Epoxy Grout has very good properties; it makes an excellent bond, won’t stain or discolor, and is waterproof. I read about this product 10 years ago in a book from Taunton Press, Setting Tile, by Micheal Byrne Dip. https://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/item/setting-tile-michael-byrne-ebook-077701.html New to tile laying I didn’t want to tackle the complexities of epoxy grout so I went with traditional water mixed grout. Since then I have done 5 tile jobs including mosaic tiles on a bathroom floor. All the jobs turned out very well but one thing has bothered me in particular; the kitchen floor grout in our country house has stained and looks dirty no matter how hard we scrub. This same grout job was sealed with some very expensive grout sealant. The other grout jobs are still OK because they don’t get exposed to as much dirt. Now I am setting tiles in a kitchen, foyer and bathroom combination using all the same smooth surfaced, ceramic glazed tiles.
In shopping for the tiles I wanted a mostly dark blue 12×12” tile for less than $3/tile. After searching several stores I found just what I was looking for at Lowe’s.
12 x 12" Glazed Porcelain Tiles.
In my excitement I quickly chose #53 twilight blue grout and the sales lady said it only comes in epoxy. I was like- “Epoxy?” She said, “Yeah, people buy it all the time.” Not thinking too much about it and knowing where I wanted to put the tiles and that I didn’t want the grout to stain, I went with her casual recommendation. When I went back to pick up my special order tiles and grout, I ran into a different sales guy in the tile section and asked him something about applying the grout and he says, “Why are you using epoxy grout?” That set off bells, sirens and whistles in my brain but his main issue was the cost; I said I was using 1/16-inch grout joints. He said, “Oh, that’s OK then, it will go a long way.”
1/16" Tile Joints.
This brought back memories of why I never used the stuff to begin with and so my anxiety level increases as I get closer to the epoxy grout application. I never went back to the tile book but instead studied the pamphlet that came with the product. I also went to the Spectra lock website and viewed their video, it seamed simple enough. https://www.laticrete.com/homeowners/products/grouts/stainproof/productid/68.aspx
In the back of my mind though I knew this was epoxy, this is serious, the clock would be running and if the excess grout wasn’t cleaned up in time- my tile job would be ruined! I went online to some discussion groups and these contractors were saying different things, most of them said they would never use the stuff unless their client demanded it and some of them said they would only use it in their own home. This confirmed to me that epoxy grout was the right product but that I would be challenged.
Setting tiles on a diagonal is more work.
In hind sight I would say do not do this job alone on more than 40 square feet at a time. Nor would I use epoxy grout on anything but a smooth surface tile unless I had three people working the clean-up. Deb was with me last weekend and I took advantage of her presence to try my luck at the epoxy grout application. It was 70 degrees in the room which according to the chart would give me about 80 minutes of working time. My joints were 1/16 of an inch, which would cover 80 square feet. I had my 3 buckets of white vinegar and water mixed ready to go, plastic gloves, sponges on hand and cardboard down over areas I didn’t want epoxy tracked onto in the rush. The grout comes in pre-measured packets, an all or nothing mix. I said to myself, “Here goes!” and mixed the grout.
LATICRETE SpectraLOCK epoxy grout kit.
Part A and B before mixing.
Mixing in the Twilight Blue Sanded Grout.
I had about one hour before the final clean up and any remaining grout becomes useless. The directions say start your initial clean up after 20 minuets, the website video shows a guy applying the grout over about 9 square feet and wiping the excess off right away. Deb does not like standing around waiting while I work so I turned her loose on the clean up after about ten minutes, cautioning her not to spill any water and vinegar on the non-grouted tiles. Soon she was right on my butt for the rest of the job. While Deb was waiting for me she would go back and continually wipe up the tiles.
Deb wiping up the excess grout.
Floating in the epoxy grout.
As time went by the epoxy started to stiffen and took more effort to work into the joints, not a bad thing. The consistency was best about half way through the job or 20 minutes. Much more force is needed to pack the grout into the joints at the end. After about 50 minutes all the grout was gone, I was out of the bathroom and into the foyer. I said to Deb, “After one hour we need to start the final clean up.” She said, “They are clean.” I went into the bathroom and indeed they looked clean. I said we should sit tight and let the water and vinegar evaporate so we can see the dry tile surface. I touched the dry tiles and they looked clean but felt sticky. I said, “We need to wipe off this sticky stuff and fast.” We both went to work on the tiles with the scrub side of our sponges. The stickiness went away on some of the tiles and others it didn’t seem to budge.
“Whew!” I was beat.
I wasn’t too worried about the stickyness because they looked clean and sure enough when I checked the tiles the next day they were clear and felt like tiles- no stickiness. The only thing was some gritty sand residue left around some of the tile edges that you could only feel by touch but not see. This residue could easily by removed with a plastic scrub pad.
Sandy residue needs to be scrubbed off.
Now I just have to wait and see if the epoxy grout hold up to it’s billing.
Finished epoxy grout job.