I've got a client who has had a fire in their kitchen which has caused damage to the floor and wall tile grout. The damage is effectively stained grout. The insurers sent in the cleaners who have got it to the state shown in the photos but can't do any more. The insurers have said the client needs to get estimates to have the tiles re-grouted and won't pay to have the tiles replaced.

The floor tiles (laid in the 70s) look like terracotta and the grout looks like cement, the lines are approx 10mm +-. The wall tile grout could also be cement because it doesn't have the texture of wall grout.

The floor tile area is approx 40m2 and the walls approx 7m2.

Removing the grout will take days and countless fern blades. Is there any other solution such as using a cement or grout stain remover that won't damage the tile surface?

went to quote an almost identical job a couple of years ago but bottled it, thought it was a bit more than I dare take on

What about grout colourants

Originally Posted by whitebeam

What about grout colourants

Good idea, I presume I would first need to use some sort of stripping solution to remove any grease, fire residue, etc..

LTP Online | Intensive Cleaning

Cheers for that Whitebeam, very useful link..

Originally Posted by faithhealer

went to quote an almost identical job a couple of years ago but bottled it, thought it was a bit more than I dare take on

I know what you mean but if the insurers want to pay the price, I don't mind taking it on...if I have to remove the grout, it won't be cheap..at £60 a blade from tradetiler and going through approx 10 blades on that size floor, plus the cleaning of the tiles, then the regrouting and then the resealing, it would be just as cheap and probably quicker to rip it all out and retile! I might suggest Whitebeams solution and recommend a test be carried out...

I would use this before i regrouted...All the Fire,flood companies swear by it for fire damage for removing soot etc Its called Prochem Ultrapac Renovate....I would use Aquamix grout colorant on this job...Tradetiler.com Home sells it.

Many thanks for the advice enduro..I've had a look at the tradetiler website and the video for grout colouring - all very useful stuff...