, that need to be installed at a later date (on back order) but Im concerned about picking up where I left off with the grout – will it start cracking on me?? If it is possible to go ahead and grout what would be the best suggection for how to leave the current grout; middle of the tile, all the way to the end, to ensure that when I finish up it actually doesnt look like crap or cracks on me in a few weeks.
Thanks
Hey Eric,
You can stop and start again wherever you want. The grout will not crack. It may, however, come out a different shade or colored differently if you mix it differently. Just make sure you mix both batches with the exact same amount of water.
I finished grouting my ceramic floor this morning in a 10 x 6 bathroom. 1/8″ grout lines…(“Finished” grouting about 8 hours ago)… I go in there & realize the grout is cracked AND chipped. (We DID install the toilet (out of necessity) after we grouted. The grout consistency WAS like toothpaste (sanded grout.)
I am pretty sure I’m going to have to regrout it and the cracks won’t magically disappear after sealing it. (I have not yet sealed it.)
I understand that grouting against OLD or hardened grout would make the 2 layers & it would fall out again. HOwever, this is very fresh grout & it’s not sealed yet.
– Can I just brush / chip out whatever comes out & then regrout the room?
PS. There was a wood subfloor OVER the plywood. On top of that, I put EasyMat with SoundGuard. THEN I put my mortar down.
Should the Easymat make a difference?
THANK YOU!
Hey Paul,
You should be able to go over that with more grout without a problem.
I’m not really understanding the second parts of your question. Do you mean there was a hardwood subfloor over the plywood, or plywood subfloor, or…what? And should easymat make the difference with what? If you mean your grout, then no, easymat isn’t going to affect that at all. If something else – what?
I put on more grout & some of it chipped out & cracked. I’m just going to wait a few days for anything else loose to crack or come up & then cut it out. Do you recommend any dremmel bits? (if not, no problem.)
To answer your question about my question:
There is a plywood SUBfloor over the beams. On top of the plywood subfloor, there is an approx. 1/8″ sheet of smooth (and nice looking) plywood that the vinyl roll floor was slightly glued onto. On top of THAT I glued the Easymat with Soundguard, then mortar, then tile.
I was wondering if you have had the experience with Easymat and if it caused tiles to come up. (It is a styrophome type of material that is mortared & tarred.) — but it is made to go under tiles. (so says Home Depot.)
I think you answered my question though.
Hey Paul,
The problem is not your easymat, it’s what the easymat is attached to – luan. The 1/8″ layer of ‘plywood’ is actually luan which is a very lightweight, unstable skin of wood used beneath vinyl and linoleum. The biggest problem is that it is so thin that any type of fastener will eventually pull through it and won’t hold it. When that happens it creates movement, when that happens it cracks grout and tile. Movement in that substrate is what I think is currently causing your grout to crack – and that’s due to having luan beneath your easymat.
Easymat is a good product and, used over a proper substrate, works very, very well.
Roger,
We just laid new tile floors on a bathroom floor and when the grout dried there is a over a 1/4″ divet between where the grout stops and the top of the tile leaving deep gullys inbetween the tiles. Can we add more grout on top of the old grout it has been drying for 48hrs now?
Thank you
Hi Talley,
It likely won’t last if you do that now. You’ll need to remove the grout to 2/3 the depth of the tile for proper adhesion of the new layer. Grout shrinking that much is indicative of improper mixing with too much water. Make sure you follow the directions on the bag in regards to the amount of water used.
Roger,
I just tiled my porch this week-end and yes I have just few grout problem. 1 small home and few uneven areas. Can I just filled the hole? and for the uneven area can I sand the area. I want to do it before I apply a sealer.
thanks roger
JOe
Hi Joe,
Yes to both.
Hi Roger, I hope you can give me some advice.
I just tiled my bathroom floor this past weekend (10/15). I dont think i either did a good job, or walked on the tiles too soon after grouting.
I usedcement board for subfloor, I used 1/8 spacers, and unsanded grout. I have found some spots that werent totally filled in, and some racks and gaps. Am I able to grout into thise gaps, or should i remove some first?
Hi Steve,
It sounds like the unsanded grout has shrunk. Just mix up some more grout and go over it again to fill all those areas and you should be fine.
Hi Roger,
I am trying to install tile over the vertical areas of a staircase, in between steps. Will I have a problem later of cracking etc? Is there something I need to watch out for?
Hi Pratima,
About the only thing you’ll be concerned with is movement – that’s gonna cause those tiles to come loose. You want to replace or go over the wooden risers with a suitable substrate like backerboard and leave a 1/16″ – 1/8″ gap at the top and bottom of the tile and caulk or silicone it rather than grout.
Hi Rodger, Thanks for the quick response….
I’m not sure if she used sanded or non-sanded grout. She asked us to install plywood since there was linoleum under the exsiting tile we ripped out (which she screwed down and she did use alot of screws). There is not even 1/2 an inch between the tiles, the space between is very tight (talking millimeteres).
I’m concerened that you might advise it be totally re-done due to the fact the tiles don’t have enough space in between one another.
Did she install the tile right to the plywood? If so – that’s a large part of the problem. Wood moves – a lot. Any movement coupled with the lack of space is going to make those tiles move a lot as well. Moving tile = cracked grout, and normally cracked/debonded tile eventually.
Yes, she did install it right on the plywood with mortar under it first of course. It’s only cracking and chipping out at the door way into the bathroom from the bedroom and we have hardwood floor in the bedroom. She screwed the plywood down using alot of screws though so I don’t know if that would be the issue….I assumed it’s due to the fact she just didn’t have quite enough spacing between the tiles and therefore wasn’t able to put a descent amount of grout in between. There is a touch more space in between most of the other tiles though but looking at the entire floor it doesn’t look really “off” or anything.
Well, the problem with tiling directly to plywood is that it requires a very exacting installation method. This includes a particular type of plywood, specific thinset, spacing and overlap of the plywood sheets, filling expansion gaps between sheets with silicone or similar to prevent mortar from entering them, expansion in the tile installation, not screwing into the joists – only into the bottom layer, and a couple others I can’t think of offhand. It is a very specific method of installation and if anything is wrong the movement in the wood will crack the grout and/or tile. The lack of grout joint size is the least of the problems – tiling directly to plywood is the biggest.
We just had a new tile floor done in June of this yr (2011) and about a month later some of the grout started cracking and pieces have come right out….the installer put the tiles quite close together and I’m wondering if this is what caused the issue?
What is the best, quickest and easiest way to fix this problem?
Thanks
Hi Kathi,
I’ll need a bit more information to be able to give you an accurate answer. How big are your grout lines? Did the installer use sanded or non-sanded grout? What type of substrate is your installation over (what’s beneath your tile)? Cracking grout immediately after an installation is finished could be due to a number of things, those answer will help me help you.
The guy that installed the tile on my bathroom floor didn’t use spacers, so now the grout cracks, I’ve regrouted , but it happened again. Help
Hi Mark,
I don’t use spacers on about half of my flooring installations.. That has absolutely nothing to do with grout cracking or not. Do you mean that he butted the tile to each other? If that’s the case then unfortunately there’s not really anything that can be done short of removing the tile and installing it correctly. Epoxy grout may not crack but that stress needs to go somewhere. A lot of the time epoxy is actually stronger than the tile and the stress will end up cracking the tile rather than the grout – so that isn’t a long-term solution either. Unless it is installed properly your grout will continue to crack, and eventually likely some of your tile will also.