How bad is it? Can you post a picture?

That's why the pros make the big bucks. It ain't as easy as it looks, is it?

How big is your kitchen?
Was this epoxy grout?

Actually, when you use regular cheap cancer causing grout the job is easy, but this is an adhesive/grout that is non hazardous and it is quite expensive and also " letting the experts do it" isn't always the best answer. Many times the Pros cut corners and do a poor job, so don't lecture me. Plus I already contacted the company and they told me what to do.Pros are not all that, believe me, or go around the forum and see how many people have been distressed by allowing " pros" to do the job.Don't get me wrong they have their place and respect, especially electricians, plumbers, A/C techs and the likes, but I believe that many jobs can be done on your own and if you mess up, you learn and at least you gained the experience and when you get it done, you can take pride in it. Also you can take that project and turn it into a family event. Later on in the future you can think back and say to your child or spouse and say " remember how you and I put that floor down, and look just how wonderful it looks". Wait you must be a city folk, country folks always have more pride when it comes to hands on,especially when it comes to their homes and land.

Yes, but later on in the future maybe you'll also think back and say to your child "Can you believe that *^%$#* expensive non-hazardous grout still didn't come off??!!!"

Just kidding. :) What brand of grout was it, and have you grouted before?

Should have used an exotic hardwood and finish it with shellac.

LOL! Just kidding!

Glad you got it figured out. That puts you farther around the turn in the learning curve.

Many times the Pros cut corners and do a poor job, so don't lecture me.

Depends on the "pro". Hire a lowball, and you get what you pay for. Some of us will cost substantially more than others. But at the end of the project you also have peace of mind that it won't fall apart on you a few years down the road because it was done right.

I'm also curious what "non-hazardous" grout was used. I only know of three types of grout available to the general public-- portland cement based, epoxy, and that premixed garbage. From the way you're talking, it's obviously not portland cement based, being that someone steered you away from it because of either the lime in it or the silica sand. I'd be surprised if it's epoxy, being that it's chemical, if you're looking for something non-hazardous. However, the fact that you're saying both grout AND adhesive were non-hazardous, not only does that sound like big box store hype, but other than normal thinset (even modified epoxy thinsets), all of which are portland cement based, that would leave premixed. If you set this with premixed thinset and then used a premixed grout (and the mess after IS a common complaint of the premixed grout), you'll be wishing within the year that you'd hired a pro. A REAL pro.

At Lowes they have a premixed adhesive that is also a grout. It is non hazardous according to OSHA.If you read the labels of nearly all others, they are hazardous.Now if you don't care, that's your business. It is actually decent and you pro's should try and protect your health and that of others and the environment. Give it a try, then talk. I already solved the problem, basically, it must be cleaned right away or it dries really fast. I found a paint thinner that is also eco friendly in place of mineral spirits, it has about 65% less odor,non-flammable and all this better stuff. Another thing you guys are so full of anger and ugliness and all this pro garbage is so egotistic and sounds more like you guys are not here to help anyone.Sounds more like greedy sales folks, so sad. Go to church or something. Another thing I can't even hire a pro or anyone at that. All I will say is that my husband is a soldier with PTSD on severe kill mode. Whatever, why bother, I'm done with this forum, so stupid full of ignorant greedy folks who assume all kinds of fantasies. In the real world there are gazillion reasons why people can't hire someone to come into their homes.

h

My general sentiments on all this:

"A man's got to know his limitations". - Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in Magnum Force. (I need to remind myself of that from time to time.) While I certainly don't consider myself a pro, I do have some experience. The challenge is to make sure that experience is appropriate.

I think there's a more-than-subtle distinction between "pro's" and "experienced contractors". "Pro" should be reserved for those at the top who do a job properly, using proper methods AND materials (and who do get paid top dollar for it, because it DOES cost more in time and materials).

Customers who start to be concerned about cost are usually unwittingly moving away from the "pro" and substituting with the "experienced contractor" (in a best case scenario), who has his/her ways of doing something for less....and some are better (and worse) than others. "Experienced contractors" who are not at the level of "pro" are constantly learning from their mistakes, callbacks, etc., at the expense of someone else.

From what I've seen, in the world of tile, there are a thousand ways to cut corners and most customers are oblivious to this, bu they get the result later. I learned tilework from an unlicensed contractor and over the years I discovered that I was doing some things very very wrong. Sure, I got "experience", but it turned out to not be the right experience, and someone paid big bucks for that. But if one looks nice, smiles and presents well, then they'll get jobs. Some jobs fail quickly (eg. cracked grout complaints, leaks, etc) and some take longer to fail.

There are many situations that pre-mixed stuff is absolutely the wrong product, but I know "experienced contractors" that will still use it from time to time in those instances to get the job done quickly. This is more info that many here need to know, but just know that there IS a big difference. I would even go so far as to say it's a bigger mistake to get a bad tile job than a bad plumber, since redoing the tilework can be way more expensive vs. fixing a leak.

h,
Sorry for the stress and pain you are going through. Folks do mean well here, for the most part, even if it may not seem so at the time.

treehugger, I don't know where you're getting all that. I gain nothing from trying to help people here. Let me give you just one example of why I don't care for those products.

I live in Maine, and I've got a brother in law who lives just north of Salt Lake City. About 4 years ago, he called me and asked if I could help walk him through installing tile throughout his kitchen, front hall, and foyer. I spent over 2 1/2 hours on speaker phone with him, directing him on how to lay his floor out, going through several different possibilities, as well as giving him a shopping list of exactly what he needed to complete the project. About a week later, he sent me a very nice thank you email, and I thought that was that. Come to find out, he'd gone to Home Depot to get his materials, and while there, some numb as a box of rocks salesperson told him that this premixed thinset was "all the rage" that ALL the pros were using it. Well, he decided maybe this was the way to go. Six months later (this was in april the tile went down, and then in october,) he called me to ask my why his grout was all cracking. So, I went through everything, step by step. I had him go downstairs and measure his joists, to make sure they were strong enough. Then he checked the layers of his subfloor. Next, I asked him to tell me exactly what he used for thinset. He told me that wouldn't be a problem-- he still had a PAIL of it.... I told him that was as far as he needed to go. I had him clean the grout around one tile and pop it. He didn't even need a chisel. Six months later, the premixed thinset (mastic) WAS STILL SOFT. Don't get me wrong-- premixed thinset has its uses, but those uses are very specific and limited, and the use for which it was designed (replacing portland cement based thinsets for floor installations) is not one of them. Go to any tile forum, and you'll see that.

Same with the premixed grouts. 9 times out of 10, they make a mess, shrink in the joints so bad that the tile has to be regrouted a second and even a third time. Additionally, they make such a mess that they're next to impossible to clean,and they're impractical to use.

Let me ask you a question, lady. If these products are all that great, then why is it I knew right off, without you telling me, what it was that you used?

Next point-- you think I'm in here to steer people AWAY from doing their own work? Aren't YOU barking up the wrong tree! (all pun intended!) I spend just as much time on line helping people as I do actually setting tile. I'm here for two reasons-- either one, to make sure people who try to do their own tile have a much better chance for success, or two, to help people who have pros install their tile, make certain that their installers have half a clue as to what they're doing.

Now, if you have problems in your life, I'm sorry for what you're going through. But I've done nothing to deserve this bullsh*t you're giving me. Don't bother responding, because I won't come back to this thread.

LOL! With a user name such as Treehugger, it pretty much says it all!! Never seen one with one ounce of common sense.