Many tile floors become ruined due to the poor condition of the grout. Regrouting the tiles is often times the only way to make the tile floor installation look like new again.

 

 

There are many reasons that grout can go bad and need to be regrouted.  Grout can become stained and look dirty and dingy over time.  Many times permanent grout stains will be impossible to clean up and remove.

Grout can also crack, chip, wear away and discolor over time.  In some cases the grout color can look splotchy with different shades of color throughout the grout.  Many times people will choose a wrong grout color that does not look good with the tiles. There are many other situations where the grout is ruining the look of the tile floor.  In these cases the best solution to restoring the tile installations is to replace the grout with a regrouting procedure.

Before regrouting your tiles you should first assess the condition of your tile installation.  In many cases cracked or missing grout is caused by an improper tile installation.  Movement in the subfloor is the most common condition that causes floor tile grout to crack and beak away.  If there is movement in the subfloor then any new grout that is installed will crack and break out of the grout lines just like the old grout did. Attempting to regrout a tile installation with subfloor movement will just be a waste of time as the new grout will crack and break up in a short period of time.

There is no real solution to correcting a tile floor installation where there is movement in the subfloor.  In most cases the tiles must be removed so that the subfloor can be stabilized. It does not take much movement at all in the subfloor for grout to crack and break apart. Usually subfloor movement can be detected simply by walking on the tile installation to detect any up or down movement in the tiles as they are walked on.  Only after the subfloor issues have been corrected can new tiles be installed and grouted so that the grout will not crack or break up.

There are other issues that must be taken into consideration before you begin regrouting your tiles.  Extremely small grout lines 1/16 inch or less will require an extremely narrow grout removal blade tool.  The only diamond bit grout removal tool available is the 3/64 inch diamond blade tool manufactured for the fein supercut. The fein supercut is a professional version of the fein multimaster tool and costs approximately $800. Also in many cases of extremely hard grout the cost and labor of removing the existing grout can exceed the cost of simply tearing out the existing tiles and installing new tiles and grout.

You should also consider other grout restoration options first before regrouting your tile floor.  In cases of larger grout joints greater than 1/8 inch where sanded grout is installed a color sealer can be applied to the existing grout. Color sealing grout can restore the original color of the existing grout and bring back a clean even looking color to the grout. Color sealing the grout can also change the color of the grout to virtually any color you want and the color seal will also seal and protect the grout as well.  Small cracks in the grout can be filled with a color sealer and save you from having to regrout your tiles. You can read more about color sealing grout here.

 

 

The most difficult part of a regrouting procedure is removing the old grout. The most mess free method to remove grout is to use a multimaster type of tools like a fein multimaster. Multimaster tools work to remove grout by vibrating a diamond blade that can grind away and cut through the grout. Fein manufactures a a segmented round grout removal bit that can grind through the field tiles and still be able to remove the grout at the edges of the tile installation. You should never use any type of carbide or other cheaper type of grout removal blade.  Cheap non diamond coated grout removal blades will wear away quickly when trying to remove hardened grout. A fein multimaster tool costs about $300 and a diamond grout removal blade can also add to the cost of a regrouting project. Fein multimaster tools do have a lot of other uses for home improvement and remodeling and they are not just used for grinding away grout.

 

 

A cheaper alternative for removing grout in a tile floor is to use an angle grinder with a concrete cutting blade.  An angle grinder is much cheaper than a multimaster tool and the concrete cutting blades are also much cheaper than diamond coated grout removal blades for the fein multimaster. Angle grinders are more dangerous to operate and they require a steady hand when using them to grind away grout. If you slip out of the grout lines with an angle grinder tool there is a potential for physical harm as well as the potential to damage the tile floor. Also an angle grinder will create a huge plume of dust that will go all over the house if the area to be regrouted is not cordoned off from the rest of the house.  When using an angle grinder to remove grout in a tile floor you should expect some minor nicks and chips along the edges of the tiles.  In some tile floors these small chips are not too noticeable but this is something that must be considered when removing grout from a tile floor with an angle grinder.

There are some other tools that can used for removing grout including a dremel tool or a grout grabber blade that attaches to a reciprocating saw.  Also some people attempt to use a hand tool to grind away grout and this can be a painfully slow process. In most cases all type of hand tools are impractical, too slow and require way too much physical exertion to remove grout. Dremel tools and grout grabber tools are often too difficult to control and they will easily slip and damage the surface of the tiles when using them to remove grout. Multimaster tools and angle grinders are the most practical way to remove grout especially when large areas of a tile floor need to be regrouted.

If you use an angle grinder tool to remove the grout then you will still need a tool to remove the grout at the edges of the tiles.  Angle grinders with a spinning blade make it impossible to remove grout at the edges of the tiles without damaging whatever is at the edge of the tiles.  In some cases where the grout is soft a utility knife can be used to remove the grout at the edge of the tile floor.  The best way to remove the excess grout at the edge of the tiles is to use a dremel tool with a grout removal bit.  Dremel tools work too slow to remove the grout in the field tiles but they work good to remove small amounts of grout at the edge of the tiles. 

 

Whether you use a multimaster tool or an angle grinder you should grind down the grout to at least 1/2 the depth of the thickness of the tiles. You should use a back and forth motion to grind away the grout as close to the tiles edges as possible without cutting the edge of the tiles.  It is not necessary to remove all of the old grout but you should remove enough of the grout to allow the new grout a firm base to set into. If you do not remove enough of the old grout then you will find yourself simply skim coating a thin layer of new grout over the old grout. A thin layer of skim coated grout will not properly adhere to the old grout.  This thin layer of grout can easily become chipped or simply flake away. 

After you cut into the grout at the edge of the tiles then a chisel can be used to chip out the remaining grout at the edge of the tile floor.   It can be a time consuming job to ensure that you have removed all of the grout on the edges of the tiles but you do not want this old grout on the edge of the tiles to show through when new grout is installed.  Gently tapping the existing old grout will ensure that the old grout is totally removed without damaging the edges of the tiles. 

 

After you have removed all of the old grout then you should inspect the tiles to ensure that there is no old grout still remaining in the grout lines.  You may want to replace any damaged tiles at this time before you apply new grout to the tile installation.   You can read more information here about how to replace a broken tile.  You should also clean the tiles at this time to ensure there are no dirt or contaminates on the face of the tiles.  You do not want to get a lot of water in the grout lines before grouting so some isopropyl alcohol works good to clean the surface of the tiles without getting water in the grout lines.

Grouting the tiles is the next step in the regrouting procedure.   You can read more information about how to grout tiles here.  

After you have grouted the tiles then you should wait at least 72 hours and then it is extremely important to seal the grout.  Sealing the new grout will ensure that the grout stays clean and stain free.  You can read more information about how to seal grout here.

As you can see regrouting a tile floor is a time consuming and difficult job that also requires specialized equipment.  In many cases it makes a lot of sense to hire a tile cleaning and restoration professional to regrout your tile floor for you. 

You can read some valuable information and tips on how to hire a tile and grout cleaning and restoration contractor at our contractor information page here. . . Regrouting Professional.