Poor grouting job - advice needed to rectify

[kiltedplatinum]

Hello all

My bathroom wall (three sides round the bath, floor to ceiling) has just been finished... by someone else (after I had started it!). On inspection, the grouting is pretty poor in places: bumpy, uneven and in several areas there are holes/ places where grout has not been worked in close to the tiles (larger than air holes, but never more than 1mm wide) leaving thin gaps.

My question is, in order to rectify this, will I need to rake out this grout and start again, or can I 'top up' the areas that need attention (after providing a good key on the existing grout)? My instinct says it might just be easier to rake out the bad bits and start again rather than doing a half and half job, but good lord it's a lot of work and I am fuming.....

Many thanks in advance

 

[Burnerman]

If the grout has been in a while, you'll have one hell of a job getting it out again......the gaps certainly need your attention though!
Grout rakes may help you here, but it'll take a while - hopefully it won't all need doing!
John

 

[kiltedplatinum]

Thanks, John

Most appreciative of your time. You has more or less confirmed what I already thought. Frankly I'm fuming. The grout has only been in a few days but still.... I think it'll be a case of some judicious raking round the bits that are shoddy and doing the job I wanted to do in the first place.

Any thoughts on handheld rakes vs. the various electrical contraptions you can get for removing the grout? Really don't want to be chipping my tiles!

 

[Burnerman]

Personally I don't go for the Dremel method of cutting out grout - I have a diamond tipped grout rake but don't go wild over that either.
Often I resort to the Stanley knife to slice the grout away - not too difficult if the stuff is fresh. Give it a try as soon as you can.
Good luck with this one - you really didn't need this!
John

 

[footprints]

As far as the holes are concerned if it's only a few days old just add more grout. It often sinks back, more so I think with grout & fix adhesives