Any tile contractors out there to answer a Q?

I'm getting my shower redone. Yesterday porcelain tile walls and a travertine floor were grouted. Immediately after being grouted, the plumber came to install fixtures. The project manager is an idiot having scheduled that together. The result was that much of the grout was washed away and some entire lines came out because of the drilling. My project manager said he would fill in the gaps today. Well, he forgot to bring it today, so it didn't get done. He said on Monday it will get done.

He told us that the shower could be used today anyhow. I just turned on the water to wash the dust out, and the grout still wasn't dry and much of it came up even more almost in a frothy soap like way. Anyway, will it compromise the integrity of he grout to add more grout on top of old dried grout on Monday? Or should I call and speak to the owner and have someone come out immediately, while its still wet?

a reply to: fictitious

Big no-no to wet grout too soon. Screws up the chemistry/hardness permanently.

You can't just fill it in. Don't let them do that. Grout that's not monolithic will have mechanical issues and start chipping out.

Kind of a disaster for you if you let them get away with that. Open a can of hard-ass immediately.

No a reply to: fictitious

a reply to: fictitious
Not a contractor, but I would demand the whole thing be regrouted completely.

a reply to: fictitious

inverselookingglass gave you the right answer.

If you are paying for it, refuse to finalize the payment until they have removed the old grout, and regrouted the entire shower.

If it were me, i would deduct the missed deadline from the final amount, too. "I forgot the grout" doesn't work for me. Because Ill forget how much I owe you.

I should add: i am not a contractor, but I have done my fair share of tile work. And I have had to manage my fair share of general contractors.

Don't mess around with this.

InverseLookingGlass nailed it, and I am just commenting to add voracity to what was already said.

a reply to: fictitious

Grout dries quicker than that??
When I do tiles if I don't wash the excess off quickly it gets caked on.
24 hours tops for grout to dry and an hour tops to get the excess off before it gets caked onto the tiles.

You can buy a small batch of premixed grout and fill the gaps in yourself in 20 minutes but if that grout isn't dry yet....nope.

When was it grouted if i may ask?

a reply to: fictitious

My advice?

Call them and tell them to address it.

You're paying and they should have insurance you may need to fall back on. (if you chose the right one)

You pay...they are responsible.

Peace

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

So I just texted the project manager and he called and said its not a worry because it's epoxy grout and not dry mix grout. I don't believe him. I was told he is new at this job, and so far I've had to go in and tell each contractor exactly what to do myself. I think he was given this project just because it's a shower and nothing else. Come Monday I guess we will see. I'll take it up with the renovation company owner on Monday.

Thanks everyone for confirming my suspicions. Hopefully my husband or I can get this guy to do his job once and for all. A dumb shower has taken over 3 weeks, so I'm frustrated.

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: fictitious

Big no-no to wet grout too soon. Screws up the chemistry/hardness permanently.

You can't just fill it in. Don't let them do that. Grout that's not monolithic will have mechanical issues and start chipping out.

Kind of a disaster for you if you let them get away with that. Open a can of hard-ass immediately.

This^^^

I am a contractor and what they did is nothing short of a world class screw up. Remove and regrout is in order. I can't believe the plumber still did his work knowing it was not cured. Hopefully the poor guy that did the original work gets paid accordingly by the guy that screwed up. It isn't a fun job and it is very tedious to get the old grout out properly once it's set.

You might want to find out the exact type of grout and call the manufacturer. If the manufacturer tells you they screwed up, then they hopefully won't give you much trouble about redoing it properly.

a reply to: fictitious

If it is epoxy grout A. It would dry very fast. I usually mix small batches because it dries in the bucket before you can get a large amount down.
B. Its going to be very difficult to get out.

Its not a big deal to add more grout unless the bond is so bad you can easily remove it.

Travertine and epoxy grout is pretty much a big no no. You have to be so carefull its very difficult to do and doesnt make sense seeing as the travertine is porous itself. Maybe it was just in the ceramic?

Sounds like a big hose job if they dont know how to mix grout and remove the haze before they leave for the day. Travertine should be sealed first then grouted unless you want the grout color to color your tile. Some people like the grout in the porous holes but its really sloppy work to do it that way.

Seeing as how bad the grout was i would also knock on your tikes and make sure you dont hear hollows from a bad tile lay. Especially if they skipped floating and leveling (which with natural stone people often do).

Good luck

a reply to: fictitious

If the grout is wet you can't use it. It needs 24 hours to set. Plus it needs to be sealed before you use it or the grout is ruined.

originally posted by: snypwsd
a reply to: fictitious

If the grout is wet you can't use it. It needs 24 hours to set. Plus it needs to be sealed before you use it or the grout is ruined.

id

If its epoxy grout it doesnt need to be sealed and it dries very fast. Its also more expensive.

a reply to: luthier
This grout was premixed. It was in a tub already mixed up and ready to go. I don't doibt that the PM has no idea what he is talking about. He probably just told me something so he could go about his Friday night in peace. I texted him to have a paper trail that I pointed it out while it was easily fixable. He's already told contractors the wrong things and then people had to go back and fix stuff. Everything that was fixed has turned out looking fine, but his lack of communication and just plain pretending to know things is awful. I just couldn't believe that the tile guy spent forever grouting things perfectly to leave and five minutes later the plumber walked on everything. The plumber did ask if it was ok, and the Pm said Yep. Everything is supposed to be done by Monday, but our shower door won't even be fabricated until after Christmas. I've been patient and nice this whole time, but this grout thing has put me over the edge. And to top it off, they called it "complete" today minus the shower glass but the cleaning lasdybwont come until Tuesday. Um no I cannot use my bathroom still. So I've spent a few hours cleaning even though we paid for a cleaning crew!

Ok rant over. Thanks guys! I do appreciate the quick feedback. Lesson: no matter how good your contractors are, if your project manager is an idiot, everything can go wrong.

a reply to: fictitious

presuming you haven't finalized payment (usually there is at least 10% retainage for the last payment), go after the PM/GC with fervor.

I do tile for a living and Spade nailed it. Although it's not imperative that every last trace bit be removed, they should hit it with a grout saw and do their best to remove what they can and re-grout it. Not a HUGE deal. Sounds like the PM screwed up the scheduling and the GC will more than likely eat it, as the tile guys will just bill a change order for having to do the work twice.

Figured I'd include a picture

originally posted by: fictitious
a reply to: luthier
This grout was premixed. It was in a tub already mixed up and ready to go. I don't doibt that the PM has no idea what he is talking about. He probably just told me something so he could go about his Friday night in peace. I texted him to have a paper trail that I pointed it out while it was easily fixable. He's already told contractors the wrong things and then people had to go back and fix stuff. Everything that was fixed has turned out looking fine, but his lack of communication and just plain pretending to know things is awful. I just couldn't believe that the tile guy spent forever grouting things perfectly to leave and five minutes later the plumber walked on everything. The plumber did ask if it was ok, and the Pm said Yep. Everything is supposed to be done by Monday, but our shower door won't even be fabricated until after Christmas. I've been patient and nice this whole time, but this grout thing has put me over the edge. And to top it off, they called it "complete" today minus the shower glass but the cleaning lasdybwont come until Tuesday. Um no I cannot use my bathroom still. So I've spent a few hours cleaning even though we paid for a cleaning crew!

Ok rant over. Thanks guys! I do appreciate the quick feedback. Lesson: no matter how good your contractors are, if your project manager is an idiot, everything can go wrong.

I feel for you it sucks. I havent heard of premixed epoxy grout (usually epoxy means mixing A and B to get a chem reaction though there may be). You definetely dont want a plumber anywhere near wet grout. I dont even let plumbers in my house. J/k.

Get the product list for the lawsuit and manufaturer instructions. Again i am kidding but seriously get the product info in case you have voided waranties and stick it to your p m.

originally posted by: EequalsMC2
I do tile for a living and Spade nailed it. Although it's not imperative that every last trace bit be removed, they should hit it with a grout saw and do their best to remove what they can and re-grout it. Not a HUGE deal. Sounds like the PM screwed up the scheduling and the GC will more than likely eat it, as the tile guys will just bill a change order for having to do the work twice.

If its epoxy grout the haze nor the grout isnt going anywhere without a lot of effort. If its epoxy grout on unsealed travertine tile I would say impossible and permanent color change. Which even if its not epoxy will be a problem especially if thinned out and ground into the tile. There may be sections that need to be removed all together depending on the presealing on the travertine.