Finishing Floor Grout

[shifty327]

Why don't you just put some forced ads at the start of ll your videos?

[AsktheBuilder]

@shifty327 I'm not clear. Can you explain further? Forced ads to what?

[444PB]

This is a terrific series of instructional videos, which are even better for having been filmed in HD. They are by far the clearest instructions I have found. I too would be very happy to pay for the last 2 videos, but I'm afraid that my faith in human nature tells me that asking for contributions might not bring you very much. Well done!

444PB Lincoln UK

[freemandrf]

This is one of the best instructional videos I have ever seen. I followed the instructions to the T and it worked exactly as shown. Thanks Tim, I will definitely look for you in the future for any other DIY that I have not yet done.

[AsktheBuilder]

@freemandrf I've got a question for you. After watching the first two videos, would you have paid say $3 to watch the last two? I say this because I have a feeling that many would love to get highly detailed instructions on how to do things like this. I'm not making any money from YouTube - like they promised - so I'm trying to figure out a way to monetize all this effort. Suggestions?

[freemandrf]

@AsktheBuilder I would have paid the $3.00, I think it is worth it, especially after seeing how informative the first 2 were. What you might want to do is ask for donations, I'm sure people wouldn't hesitate to give, especially if they use your advice on a regular basis.

[AsktheBuilder]

@freemandrf I'm going to take down the last two videos next week and start to test this. I'm going to spend lots of time in 2012 making a huge library of similar videos of step-by-step instructions. If you want to know about them as they happen, be sure to subscribe to my FREE AsktheBuilder newsletter.

Thanks for your feedback and very kind words.

[freemandrf]

@AsktheBuilder I wouldn't take down the last 2 videos, I would leave them up and just say that if you feel that you have been helped by these and if you want to contribute something, feel free. I think you will get more response than if you tempt us with the first 2 and then make us pay for the last 2 most important ones.

[AsktheBuilder]

@freemandrf I'll test it for sure. But I'm convinced the test will show greater revenue for pay to play. I get this vib here at YouTube that everyone expects things to be free. They pay for music downloads, they pay for great applications for smart phones, they pay for DVD downloads. it just makes sense that after I've proven in the first two videos that I know what I'm doing - that you and others would pay a very small fee not to mess up the grout. We'll see which method works best.

[freemandrf]

@AsktheBuilder Well, you would be $3.00 richer from me for sure. Good luck!!

[cchanderson]

I give this guy credit for making these easily understandable home improvement videos in a nation with 20 Million "experts" that all think their way is the best and only way and always have to let someone know they are not doing it "their way".

It is even worse now with 40% of the homebuilders on unemployment sitting around their computers critiquing others work. Now we have 8 million "critiquers".

[bmc7919]

Tim,I don't know if you'll get this or not but last night I just finished grouting some new tile I laid in my house. Followed your steps and everything looked great. This morning though, there seems to be a few imperfections in some of my grout lines. Don't know if it's from removing too much or not having enough in certain spots. Can I just touch up these spots with new grout or do I have to remove the grout I laid yesterday and completely redo these lines? Thanks

[AsktheBuilder]

@bmc7919 AcccK! You can't easily add grout now. While the grout is still relatively soft so to speak - it's not cured yet - I want you to just dig out the areas where you goofed up. Use a small flathead screwdriver in those areas and carefully remove the grout. Then patch them per my video.

[elghian]

Just a point.......use gloves. The cement burns the hands

[AsktheBuilder]

@elghian I've never had a alkaline burn from grouting in 40 years. Perhaps because the water is changed so frequently. I did have a horrible second-degree burn from concrete that got on my jeans during a pour and I didn't get it off my skin for about 3 hours until the pain was so intense I could think of nothing else. But if you rinse the cement from your hands constantly and change the water every 5 minutes or so, which is Necessary, then no issues.

[abualdiraja]

i am getting ready for a big house remodeling project (my first) and am enjoying and benefiting greatly from your videos. thanks!

[goaliedave67]

Thanks Tim, great advice!

[generatrix999]

Thanks Tim!

I learned something from your vids, am now confident to do my first grout job.

There's nothing like experience.

[Lezrenovate]

Tim is a trusted online advisor! Thanks! Hope wall tile is the same...

[shemakesitclap]

is that a wet or dry towel if a tiny bit of film is left?

[marcusaydelott]

@shemakesitclap you want to always use a dry towel to buff the last bit of haze off. if you use a wet one you can re-wet the grout lines and pull more off and back onto the tile. if the haze wont come off, the sealer you use most likely will be able to clean it

[HarlequinPink]

Wow you make it very clear on how to do this. Thank you. All the other videos just tell you to wipe. I was confused on how to and what to do if there was grout left on the tiles. You definitely clarified that for me! Thanks again!

[DIYGIRLIE]

Thank you Tim For your invaluable advice . I have managed to Tile a bathroom Floor . I am just about to grout having watched your wonderful video I think I'll manage to finish this project.

[AsktheBuilder]

@theBangaloreBoy I agree there's a problem. Here's the bottom line. If you want pro results, you can either hire a pro or hope you'll find pro advice that's correct online. It all comes down to what your time is worth and whether you TRUST me. You get your chance watching the two videos for free. If you then feel I'm the real deal, you can pay a few dollars to watch the other two. It's not at all unreasonable.

[IntelligentProbe]

@AsktheBuilder The lessons are worth the money since it is professional advice.They gave me the confidence to do it myself and save a bundle. It isn't the labor most people shy away from, it's not having the confidence that they won't screw it up. That is worth a few dollars to me.

Further, television shows have never given me the confidence to try anything they do because they leave to much information out, seemingly on purpose, IMHO.

[AsktheBuilder]

@IntelligentProbe Exactly. My video series leaves nothing out. You'll not be disappointed in the future!

[AsktheBuilder]

@theBangaloreBoy So far this video series has made me about $10 in two years. Are you telling me that it would not be worth it to you to spend $5 to watch the last two videos in the series? You'd rather take a chance at messing up the floor? Are you serious? And what about me? How am I supposed to make a living? I can't keep giving content away for free. Do you have cable TV? You pay for content there, PLUS you have to watch commercials unless you have a DVR and can skip them.

[Frizzied]

Thank you Tim.. I have watched several YouTube videos and have learned enough to finish my entry way. I even had to use a floor sander to take off some very hard adhesive that was left behind from the previous install. These grout videos are the last thing I needed to learn. Thank you!!

[anniemcu]

Tim, I just want to thank you so much for putting these 'How-To" videos up for us! I just completed grouting the first 24 sq ft section of my tile floor, and it looks terrific! So much important info can't get put into the limited instructions on the packages, but is available here, free, and thoroughly explained. I know I'm only 10% done with it, but I am confident I will have near professional results, thanks to the expertise you have shared. Thank you again!!

[AsktheBuilder]

@anniemcu Annie, you're very lucky young lady. Next week the last two videos in this series are being taken off YouTube. I tried to make some money giving them away for free. But it's never happened. People are going to have to pay to watch the last two videos in the series.

[RussWalters007]

Hi Tim,

Last summer we went through a remodel project via Lowes. No complaints about their contractor. We had about 180 ceramic tiles installed in the kitchen. Tile is a 12" X 12" Rialto Noce from Lowes. They are unsealed with pitted designs in them. We ended up with the grout (Mapei Sanded Karacolor) stuck in each of those pitted areas. I had to take a 1" X 1" plastic brush to each tile with a mix of water & muratic acid. Looong process. Doing basement now,same tile,want to avoid same mess.

[singerofjazz]

Great job and teaching . You answered my doubts !!

[TheAmarildo666]

at? Really that easy? I mean, I just have to buy the needed tools, then go out and do the job? No inspection, no trainning, nothing? I'm a plumber and an electrician, and i've always watched the guys building the houses, so i could go and do my part, and i'm really thinking about being a builder.. Thanks man! Greetings from Brazil!

[TheAmarildo666]

How can I be a builder???? PLZ, answer!!!

[AsktheBuilder]

@TheAmarildo666 Read all the columns at my AsktheBuilder website. Watch all my videos there. Then, go out and do what I do. Very easy.

[maxneo0]

Tim thanks for the advise. You rock

[Bensonisdead]

Tim is my hero!! Thanks for teaching me how to tile and grout my house! It looks great all because of Askthebuilder!

[AsktheBuilder]

@Bensonisdead Schaweeeeet! That's what I love to hear. You can help me now. Subscribe to my AsktheBuilder newsletter at my website. Tell your friends to do the same. Tell others about these videos. I need that traffic to continue to be able to offer all this up for free.

[electrakitty]

How long is the time elapsed between floating the grout and the rest of the steps? I was planning on grouting my floor over the next couple of nights, but it seems that I might need to wait until I have time this weekend. Insight? Thanks for these videos, they're really quite helpful.

[AsktheBuilder]

@electrakitty I believe I mention the time lapse in the videos. Bottom Line: minutes - it depends on many factors where you are: relative humidity, temperature, wind, porosity of the tile, etc.

[WYSIWYG97]

Excellent video Tim. A fair bit of the grout in my 60x30 porcelain tiles have eroded. The result is that the lipping and shadows have become very obvious. Can I just place a layer of new grout on the existing one? The new grout is probably only going to be 0.5 to 1 mm thick at max if I do it this way. I tried scratching out the old grout but this resulted in some of my tiles getting scratched and I have developed a phobia of doing this again. Thx Tim. Tom from Australia.

[AsktheBuilder]

@WYSIWYG97 You can. New grout must be at least 1/4 inch deep. That's about 8 mm.

[WYSIWYG97]

@AsktheBuilder Thxs for the prompt reply Tim! Much appreciated! When you say 8 mm, does that mean I have to scrape out all the old grout since this would be the only way to get an 8mm depth of new grout? I was hoping to lay the new grout over the old existing grout which would be mean laying only 0.5 to 1 mm depth of new grout over the existing one so as to get the grout to be level with the tiles which will hide the lippages and shadows. Thx again for the ex videos, Tim. Tom from Oz..

[AsktheBuilder]

@WYSIWYG97 You need to scrape out whatever grout is needed so you get that thickness and the grout is not higher than the tile surface.

[DRBRONCO69]

Tim,

Thank you very much for sharing these tiling videos! I am not afraid to grout my own tile job any longer. Keep up the great work. Subscribed. - Mike

[cgworkman]

You are THE man! Your HowTo vids are the absolute best. It's one thing to know your craft....it's another to have ability to teach and demonstrate. Thanks again!

[IgnoringLaundry]

Great series of videos, thanks for labeling them!

[tmestancik]

these videos are great... and he does let you know at the beginning which are which...

it should be in your mind as a contractor to look for things like that!!!

Tim you're doing a phenom job...

keep up the great work

[hitmanface]

thanks guys I've just finished grouting the fireplace with your instructions, couldn't have done it without you thanks...

[packall80]

Thanks Tim! I'm a first time tile installer and followed your instructions all the way through & did my bathroom first & then onto the big kitchen. I'm no pro... but everyone loves the tile & thinks it looks excellent! Thanks for the help :-) no can you tell me how to recover from a tile job & not have aching knees & back?

Chris (Hudsonville, MI)

[lucianocebula]

Hey Tim.. Congrats from Brazil and thanks for the lessons! I´ve been working tiling my bathroom´s house in last two weekends and tomorow I´do the grouting. Thanks for the help!

[mcinsquash1]

Thank you sir! I'm about to grout some tile, and wanted to get a refresher since it's been 10 yrs since my last tile project. Checked out a tiling tutorial by someone else before I found yours, and he made many of the common mistakes you mentioned. Anyway, while watching his video I couldn't figure exactly what he was doing wrong, but it just didn't seem right so I moved on to your video. And man, I'm glad I did!!!

[Remiqx]

Great stuff! This will be so helpful for my project. Thank You!!

[1810197128]

I 100% agree with susanthescribe, fantastic series. My hubby was starving waiting for me to bring lunch to the work site; took me most of an hour to find all of the parts to the series. I'd reconsider renaming them or adding part 1-4 to them. I just came back from putting these instructions to work, and the tile looks fabulous;. can't wait to see how it looks after my final cleaning. Hope overnite isn't too long Thanks for the info. Didn't know the part with sponging the grout before you said it

[jeffman3003]

Just grouted my floor tiles following your methods, and I have to say they look great. I have never tiled before and these videos are a life saver. One suggestion for first time tilers, use a tile wet saw. The tile cutters will not do the trick when it comes to making small width cuts.

[SusanTheScribe]

Yeah, you should totally label them 1,2,3,4. It took me a while to figure out what order to view them in. Helped me out a lot though.

[AsktheBuilder]

@SusanTheScribe Susan, I appreciate the suggestion. As I said to 923 man, they're labeled the way they are for a reason. You found them, didn't you? And the annotations in the video help guide you through the series.

[bzlmnstr]

@AsktheBuilder I also had trouble finding the 3rd video at first. I noticed after that the annotations and the truncated bits of the comments had the necessary information, which is nice, but I think the issue here is that the canonical way to denote videos that are in a series on youtube is to put the numbers in the names.

Folks are paying attention to the video during annotations, so they are often ignored and one also doesn't expand the commands to look for this information.

[bzlmnstr]

@AsktheBuilder I hit the character limit before I was done, but I just wanted to say, naming convention silliness aside, I really appreciate this awesome video! Very clearly explained and I'm looking forward to trying your suggestions. :)

[anim8ted923]

I've watched a few tiling videos on YouTube. Your's are the best.

[AsktheBuilder]

@anim8ted923 Thanks. I'm like Avis - I try harder. :->

[anim8ted923]

@AsktheBuilder I have one suggestion: There appears to be 4 grouting videos. Clearly label them "1 of 4", "2 of 4", etc.

And thanks again. After viewing your videos I think I'm brave enough to grout tonight!

[AsktheBuilder]

@anim8ted923 They are titled the way they are for a reason. ;-> I can't tell you why. Sorry.

[DKPAIN]

one thing. never wipe parallel to the grout joints. Always diagonal, across the joints. Not along the joint.

[AsktheBuilder]

@DKPAIN Thanks for the comment. You don't say why. I would agree with you if the grout is very wet and you push hard on the sponge. You'd then dig out the grout. But when the grout is stiff and you're in the final stages of film removal, it doesn't matter. I went to your channel and there are no tile videos there. Just a video about cars racing on ice. How about you investing your time making some videos about what you know about tile and grouting? Surely the ice has melted off the lakes by now.

[benwrightson]

thanks for the tips champ :)

[marindarr]

after watching your video im now confident to start my grouting job, great video tim! james in australia

[cantolliesowhat]

I'm about to regrout my bathroom floor tiles for the first time. Thanks to your videos I'm not as scared as I was about tackling this project!

[steleryan]

Great video's Tim. I watched all them and made those helping me watch them too. Thanks for speaking in layman's terms.

[steleryan]

Tim, do we still need to put a sealer on the grout. Also, if so, how long should the grout cure before this is done.

[AsktheBuilder]

I am not a fan of sealers. They can interfere with cleaning in the future. Just get some of my Stain Solver to deal with dirty grout. Go to my StainSolver website.

[lkkkaman63]

Good job man.

[Ayrshirenutter]

great vid,I'm about to grout in the next hour,this was a brilliant help

[lclpuddle]

Great set of videos. Saved me a lot of grief....

[gdesmostasmo]

This floor is curved, look at the left side

[AsktheBuilder]

Wrongo. This room is as rectangular as one could ever imagine.

[raida357]

Another great video. I now feel 100% confident to head downstairs and start my first grout project!

[RonsonEQoA]

Very nice ATB, I've done some grouting in the past but was skeptical about this go round since I spent over a grand on some really nice Italian tile for my new 13X15 den. I must say I feel alot better and thank you very much for the videos!

[VegasLuvr]

Very helpful. Thank you!!

[youthherder]

Thanks, Tim. I'm about to grout tile for the first time...and feel a lot better about it after watching your videos on how to do it! Thanks for sharing your expertise with us DIY scrappers!

[AsktheBuilder]

You're welcome. Stop back and let all of us know how it turned out.

[jacobkimgary]

Tim must be a golfer.

[baaddwrench]

Sure make it look easy!

I wiped and wiped and wiped.

used vinagar to removed the film which worked great, however the surface irregularities have trapped grout on the surface of the tile.

Now before sealing I am to carefully pick it out?

Phooey?!

Any ideas?

[AsktheBuilder]

Scotch-Brite pad..... and water. Next time install the tile on a half sheet of backer board laying on your garage floor. Practice grouting on this scrap tile until you master the technique.

[baaddwrench]

Hmmmm, :-/ explains why that thing was in Dad's tile tool bucket...

Thank you

[roydamanna]

play sof 2

[AsktheBuilder]

Sure it wasn't a pesky leprechaun? I have a *very* tough time believing dry sawdust will remove wet grout film. How about you do a video showing all of us this method. I'll post it here as a video response.

[AsktheBuilder]

We shall be believers once we see your video. Be sure to post it here as a video response and send me a message.

[sumbook]

you sure make things simple..

a great DIY instructor :)

keep up the great work..

[DIEBUNNYHATER]

YAY!! Job well done!!!!

COME ON TRAFFIC!

[torontomapleleafer]

Wow, so thats how you get the grout off, I never knew that, thanks for the tips Tim. If I could rate this 10/5 I so would!

Best Regards,

Greg

[AsktheBuilder]

Thanks! You can help by telling all you know about the videos. I need massive traffic so I can continue to invest all the resources required to tape and edit them. That goes for all my videos as well as my website. Without traffic, they will disappear.

[blueghist]

Great set of Videos :) I just done a bathroom and it was really easy and it saved me at least $1000.

It's really worth doing it yourself.

[TheTubbyKid]

Nice Videos Man I love Them And I hope To See More!!

[CanadianToolGuy416]

Great tips Tim, keep them coming