How do i remove the grout from the wee holes in a border ?

[Evilgenius]

A joiner / timer bloke tiled my bathroom, the board is those wee squares made from stone that has little imperfections in the face.. now when he grouted them he filled them up and it looks ****ing awful.

Is there something I can do to remove this grout, a cleaner or something ? How would a tiler tackle this problem ?

 

[nellyb]

If it's a natural stone border (ie- tumbled marble) that is how they are supposed to be grouted. It is virtually impossible to grout them any other way, save perhaps to use a caulking gun. This would then leave you with open holes in the tile which would attract allsorts of muck and rubbish.

 

[JohnD]

I thought the little cavities were supposed to be a special feature of that sort of stone? I've been to an art museum in Stuttgart where the walls were covered in the stuff, with random but frequent cavities on display.

 

[warehouseman]

It sounds as if you have bought Travertine marble tiles which have a crater like appearance. If this is the case then they should actually be filled in like the tiler has done in order to avoid water leaking through any potential holes in the stone. In perfectly dry areas, then i suppose they could have been grouted merely round the edges, but if they have already been grouted 'throughout' then there is basically sweet FA you can do about it. Incidentally, if travertine, they should be sealed as well

 

[JohnD]

Well, what's the point in paying the extra for the holes, then?

 

[gcol]

The guy that did your tiling has done it correctly. There's no way to grout just around the edges of those small square tiles - you'd never do it. Plus (as mentioned) the holes need to be filled to stop water pooling in them and going mouldy.
What might have helped is to have used a different coloured grout. I have a border of the same tiles you mentioned in my bathroom - I used a limestone coloured grout and it looks pretty good in my opinion. White would have looked a bit cheap.