grout problems

[willbones]

Just finished grouting my bro's bathroom. He has large format tiles with 3 mm spacing, with travertine mosaic border. When i grouted - i spread the grout into the joints between the tiles - no problems there. Then i got my wash boy sponge and did two light circular motions over the tiles followed by one final vertical stroke - but there are tiny bubbles in the surface of grout from the sponge. Is this normal - what did I do wrong? Also the grout appears uneven in a few places upon close inspection.

Any suggestions as to what I have done wrong - the grout was excel bond white water resistant grout.

[laurami tiling]

how wet did you make the grout when you mixed it,how wet was the sponge when you give it the old cut routine
could be the problem there

tony

[wivers]

Yea as laurami said. Also how long did you leave it before washing off?

[Dave]

should really leave joints to partially set, wash off with washboy, this will remove any excess grout but i tend to finish off with a hand sponge gently tool in joints to achieve a smooth finish, the washboy normally leaves water on the tile surface and this then runs into the joints causing these air bubble type streaks. washboys are great for floors but walls need finishing off by hand, much neater job.. dave..

[willbones]

I mixed the grout 3 to 1. It had the consistency of custard - but it seemed to go off very quickly in the bucket but when i re-mixed it using grout float it went runnier again.

Thanks for your replies DH - what do you mean by tool in the joints - do you mean use a pointing tool?

[CARL JOLLEY]

hi willbones mate sometimes sponging your joints aint enough .what you could have done is quikly run your finger through your joints after your final wash ,only use light pressure with your finger as you dont want blisters from the friction.overall mate its a matter of timing to soon and you will take the grout from the joints leaving yourself with snags ,too late and any axcess grout will have to be really scrubed at or even raked out.also different grouts set at different rates so try gettting used to a suitable brand for the job and stick to it as this will help you top get the timing correct practice makes perfect but some grouts are better to use than others.BAL grout is easy to use as you can do a large area in one go then simply start your wash where you started your grouting following the course that you took when you grouted as this will also help to get the timing correct.

also i forgot to metion that if your sponge is too wet on your final wipe then you are wetting the grout down again ,if your sponge is rung out completly then you are less likely to get the problems that you described also use a hand sponge as you cant ring a washboy sponge out well enough to apply the final smoothing stokes to the job .hope this helps

[wivers]

Nice one Carl, some quality advice thee mate.

[grumpygrouter]

I only use my washboy for the very final clean down, leaves virtually no residue. Most of the work is done with float and hand sponge.