Grout fix. Advice needed, please

9 years ago

I finally just got a close look at the grout job the builder has done on my kitchen walls. Yuk. A few months ago, the white subway tile was put up and erroneously grouted with white. It was supposed to have a pale silver grey grout. The builder promised to fix it. Today, I finally saw it again up close.: Apparently, he just smeared another thin layer of the grey grout over the existing white. It's uneven and in some places, the grey color is barely existent. Looks horrible. What to do??

Featured Answer

friedajune

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I don't think it's worthwhile to call back this builder's contractor to fix it. His first "fix" was terrible, and another try at it will be worse. There are contractors who specialize in re-grouting and re-caulking. In my house, the 25-year-old bathrooms' grout and caulk had to be re-done; the tiles are marble, so it needed to be done correctly. I hired one of these re-grouting contractors to do it. Found them on Angie's List. They dug out the old grout and caulk, and put in new. We discussed the color quite specifically, which is important. We were actually between 2 colors. so they put a sample down one line each so I could decide. They did a very nice job. Your job isn't a big one, so I would just find one of these contractors, and get the job done properly.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

PRO
Anglophilia
9 years ago
Isn't it a shame that there is do little pride in workmanship today! I hope he hasn't been paid for this mess he made.
Related Professionals
Nashville Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Beaumont Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Cape Coral Kitchen Remodelers · Augusta Kitchen Remodelers · Abilene Kitchen Remodelers · Davenport Kitchen Remodelers · Manhattan Kitchen Remodelers · Spokane Kitchen Remodelers · Bloomington Custom Countertops · Georgetown Custom Countertops · Sierra Vista Custom Countertops · San Luis Obispo Custom Countertops · Durango Custom Countertops · Santa Fe Custom Countertops · London Custom Countertops
spanishsunlover
Original Author
9 years ago
Anglophilia you don't know the worst of it. It's a house that was bought "off-plan"...in other words, the whole thing is being built as part of a development. My contract calls for a number of customizations, which the builder agreed to but then immediately regretted. Now he just does what he wants to anyway and says "if you don't like it, don't buy it. I'll give you your money back." The horror of each mistake has to be weighed against the value of losing or keeping the whole house. How much will it cost to fix this? Can I live with it? It's a nightmare.

I gather on the grout that my only choice is to dig it all out, hoping not to chip the tiles and regrrout. I'd rather have just stuck with the white.
isabel98
9 years ago
you can buy grout colorant at home depot. It's a bit tedious but you can paint right over your old grout. it's comes in several colors.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
9 years ago
I know it would be a difficult decision but if he has that kind of attitude now it is a huge red flag and I would take him up on the return of money and run as fast as possible away from him. This is just the beginning of your problems with this jerk. I would be out of there and finding someone happy to have my business.
townlakecakes
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We recently had 2 friends building houses at the same time. DH does IT for a construction company, and friends are from work and in the field. It was interesting to see their approaches to having a house built. One friend check the job site every day and if he found something that wasn't done right he gave them a couple days to fix it. One weekend he went to the house and tore out half the drywall (I don't recall the exact problem) so they didn't have a choice but to rehang it right.

The other friend had delay after delay after delay with an unresponsive builder. They cut their losses and bought a 1 year old house in the next subdivision over at a reduced price because there's still construction in the neighborhood. They couldn't be happier. There are worse things than walking away.

On the grout front, I'd at least try to color it.