MadBuffaloDisease Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 We've decided to sell our house, have an agent, and are trying to fix things up. I have tile floors that I've need to regrout for years, but didn't because the little guys are dropping stuff on them left and right. Well the time is now to do something about it, and I'm not dropping several grand when just regrouting would be fine. So for any DIY'ers, what is the best tool to remove old grout quickly? Any tips on regrouting? I've tried regrouting the bathroom and it took a ton of time to get rid of the old grout, and regrout it. I'm hoping to avoid that this time around. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 I'm waiting on a counteroffer... For the first time since about 1979 i'm thinking about something other than the bills on a football weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonabb Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Two things: 1. That grout removal saw, or whatever they call it, is about the only thing I can think of to remove the grout. I've installed my fair share as a contractor but never regrouted so that's a guess. 2. Most importantly, do you have the original grout left? Maybe somewhere in a bucket in your basement. We always leave the extra mix with the homeowner for repairs. If you do, great, regrout whatever you remove. If not, you'll have to remove everything and buy new grout or the new grout will never match the old grout! It'll look worse than leaving it be. Other than that, good luck. Not a job I'd want to do, so more power to ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted April 23, 2005 Author Share Posted April 23, 2005 Two things: 1. That grout removal saw, or whatever they call it, is about the only thing I can think of to remove the grout. I've installed my fair share as a contractor but never regrouted so that's a guess. If that's the thing that has a handle and shaft connected to a blade with burrs on one side of it, that's what I used last time. Great. 2. Most importantly, do you have the original grout left? Maybe somewhere in a bucket in your basement. We always leave the extra mix with the homeowner for repairs. If you do, great, regrout whatever you remove. If not, you'll have to remove everything and buy new grout or the new grout will never match the old grout! It'll look worse than leaving it be. Yeah they left a good amount of it. The problem though is that the grout in the floor is dirty, so it's not completely the original color. I was thinking of adding some gray grout to it (the original grout is rose-colored) to make it look dirty. I'm going to test it on a small area, but even if it doesn't match totally, it's still better than broken grout, like it is now in many areas. Other than that, good luck. Not a job I'd want to do, so more power to ya! I'm not looking forward to it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralonzo Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Regrouting is to me THE worst flooring job I can think of. Tiling itself is messy, but not so bad. Depending how many lf of grout you are talking about, and especially if you're unable to color match, I'd actually consider the nuclear option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted April 23, 2005 Author Share Posted April 23, 2005 Regrouting is to me THE worst flooring job I can think of. Tiling itself is messy, but not so bad. Depending how many lf of grout you are talking about, and especially if you're unable to color match, I'd actually consider the nuclear option. I'm going to use the KISS method. I plan on removing grout that is broken and regrout those areas with my old grout color/gray mixture. I think that to prospective buyers, broken/missing grout is more noticeable than a slight color difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockpile Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 I'm going to use the KISS method. I plan on removing grout that is broken and regrout those areas with my old grout color/gray mixture. I think that to prospective buyers, broken/missing grout is more noticeable than a slight color difference. 313736[/snapback] We cleaned our grout this spring, with a mixture of chlorine bleach and water. Maybe when you finish regrouting the trouble spots, and it dries, this would help make the color more uniform. Any thoughts from others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted April 23, 2005 Author Share Posted April 23, 2005 We cleaned our grout this spring, with a mixture of chlorine bleach and water. Maybe when you finish regrouting the trouble spots, and it dries, this would help make the color more uniform. Any thoughts from others? Cleaning the existing grout seems like a good idea in any case. I was entertaining the idea but didn't think I'd get anywhere. But what the heck, I'll give it a try first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayg Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 We cleaned our grout this spring, with a mixture of chlorine bleach and water. Maybe when you finish regrouting the trouble spots, and it dries, this would help make the color more uniform. Any thoughts from others? 313797[/snapback] This should do the trick. Link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayg Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 We cleaned our grout this spring, with a mixture of chlorine bleach and water. Maybe when you finish regrouting the trouble spots, and it dries, this would help make the color more uniform. Any thoughts from others? 313797[/snapback] The bleach worked well for me (white grout). The muriatic acid was recommended by someone that installs C Tile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmac17 Posted April 23, 2005 Share Posted April 23, 2005 Screw the grout saw that can be a pain to use and can slip out of the groove and ruin your tiles, go buy (or borrow) a dremmel with a grout removal attachment. I just did a regrout job and it was the best move I ever made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadBuffaloDisease Posted April 23, 2005 Author Share Posted April 23, 2005 Screw the grout saw that can be a pain to use and can slip out of the groove and ruin your tiles, go buy (or borrow) a dremmel with a grout removal attachment. I just did a regrout job and it was the best move I ever made. I had that problem with the grout saw (i.e. it slipping and scratching the tile), and it took a lot of elbow grease. I'll have to check-out that Dremel attachment (I have a B&D tool, so hopefully it works on that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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