How to repair grout

[Fanatical Meat]

I’ve been doing some grout cleaning which is really grout scrubbing and noticed I have a couple of noticeable cracks that likely need repair.
I understand the concept of a grout saw but what should I look for? I don’t need a powered one since it is maybe two 8 inch runs that need repair.
Also how much grout should be removed to make a repair and how does one end the repair?
Won’t the end seam just crack again?

I am sure I have sanded grout, I am confident it came from Home Depot 2008(ish)

Picture of the worst crack


Other crack is equally long but it is a hairline kind of crack.
That is probably an 8 inch tile give or take a bit
The tiles are not loose

 

[Greenman]

They make a little carbide tool for scratching it out. Keep in mind that's it's pretty easy to slip and put a scratch across the tile. If you go back with sanded grout you need to get most of the old stuff out. If you can find Prisim grout in the same color it's a much better material.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

They make a little carbide tool for scratching it out. Keep in mind that's it's pretty easy to slip and put a scratch across the tile. If you go back with sanded grout you need to get most of the old stuff out. If you can find Prisim grout in the same color it's a much better material.

thanks man, gonna guess it is alabaster color which Prisim appears to sell.
Where should I end the cut at the square?

 

[PowerEngineer]

We have tile countertops in our kitchen (apparently a late '80's thing). Very nice when dealing with hot pans, however the grout tends to wear down over time as a result of daily cleanings. I have regrouted portions of the counters a few times now and it isn't as difficult a job as I first thought it would be. That little handheld grout saw makes pretty quick work of removing all the grout between the tiles. I was able to find sand grout at Home Depot that very closely matched the color of the original grout (brown). Working the grout into the spaces between tiles is easy, as is finishing and clean up. If memory serves, I added a layer of sealer this last time in an effort to slow grout erosion. If the color match is good, I would try ending the repair at the tip of the two tiles.

 

[MrSquished]

I have the same issue with the grout where my backsplash hits the granite countertop. All the grout between the tiles is perfect. Place is only 3.5 years old. The rest of the condo is great. Similar fix for this?

 

[paperfist]

That area usually gets caulked.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I have the same issue with the grout where my backsplash hits the granite countertop. All the grout between the tiles is perfect. Place is only 3.5 years old. The rest of the condo is great. Similar fix for this?


View attachment 40641

I can help on this because I had a similar problem.
The grout at the bottoms degrades fast because it frequently gets wet and it is connected to two different surfaces.
I removed my grout in that same spot, cleaned it real well and applied a silicon caulk to replace the grout. Caulking is more flexible and will age better.
Making straight lines of caulk is hard without practice. Laying down some painters tape on the wall and countertop with a small gape makes straight lines easy. Apply the caulking, mush it in with your finger, remove the tape and lightly mush with your finger again.
Super easy fix just a little time consuming
Looks like you had white there so color match should be super easy.
I got my old grout in the same spot with a plastic painters trowel. Came out with little effort once you start removing it.

 

[BoomerD]

I have the same issue with the grout where my backsplash hits the granite countertop. All the grout between the tiles is perfect. Place is only 3.5 years old. The rest of the condo is great. Similar fix for this?

View attachment 40641

Maybe sanded caulk...

Custom Building Products Polyblend #122 Linen 10.5 oz. Sanded Ceramic Tile Caulk PC12210S - The Home Depot

Polyblend 10.5 fl. oz. Sanded Ceramic Tile Caulk features a siliconized, latex-based formula for caulking around sinks, tubs and showers and where tile meets tile or another surface. Also adheres bath

www.homedepot.com

 

[Steltek]

I have the same issue with the grout where my backsplash hits the granite countertop. All the grout between the tiles is perfect. Place is only 3.5 years old. The rest of the condo is great. Similar fix for this?

View attachment 40641

If you look around, you can get sanded siliconized acrylic latex caulk that is intended to mimic sanded grout for joints like that in tile.

EDIT: I guess I didn't read all the way through and missed @BoomerD 's link in his post above.

The following video deals with caulking a tile bathroom, but the same principles apply.

 

[deadlyapp]

Yep, as others have said, you can use a color matched caulk or just a white caulk there. I highly recommend getting a caulk tool to clean the bead up after you lay it down. The tool is like 10 bucks. Spray some water with a couple drops of soap over the caulk after putting down the bead, then run the tool over the top of the bead and wipe off any excess off the tool.

Just did this in my kitchen where they put grout in the corner and it cracked off less than a year later.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Got it done. I used a small container of Home Depot Polly blend and kind of wished I followed @Greenman ’s advice and used Prisim instead. This was difficult to mix, instructions said to use a tiny amount of water which wouldn’t even wet the entire small container and it was a pain in the ass to apply.
Small run so I could deal with it, appears to be a great color match assuming it lightens a little when it dries. Even though it is sanded grout the texture is sort of smooth but you only notice that close up.

 

[Greenman]

Looks like a hit to me.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Looks like a hit to me.

it dried a lot lighter but it is good enough.
I may just re-grout the whole damn thing next year.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[MrSquished]

Thanks for the suggestions. Brother in law recommended Big Stretch caulk, has better elongation so it's less likely to crack. Said Alex Plus caulk is crap, hard and inflexible. Will use a new utility knife to cut the old shit out and then re-caulk with some white stuff after watching some videos. We shall see how it goes. I want my kitchen to look new again, since everything else about it does.

 

[BoomerD]

Thanks for the suggestions. Brother in law recommended Big Stretch caulk, has better elongation so it's less likely to crack. Said Alex Plus caulk is crap, hard and inflexible. Will use a new utility knife to cut the old shit out and then re-caulk with some white stuff after watching some videos. We shall see how it goes. I want my kitchen to look new again, since everything else about it does.

Alex is good for some things...like during paint prep, but not for things like countertops.
I used the sanded caulk linked above in the last house. Worked pretty well for me.

 

[zaryps]

remove the old grout and fix it with fresh new grout.

 

[MrSquished]

Got the stuff, will attempt this week. Should be easy, just want it to look perfect though.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Got the stuff, will attempt this week. Should be easy, just want it to look perfect though.

Bit of amateur advice. You will drive yourself crazy with a perfect expectation. I find it better to go for good enough and accept I may have to do it a second time later on. Second time always comes out better.

 

[paperfist]

Yeah caulk is a nightmare...

I've seen guys use painters tape to restrict the area you only want to caulk. From my personal experience gloves are a big help, or the wet finger trick to smooth it out. Also, cutting the tip at an angle and the right size will determine how much hair you pull out of your head.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Yeah caulk is a nightmare...

I've seen guys use painters tape to restrict the area you only want to caulk. From my personal experience gloves are a big help, or the wet finger trick to smooth it out. Also, cutting the tip at an angle and the right size will determine how much hair you pull out of your head.

I used the tape method on my countertop. Totally worth the extra setup time imo.

 

[Greenman]

When using pure silicone, denatured alcohol is your friend. Place the bead, spray it, then run your finger into it so the extra piles up on your fingernail. Perfect bead every time.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Yeah caulk is a nightmare...

I've seen guys use painters tape to restrict the area you only want to caulk. From my personal experience gloves are a big help, or the wet finger trick to smooth it out. Also, cutting the tip at an angle and the right size will determine how much hair you pull out of your head.

When I had replacement windows installed in my last house 15 years ago, the installer used the wet finger trick. He also applied the perfect bead to start with. That's where skill is involved... Not applying too much or too little. He literally went around the window once with the tube and then ran his finger around once. He was able to do the whole process in under a minute for most windows. #experience

As for the grout, if you decide to clean it all out and start over, I always use a rounded/worn screwdriver for that kind of thing. It's just very easy to nick the corners and edges of the tiles, so gentle pressure and making a groove in the middle and angling toward the center of the tile (depth) is key.