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Advice for regrouting covered outdoor balcony

Hi,

I have a covered outdoor balcony (about 3.5x5m), that only gets small amounts of rain during heavy rain. The tiles were laid on construction of the building about 15 years ago.

Some of the grouting (particuarly towards the open side that gets the rain) was cracked/missing, and I decided to replace. I have already started removing the damaged sections of the grout (first two photos). However the grout on half the balcony is fine (third photo). My questions are:

1. Do I have to remove all the grout to ensure a proper seal or any reason, or can I just do patches/sections, so long as each section is say, 10cm long? Will the new and old grout sit nicely together? I don't care about different colours in the grout because I will likely either paint the tiles or paint the grout.

2. The above question may answer this, but do I have to do all the regrouting in one go, or can I do it on separate days? I am wanting to do some test sections to get the hang of it and make sure I can get the grout of the tiles etc.

3. Am I fine to sue the Dunlop Flexible Coloured Grout?

4. Also, the edges of some of the tiles are discoloured/stained. I have pressure washed and used an industrial strength tile cleaner - I assume this is now permanent damage - does anyone have any ideas what may have caused and how to fix? You can kind of see this in the first two photos, but it is more obvious in real life.

Thanks!

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Comments

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Workshop community @Nikkee. I'd be happy to address your questions.

I would encourage you to continue on all areas which are damaged and remove the degraded grout. If bits are falling out it is likely the ones next to them will also come out within a short period of time. I would continue this removal process until you reach an area where the grout is solid. Even when you get to the undercover area, I would still continue a short way into the good grout to be sure.

Dunlop Flexible Grout is a suitable choice for repairing these areas. You can do the grouting in sections however it would be preferable to do it in one go to ensure it bonds well.

I am not positive as to the cause of the staining. Do any leaves fall on the area possible leaving tannin stains? Does the discolouration match up with missing grout at all?

If you require further information on the grouting process or have other questions, please let me know.

Mitchell

Nikkee

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/8287#Comment_8287

Thanks. No leaves fall on the balcony. The staining is mostly where the grout was damaged and is around the edges of the tiles - is it possible for water to seep into the sides of the tiles, and so to discolor the top of the tiles around the edges? That is what it looks like to me.

I have removed the damaged grout. I was going to wipe over the tiles to remove any dust and then spray the tiles in the area with a waterbased tile & grout sealer (Betta Tilecare) and let that dry. Not really looking to seal the tiles, but I am worried that the tiles are quite porous and rough and that the grout may be difficult to remove from the tiles. Then I have two different tile tools - just need to mix the grout and sweep it diagonally across the tiles and into the grout lines, pushing it down. Wipe excess of tiles, and keep area dry....? Then I can seal or paint the new grout (and maybe the old if it doesn't match).

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/66394#Comment_66394

Hi @Nikkee.

It is possible for water to penetrate the sides of the tiles, but as to the dis-colouration, I'm not sure.

I would not recommend spraying grout sealer over the grout as we want our new grout to bond with the old. A layer of grout sealer might prevent this. You could wipe the sealer over the tiles themselves if you are worried about it sticking to their surface.

Here is a D.I.Y. step-by-step tutorial on How to grout wall tiles. It is the same process as floor tiles.

If you had any additional questions, please let me know.

Mitchell

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