hi all,grouted the shower area in bal micro ban ivory grout last weekend,tested the shower last night and only a small amount of water went onto the tiles but where it touched the grout it went a darker damp shade,is this normal as it is obviously absorbing the water.

most grouts change colour when wet , but it should dry back the same colour, so dont panic

panic over then!! cheers andy,it just looked awful,it dried pretty quick but why does it say waterproof?

Grout is water resistant hence the need for tanking of the walls before tiling

we have used aqua panel ,would it be a good idea to seal the grout lines?

most grouts are cement based which means they absorb small amouts of water but dry out again ;its still water prof as it only the surface that gets wet it donst go through to the substrate

You could do if you wanted but not really necessary. Have you checked on the bag if it says waterproof or water resistant. From details i can find online it is claimed to be water resistant, you usually find the types of grout sold in the DIY shed to be claiming waterproof. For a grout to be waterproof it would need to be an epoxy grout.

just thought the sealant would stop any stains from coloured shower gels etc,i feel a little stupid now because the brown grout lines on my kitchen floor do go darker when i wash the floor,had white in the bathroom shower before and you dont obviously notice it as much even if at all.cheers for that thought we had done something wrong yet again.

thanks sir ramic,you really deserved your knighthood you talk a great deal of sense,wish you were my tiler x

Grout soaks up the water and then drys out, this is normal. As Neale has stated, tanking is always advisable in wet areas.

LTP have brought out a grout/tile sealer... basicly it is like mattstone but in aerosol form..




This would be ideal for sealing the grout joints and is available from Tile giant stores..

Originally Posted by andy allen

most grouts are cement based which means they absorb small amouts of water but dry out again ;its still water prof as it only the surface that gets wet it donst go through to the substrate

As has already been said grout is only water resistant so water will go through the grout to the substrate (in less than a minute with constant water spray from a shower) but you have wisely used aqua panel so no worries.

Originally Posted by Sir Ramic

You could do if you wanted but not really necessary. Have you checked on the bag if it says waterproof or water resistant. From details i can find online it is claimed to be water resistant, you usually find the types of grout sold in the DIY shed to be claiming waterproof. For a grout to be waterproof it would need to be an epoxy grout.

Doesn't have to be epoxy to be waterproof, has no one else come across the horror of BAL Supergrout!!!

Originally Posted by penkhull

Doesn't have to be epoxy to be waterproof, has no one else come across the horror of BAL Supergrout!!!

Not one I touch mate

Worse than epoxy you could only do half a square metre at a time.