So after laying the tile last week around our new tub, it was time to get grouting. We couldn’t use our shower until we had grouted, so we were itching to move quickly on this step (showering at the gym and friends’ houses was not so convenient).
Here’s the tile how we left off, pre-grout. Time to fill in all of those open gaps.
We bought a basic white, unsanded grout from our local hardware store. I don’t think the brand really matters – as long as it’s meant for whatever type of surface you are grouting, you should be fine. We followed the instructions for mixing the grout: Measure the water needed and put it in the bucket (we needed about 750 mL) and then slowly add the grout powder, mixing it as you go. Some people use mixers attached to their drills, but we didn’t have one of those so tried to do it with an el cheapo wooden spoon (which worked! hooray!). The consistency is sort of like peanut butter at the end – smooth but pretty heavy.
Then I took my rubber trowel (also purchased at the hardware store) and put a big blob of grout on.
I slapped it onto the tiles, making sure to press it into all the seams. Once it’s all pressed in, then you want to go over it again with the trowel at an almost perpendicular angle to wipe away the excess. Warning: this can be a little messy with bits of grout dropping every so often. I made sure to have a washcloth on hand to wipe away the fallen grout in the bathtub as I went.
A few minutes later (again, following the directions of the grout), I went back with a damp sponge and wiped away the excess from the tiles. I needed to rinse the sponge every few seconds as it would get full of grout. You want to keep going over and over the tiles until you don’t get any transfer of grout. Warning Number Two: You will get prune fingers from rinsing out the sponge every 10 seconds.
But it’s totally worth it because you end up with a gleaming beauty of tiles…
Aren’t they all shiny and pretty? I’m so in love.
Please don’t look at our old shower head in the pic above – we need to seal the grout before we put the new head on (which will cover the hole in the tile). I’m happy to report though that we are now showering back in our own house. Happy day.
We still need to seal the grout and caulk around the top of the bathtub, but also have bigger and better things to do next, like the floor. Stay tuned!