Best Grout Sealer for TEC Premium Accucolor grout

susanlynn2012

9 years ago

I think I will post this on both the Flooring Forum and the Kitchen Forum in case someone with ideas or knowledge sees it.

So far, all the installers do not want to use the Laticrete Spectralock grout that I wanted to use for my kitchen. One installer says he can use any type of grout but can't start for a few weeks and of course is a lot more money and I have to buy the grout. I want to do the kitchen floor before the wood floor so I will not damage the wood floor.

I was given three installers' names that were highly recommended by my tile company and one installer's next big job was pushed off for a few days so he can start Monday (tomorrow) and finish Tuesday. I need to get this kitchen tile job done so I can start the wood floors in the next three rooms. I was comfortable with this installer's experience and knowledge of what I wanted done and what he can or can not do and he is providing the TEC grout for free but it is my responsibility to seal it in 72 hours if I want it sealed. If I do not like how two of the TEC colors dry, he will let me use the Laticrete Permagrout in the Mushroom color I wanted to use but he prefers the AccuColor TEC grout and told me the Antique white is not as gray as the plastic stick and will dry a little lighter and less gray.

I told him he could start tomorrow since he called on Saturday and told me he would need to start Monday or I would have to wait a few weeks if I want to have him do my tile floor. The other two installers cannot start for a few weeks.

If I use this TEC regular grout, what sealer is best to use and do I wait 72 hours? How is it best to apply? I plan to seal the grout often if it needs to be done.

AccuColor's website has a 100% Silicone Sealant but I think his is just for water & not for stain resistance? It also is low Voc but still has Voc's in it.

Featured Answer

HU-362278001

3 years ago

Unfortunately w/o reply which sealant is best for Tec Premium AccuColor grout!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

User
9 years ago
If he likes TEC products, get him to use Power Grout. Otherwise wait for the guy who will do epoxy.
susanlynn2012
Original Author
9 years ago
Hollysprings, I just realized I forgot to crosspost to the Kitchen Forum. Thank goodness I got your post. I told the installer after 5 PM when he called on Saturday that he could start on Monday but now I am getting so nervous as I want a floor easy to keep clean. He says the Power Grout still stains and is not worth the cost and is more difficult to use. I did do some research on it and in 2010, many installers were having so many problems with the Power Grout coming out when showering and staining feet. Maybe it has been improved?

The first installer wanted me to pick up the Power Grout myself making his price $700 more.

Also I am looking over the other estimate I got a few hours earlier before this installer called and it says that this other installer would prime the floor and supply the primer before installing the tile so maybe that is why the estimate is $300 more. This other installer says I am to buy my own grout. I did not consider him as his reply on when I asked what the grout width would be was that it would not be more than 1/4". I want a think grout line. The other two installers told me they would try to get as thin of a grout line as they can ONCE they assess the situation after they remove the Linoleum floor and see how flat the surface is and how the tiles are when they are placed on the floor in the running bond position.

Now I am getting confused as I did say he could start and I felt so comfortable with the installer but I wonder if my floor needs to have a primer on it and I wonder if the other guy could install the Epoxy grout also without charging me more than the $300 more IF I buy the grout which I know is expensive. He would have to tell me how much to buy.

The guy that is coming on Monday is supplying the TEC grout with the job and was one of the installers given to me by the store.

My Spectralock grout has never turned colors and the front foyer still looks almost new since installed at the end of December 2008. The middle foyer where I keep the puppy pads is staining from the pee from my little dogs and it is difficult to keep clean but never turns black like I see in so many houses with light grout.
Related Discussions
Blotchy Grout
Q
Comments (11)
Does smearing new grout on old grout work in cleaning and bring color to it? Temporarily, but in alot of cases, that's all it needs to be. What I've been finding out recently is that alot of times, this is just a matter of uneven drying or curing. What causes it, I don't know. But I've been asked to look at grout jobs locally that within a couple of weeks, the blotchyness disappeared. There HAVE been a couple where it didn't and that's when the installer had to look at things like grout haze remover, enhancer, and/ or colorant. If your installer wants, he can hit it now with a NON-acid grout haze remover, but that's as far as I'd go at this point. Let the grout set for a week or two. Nothing's going to happen that would make any kind of remediation any more difficult during that time. If, after a couple of weeks, it's still blotchy, then you might look into enhancer or colorant. I wouldn't even consider rubbing new grout into the old. At best, that would be temporary and after a couple of washings, it would come right back out. That's if it takes at all. I have a feeling, though, that after a couple of weeks, at worst, you're going to see a big improvement.
...See More
Which grout sealant is best
Q
Comments (2)
Stonetech "Bulletproof" or "911" are both good sealers.
...See More
tec xt stain resistant grout or laticrete spectralock grout
Q
Comments (6)
Thank you Jerry, I really appreciate you replying. I have decided to pay the 10% restocking fee for the TEC XT grout (after the 25% off and before the 7% sales tax it came to $36.71 for their stain resistant enhanced grout that is not an Epoxy. I will then drive a few miles farther down the highway and go to Lowe's and buy the SpectraLOCK Mushroom grout that I wanted but the former installer just wanted to use what was at the local tile store where I bought the Akoya Bone Tiles. I heard I need lots of sponges. What sponges are best so there will be clean ones here for him to use since I want the color to be true? The new installer says he can pick up glue and I do not need to buy more of the Adhese-SuperflexW Tile & Stone Mortars, 50 Lb Super Flext White (says this on the package so has abbreviations.. is in my cold garage right now....$42.74 after the 25% off I paid and before the sales tax). I was told the glue I had bought was a special Latex Glue. How can the installer mix glues since I have so much of this bag left over? What glue should we use since I have a cement floor due to the fact that I live in a townhouse with no basement. All this stress due to the first lot of the Rialto Beige tiles being sold out so I found a tile that looked just like that lighter color I wanted. I would have just asked Lowe's and bought what glue they told me but I can't return opened dry glue so now I have this bag here. I have to put an Estate on extension today and get these holiday cards out as well as close a few corporations. I am so behind in my work since I want my two foyer areas to look nice. I wish you lived near me Jerry so you could do this tile job for me and it would have been done months ago and I would not be behind in my work.
...See More
Best grout for tile shower?
Q
Comments (5)
Twice failed raises additional concerns. First was the grout mixed correctly. An experienced installer should have this down, but a lot of folk use too much water in both the mix and when cleaning up. Excessive water can affect the structural integrity of the grout. Next, contamination. Was the tile sealed prior to grouting? I'm simply wondering if a sealer was used and it got into the grout joints, and on the edges of the tile. That could possibly contribute to the grout not bonding as well as it should. If you can rule out contamination, then... I'd look at your water source. Consider mixing the grout with distilled water. Tap water can sometimes cause issues depending on mineral content, etc, but it's usually a coloration issue and not a bonding issue. Also consider one of the single-component grouts, already mixed. Something along the lines of Custom's Fusion Pro grout. There are other single-component grouts from other manufacturers as well.Grouts like Fusion Pro don't install like cement grouts, so the installer needs to read and heed the installation and cleanup instructions. Here's to hoping the third time is the charm. Aside: With two showers worth of grout probably being washed down the shower drain, raise the point of the shower trap being thoroughly scoured clean after the job is done. Grout powder could settle in the trap and reduce it's effectiveness to both drain and block sewer gasses.
...See More
User
9 years ago
Primming the floor sounds like he intends to install over the linoleum. Not a good option. The floor prep needed to create that flat surface cannot be fully known until the old floor comes out, so that installer is correct on that count. But whomever brought in his long level and checked out how flat the floor was at the present would have a leg up in the evaluation.

But none of these guys sound like they are giving you the job you want, so I wouldn't hire any of them. Wait until you find the guy who will work with the epoxy grout. Don't be bullied into accepting something you don't want. Hold out for the right guy. That you haven't met yet.
susanlynn2012
Original Author
9 years ago
The installer I was going to hire, is doing a great job and listened to my concerns and just installed the Tec Power Grout in the Antique Color, He is also going to seal it for me with an approved sealer that is supposed to not change the color to give it extra protection per Tec since I called them. He would have installed their chemical stain proof commercial grout for me but it would have to be ordered and would take a week and we needed to finish the job now.

I am loving how my new floors looked and I am glad I just did not let him install the regular Tec grout. I will take pictures when the appliances are put back.

I wanted the Epoxy grout but I did read how difficult it was to work with and none of the installers had time right now.
MrsD
9 years ago
Is TEC power grout safe for polished marble
Lisa Tintner
3 years ago
@HU-362278001 did you ever find out what sealer is best for accucolor grout
safemommy
3 years ago
susanlynn2012 Would you share which sealant product was recommended for the TEC Power Grout?

Best Grout Sealer for TEC Premium Accucolor grout

HU-362278001

Comments (8)

User

susanlynn2012
Original Author

Related Discussions

User

susanlynn2012
Original Author

MrsD

Lisa Tintner

safemommy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Best Grout Sealer for TEC Premium Accucolor grout

HU-362278001

Comments (8)

User

susanlynn2012Original Author

Related Discussions

User

susanlynn2012Original Author

MrsD

Lisa Tintner

safemommy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

susanlynn2012
Original Author

susanlynn2012
Original Author