Hi. My builders laid 60 x 60 glacier ivory tiles in my kitchen a few weeks ago. I bought the tiles from B&Q, perhaps some of you know the tile? They come three in a box and cost about £19 per box. I bought about a dozen boxes. I stupidly didn't check the batch numbers so you'll probably notice the different shades in my photos below. I'm really annoyed at myself about that, but I didn't even think to check batches. Kind of ruins the whole effect for me. I'm going to have to live with it since I'll never find an exact match now to replace a few of the tiles. There's about three different batch numbers in the shop but I'm told there could be many other batches from the factory.
Anyway, then the builders grouted with Flexjoint Premium Ultra Flexjoint which I bought from Tile Depot, in Limestone colour to best match the tiles. The grout wasn't sealed so I'm going to seal it, I've bought Fila grout protector from Topp Tiles. Before I seal I'm trying to get the colour to the way it's meant to look as it mostly is blotchy, more dark areas of grout than light. The builders laid cardboard down after they finished the tiling and grouting as they had other work to continue with in my kitchen. When the cardboard was removed, I thought the grouting was just full of dirt that would sweep away easily but it doesn't. I bought Fila grout cleaner from Topps, tried it on just one grout line, let it sit for a few minutes then scrubbed, let it dry, and the next morning checked it. But it hasn't really done anything. I've also bought HG grout cleaner and will try that now, see if it makes any difference. I've put photos where you can see how the grout lines are mostly dark, and even light and dark patches together in any single grout line. The picture with the two bottles shows the grout line that I tried to clean in between those bottles. The fourth picture along of intersecting grout lines is one of the rare areas where the colour is correct. What is going on there, is it dirt or something else? Did they put too much water with the grout and it's dried blotchy, or clean up the grout too soon before it had dried sufficiently? When I put any water or cleaning fluid on, the grout goes immediately dark so it's impossible to tell if it's cleaned it until it dries. If the HG cleaner doesn't work, I suppose I could try and regrout the whole lot or buy some grout colour? I've never done grouting so colouring it would be preferable.
Secondly, I've attached an image (the last picture along) where I've drawn a yellow line about a centimetre distance from the edge of the tile that I used the cleaner and a brush on. The camera doesn't show it but depending where I'm standing and the lighting, that line to the edge of the tile is now shinier than the rest of the tile, like looking at a car that's just been T-Cut next to a non T-Cut area. Or to put it another way, as though the area between yellow line and edge of tile has been buffed to a higher shine with a polish, and where I can see a faint feathered edge where it meets the rest of the tile that wasn't affected. The tiles came pre sealed but needed wax removal. My builder told me he'd removed the wax. I'm wondering if the chemical and brush I used took something off the tile that shouldn't have, or, if it's simply taken off some wax that actually wasn't removed? The shiny part gives a slightly clearer reflection, although not really noticeable if I'm not standing in the right light, so it doesn't seem to be a bad thing? What is your opinion on these things guys? Thanks.
Anyway, then the builders grouted with Flexjoint Premium Ultra Flexjoint which I bought from Tile Depot, in Limestone colour to best match the tiles. The grout wasn't sealed so I'm going to seal it, I've bought Fila grout protector from Topp Tiles. Before I seal I'm trying to get the colour to the way it's meant to look as it mostly is blotchy, more dark areas of grout than light. The builders laid cardboard down after they finished the tiling and grouting as they had other work to continue with in my kitchen. When the cardboard was removed, I thought the grouting was just full of dirt that would sweep away easily but it doesn't. I bought Fila grout cleaner from Topps, tried it on just one grout line, let it sit for a few minutes then scrubbed, let it dry, and the next morning checked it. But it hasn't really done anything. I've also bought HG grout cleaner and will try that now, see if it makes any difference. I've put photos where you can see how the grout lines are mostly dark, and even light and dark patches together in any single grout line. The picture with the two bottles shows the grout line that I tried to clean in between those bottles. The fourth picture along of intersecting grout lines is one of the rare areas where the colour is correct. What is going on there, is it dirt or something else? Did they put too much water with the grout and it's dried blotchy, or clean up the grout too soon before it had dried sufficiently? When I put any water or cleaning fluid on, the grout goes immediately dark so it's impossible to tell if it's cleaned it until it dries. If the HG cleaner doesn't work, I suppose I could try and regrout the whole lot or buy some grout colour? I've never done grouting so colouring it would be preferable.
Secondly, I've attached an image (the last picture along) where I've drawn a yellow line about a centimetre distance from the edge of the tile that I used the cleaner and a brush on. The camera doesn't show it but depending where I'm standing and the lighting, that line to the edge of the tile is now shinier than the rest of the tile, like looking at a car that's just been T-Cut next to a non T-Cut area. Or to put it another way, as though the area between yellow line and edge of tile has been buffed to a higher shine with a polish, and where I can see a faint feathered edge where it meets the rest of the tile that wasn't affected. The tiles came pre sealed but needed wax removal. My builder told me he'd removed the wax. I'm wondering if the chemical and brush I used took something off the tile that shouldn't have, or, if it's simply taken off some wax that actually wasn't removed? The shiny part gives a slightly clearer reflection, although not really noticeable if I'm not standing in the right light, so it doesn't seem to be a bad thing? What is your opinion on these things guys? Thanks.
