How to repair cracked old grout?

14 years ago

We have a ceramic tiled shower wall that needs repair. One row of tiles up from the shower pan the grout is cracked. How do we repair this? I assume dig out anything we can and fill? The tiles are NOT loose: it looks to me like settling occurred and it cracked there instead of lower at the shower pan. ItÂs a 25 year old townhouse, second floor. We are putting it on the market this week. This shower was seldom used in a dark-ish bathroom so we did not notice it until taking a close look at everything with a buyerÂs critical eye.

Is there a special grout we should use for repair or just standard white grout? It looks like the previous owner filled up the same crack with something really hard, harder than the regular grout. So this line is now filled up to or above the surface of the tiles. (Meaning there is no longer a recess at the grout line) If we just fill it and not trench it out (I donÂt know the term for this) the repair will be even higher. The repair is not loose either, just cracked.

Assuming we DO need to get it out or at least enough to fillÂIs there a tool that works well for this? So far we have tried a utility knife, a putty knife, and a screwdriver. We can get a little off but it is really hard.

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

brickeyee
14 years ago
You need a grout saw to remove the existing grout, and then fill with grout that matches the rest of the wall.

A grout saw is not like a large wood saw. It has a very small blade with carbide grit.
You carefully drag it over the grout joint with just a little pressure and it grinds away the old grout.

Tight laid (1/16 inch grout lines) bathroom tiles often but against each other and a very small bevel on the edge of the tile creates the grout line.

Wider grout lines are often done using spacers to help maintain uniformity.

After the grout is removed, wash to remove all dust.

Dry the wall and grout it.

It sounds like the joint between the floor pan and the wall was not caulked.
Internal corners in tile work should be caulked, not grouted.
bill_vincent
14 years ago
Repair that grout joint, and all you've done is set it up to crack again. Most likely, the reason that particular joint is cracking is because that's where the top of the pan membrane is. Most likely, it's time to replace the shower pan, as well as about 18"- 2 feet up the walls.

One thing everyone who reads this thread needs to keep in mind-- when grout cracks, it's not the problem. It's a SYMPTOM of the problem, and 9 times out of 10, that problem is either structural movement, or moisture getting at the framing and making it swell. Either way, the problem needs to be identified and mitigated. Otherwise, you can grout it, caulk it, tape it up-- whatever. You're still going to have a problem that will need attention sooner or later, and the sooner you take care of it, the cheaper it'll be to do so.
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Okay-- here's the thing-- I've had people ask about taking it even another step further, and replacing the grout with epoxy grout. I'll tell you the same thing I told them. You will NOT stop movement where it's occurring. You can only take it into account. Most grout already contains some kind of acrylic polymer, so it's a dead issue, but just for the sake of argument, let me follow this where you were taking it (assuming you're looking to make the joints harder and tougher to crack). If you accept the given that I put forth, that you're not going to stop movement, then you'll understand when I say that movement, just like electricity or water, will find the path of least resistance. Right now, that's the grout joint. Now, the only way to make the grout joint hard enough where it won't crack is to make it harder than the tile. But if you do that, guess what's gonna crack NOW? Remember-- you won't stop the movement. You need to find the source of the problem and fix it, or it'll keep coming back, and sooner or later, it's going to start getting worse.
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Thanks for the feedback all. He immediately agreed to redo the cracked grout of course, and also replaced 2 large-chip tiles that were in the main walkway. Now that it has been 6 days since the last tile work, the rest of the grout is cracking. I'm completely distressed. The first grout job was done by someone else, with the GC doing the "repairs" -- but all of it is now cracking and crumbling. The grout was never sealed so I'm not sure whether or not that is anything additional to worry about. I'm going to request that he come out to redo ALL of the grout - most is cracking anyways, and the color is far from uniform now. Is there anything I can keep an eye out for, or should ask him to be aware of when grouting this time? It is a sanded grout and the lines are not too narrow. I would guess 1/4 - 3/8" wide? Should I ask him to try a different kind of grout? Also, MongoCT: you mention that where the tile intersects wall/door/etc it should be caulked... All of my wall-tile edges have a baseboard over so no cracking can be seen, but what kind of caulk should be used at the doorway? It is the front door, and gets a lot of traffic. Can caulk be shaded, or do we go with a standard "color" available and get over it? Thanks again all! I appreciate your time :)
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Im gonna insult you likely. yet its not my intent. These scenarios happen daily to the point of being an epidemic within our industry on account of unqualified labor. A red warning flag to A homeowner is A handyman willing to do PARTS of a tile install especially A shower build. In the professional tile world we dont engage in these scenarios for many reasons. The biggest being liability especially when we wrrty our work. This combined with Installing rocks on A foam pan tell me this guy is not qualified to work on your shower. Every tiler knows there is a high likelihood of failure when installing rocks on a foam base. You are experiencing point loads and there is no fix. Most true pro tilers avoid foam bases completely yet many novices swear by them.. Your best bet is to completely tear it out and this next 3X MORE expensive time around source and hire A qualified tiler. There are still a few tile pros here on houzz that would be happy to help any homeowner source a tiler in their area. Its just that nobody comes here to houzz asking for hiring help. Yet they always arrive angry with the disasters. Homeowners reading along You Always want to place the entire tile process SOLEY in the hands of the tile installer. This means allowing them to supply every material and installing everything from the studs OUT. including the subfloor. Adding to that A solid written contract with a detailed scope of tile standards to be met and followed. as an aside: " You don't remove it; you tile over it which is a TCNA approved method. No waterproofing risk. " tile over a disaaster !!!!!!! Stick to countertop advice buddy XOXO
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brickeyee
14 years ago
A lot depends on the age of the construction.

New construction tends to have continued wood shrinkage that produces cracking.

Joists in conditioned space continue to shrink as they reach their final dimensions with seasonal variations forever.
The length of wood (parallel to the grain) has very small shrinkage and movement.

Before tearing things out on older work at least a repair should be tried (especially if you can do the work yourself).

All you have lost is some time and materials.

How to repair cracked old grout?

Comments (3)

brickeyee

bill_vincent

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