Ok, gotcha Birgit!

Yes, I'm sure everyone would like to see the finished work. I'm sure it will turn out just fine. :)

wannabath,,,wth? I've applied sealer to tops of my stone mesh numerous times. grout release can be used after, or seal the tops and don't worry about it. she has about 25 sq feet of tile, it would take maybe 10 mins. sealing the tops does not prevent grout adhesion, hence the "only the tops" comment. the grout still gets in the grooves. I know because I've done the install in 3 different showers. Your backwards logic makes no sense. I've sealed marble tiles, cement tiles, stone tiles (travertine and marble especially) glass tiles,,,all before grouting (the tops) and have NEVER had a grout adhesion issue. You barely wipe the top, not soak a gallon of it on the stone! Maybe you should read some instructions???

and her stones aren't polished, they're honed which would make grout removal evan harder. (mine were polished and they still accepted the sealer,,,what you're saying is that NO POLISHED stone will accept sealer?? really? and why do we seal our granite counters?? )

See how well it worked the grout clean up worked on their first install? could have been avoided w/sealing the tops first. it's not difficult. When I grouted mine the tops came out perfectly clean w/absolutely no haze. 10 years on one, and 6 years on the others, and they've held up just fine. No grout shrinkage or chipping or whatever else you think might of happened. Just so you don't call BS on my method:

can you please cite me the grout remover product that advises you to put it on the stone before grouting? it's mixed in the water during the clean up phase, or can be used after the grout has dried to remove cementious based grouts. Also, non acidic grout removers should only be used for natural stone. ceramic and porcelain can get the acidic version.

just stop w/your attacks. There's more than one way to skin a cat and some ways are easier than others.

For the love of god. It's TILE . There's a line up the street with 600 people who want this problem versus the ones they have.. Let them fix it........then if all else fails get money and redo after you move in.Honestly? Don't give a spec builder this type of material. They are usually using the most "basic" help..for the most basic materials. Brutal truth. This is the stuff of remodel with a one on one GC of your OWN selection, and skilled pro's for subs.

Jan Moyer,
no it’s not the most basic builder and we didn’t take the standard tile selections, because we don’t wanna have those ;-) we literally upgraded everything because this is going to be our forever home.
They gave us the best team already and they did an outstanding job on all other tiles until the pebbles lol. Maybe we had just bad luck and the one didn’t do this kind of “tiles” till now and had to learn his lesson now. I left after the discussion at the dilemma place, then they called the tile guy in and when I came back the next day a window at the foyer was broken :-/ Looks like a different tile guy is doing this job now...

Update:
Yes, they are starting over on a fresh clean canvas now. The slope looks good as well.
I hope this time the finished pebble floor looks like it should. Will show a picture then again as promised.

i hope so Birgit. make sure you pop in during the install. it's a lot easier for them to make changes when it's still fresh. They are going to have to remove some of the pebbles and place them by hand, especially around the drain,,,no way around it. they may even have to cut some of the pebbles to get them up against the wall tiles. so make sure there aren't big gaps where you don't want them. more gaps mean more grout.

You're getting a gray grout, not white, right??? And I sure hope they've done something so they don't get the grout haze while wiping. I really hope they've sealed the top of those.

this is a good layout.

see how close the rocks are to the wall and around the drain?

Beth, I told them NOT to cut any pebbles because I want a pebble floor and not a gravel floor lol

I showed them the instructions from „flopsycat1“ thanks again!

Yes, the grout will be warm grey this time. So the white pebbles will be more visible. I will sneak in tomorrow morning ;-)

ok good.. and it's ok to cut some of the rock so they get them flush against the back wall, and they can fit them around the drain. you won't get pebbles! promise.

take pics tomorrow of the 'in progress' so we can see! GL

I have pebble/ stones in my shower and used gray after realizing white grout is so hard to keep clean ( from previous experience with another bathroom) especially when one has hard water. I’m so glad I picked gray grout! I wasn’t really paying attention to the tile guys when they were doing my shower, I figured they’ve done it before. In the beginning I thought I could see the grid lines too but after a while I hardly notice it? Weird but I guess grouting makes a huge difference.

Oh and I took that picture an hour after showering so some areas are still wet probably why the darker grout and stones in some spots.

looks like you have a pooling area in that corner? is that a low spot?

have you sealed it lately or do you always have dark areas like that? the color gray is a good choice.

I would wait for it to dry and seal it again

i had that pebble floor for years in my other shower. don't ever use regular cleaners. no bleach or any acidic products.

get this and mix in a spray bottle.

Birgit did they do a liner or pan before doing the drain slope? Just curios. Hope it works out for you.

I’m not sure why that is wet there actually, I know they did do a slope towards the drain but now that you mentioned that... I’m going to check again tomorrow. And thanks for the cleaner tip, yeah I think I’ve been using cleaner with bleach on it!

Tammy, yes, there is a thick liner all the way covering the shower floor up till above the shower bench

What product would you recommend to seal all the groutlines everywhere? Do I have to seal all the groutlines in the shower and kitchen as well?

Walked smiling away! Oh it was so worth to fight this fight. What do you say if you see the before photo on top of the post and now the redone pebble floor? Doesn’t it look beautiful and exactly like a pebble shower floor should look like? It’s still wet, but it looks already gorgeous:-) I love it!
Thank you all for your support!

Just perfect now

Glad it all worked out. Yup....you gotta push and not back down. If you had caved, you would be annoyed every time you took a shower.

Good for you Birgit!

Yes, if you pay extra for an upgrade it shouldn’t look like I did it by myself! I am very happy that they corrected it. Thumbs up :-)

now that is a good job. why didn't they do that the first time? lol. were these the same guys?

wait until everything is dry (a few days) and go back over it with a sealer. if you use a penetrating/impregnating sealer, it will enhance the stones and darken the colors. (it looks good but try on a spare sheet to make sure you like it). or just get non enhancing penetrating sealer. it will also seal the grout. 511 or aqua mix are decent sealers. follow directions on bottle.

JuneeBug,,,,the bleach/acidic product actually 'pit' the stone/grout leaving tiny holes. dirt and grime will become trapped in there causing you to use more cleaner! clean as best you can, let it dry, and seal the grout/stone w/ a good sealer.

Birgit,,,,that goes for you too. only clean a stone safe product. even on the walls. anything that washes over the pebbles has to be non acidic.

Beth, I didn’t see who did it now. Any special brand for the sealer or are they all the same?

here are 4of some of the better ones. Please,,,,try the sealer on leftover pebbles FIRST to see if it changes the tone or if you like it. some enhance the stone by making it darker (including the grout) and some don't. It will tell you on the bottle if it darkens.

I like the enhanced look on the pebbles. makes the blacks and dark grays a bit richer looking

Good for you!!!! Looks gorgeous!

THANK YOU :-)

Moss Manor - That backsplash with the wavy lines of mosaics is absolutely the most beautiful thing of that sort I've ever seen. I'm sure it must have been pretty costly to install as it looks like a work of an artisan.

here,,found this example

Thank you Beth, I’ll definitely try on a leftover pebble sheet first. How long does the sealer stay on the grout?

read the directions,,,you don't want it to dry if there is excess. basically your brush it on wait a min or two, and buff off the excess. if you used a regular grout, and use the enhancing sealer, it will also darken the grout a bit,,,,so try it in a corner first to make sure you like the darker tone. if you don't want any color change, don't get the enhancing sealer. it will say on the bottle, "will not affect color". I like the darker look but it's up to u. take a spare sheet w/you to the store and try both kinds.

Birgit it looks great!!! So glad you stuck to your guns and got a job you deserve. On the sealer, I would not recommend using a sealer of any kind in a wet application like your shower. Any sealer, no matter how well it is, if it is exposed to water over & over will become cloudy after a while. This will leave a cloudy looking film on your beautiful stone. Trust me on this. I have talked to many Pro stone guys over the years and NONE of them ever recommend using a sealer in a shower application. Now there is a grout that is called Prism that will not stain. Most people are using that in areas of concern like showers and kitchen backsplashes. You can ask your stone guy about it to see if he used that. It’s your decision entirely but I would not recommend it. On a kitchen backsplash YES but only if the prism grout was not used.

Tammy....any tiler and tile place I have had contact with has ALWAYS recommended sealing the tile (marble). They have never mentioned clouding to be an issue. What exactly have you experienced?


Beth....what do you say about the clouding issue??

Exactly what I said nidnay. The Tile will over time especially if it’s a softer stone, like marble, travertine, soapstone, develop a cloudy film on top of it . It is very hard to put a sealer, even a penetrating sealer, on a soft stone and over time not have it build up to some degree. Everyone has their opinion but no one I’ve ever dealt with recommends sealer in a shower

Just wondering if you have experienced this clouding on any of your tile, or are you just relaying the information your stone guys told you. I am not trying to challenge you....I have no experience with sealers in showers. I just would like to hear from someone who has actually experienced this clouding you speak of because i have lots of stone and marble shower floors that are about to be sealed.

Tammy,,sorry,,incorrect. you're thinking of a topical sealer. These tend to peel and get the cloudiness you're speaking of. Topical sealers should never be used in wet areas, inside or out. the ones I'm talking about are penetrating sealers and must be done with any natural stone or cementious grout.

I don't know what grout she used. Prob a cement based grout. That type of grout and these pebble stones are highly porous and will stain like nobody;s business. A sealer is 100% necessary, especially if she dyes her hair! that hair dye will stain any natural stone. Plus, soaps, grease, oil, hair products, etc, will all discolor and stain the grout and the stone. Not sure what 'pro tile' guy you've talked too, but either they're misinformed or have the wrong sealer

As for the cloudiness,,,you may be speaking of efflorescence,,,and that's an issue regarding moisture from underneath the tile, causing a white film effect.

It’s not marble or so, this are ordinary river pebbles only ;-)

Beth, can I use the same sealer for the wall grouts as well? I don’t think they used a special grout for the floor.... it’s called warm grey mortar ...

mortar is what the tile is laid on. grout is the stuff in between the joint. is there a bag of it? Was it Custom or Polyblend? these are cement based grouts.

and yes, any of those sealers I posted are good for grout. It says so right on the front. "Tile and grout". Just read the directions on the label and it will tell you exactly how to apply.

Oh, I meant grout lol ;-)
I don’t see any bag anymore, they cleaned up before I sneaked in. I think they used normal grout, nothing special. But I’ll ask tomorrow.

Beth, maybe you should explain to your audience here what grout release actually is? Just because your doing something doesn't mean your doing it correctly. Grout release is what should be used not sealer if anything at all.

Google GROUT RELEASE IT IS NOT FOR CLEANING UP GROUT HAZE!!

Sanded grout over a sealed surface what could go wrong? Actually you probably don't need either but hey keep applying that sealer it says so right on the directions to apply before you grout? Oh wait, it doesn't!!

How pathetic that any installer should have to be FORCED to do a good job. Glad it worked out for you. :)

Beth, thank you! Do I use a special cleaner on the stone before I seal it?

Brigit, shower floor looks amazing, kudos to you!

Juneebug,,,this is what my marble restoration guy gave to use. I use it on my marble so it's perfectly safe.

it's concentrate so mix it w/water and put in a spray bottle. for the deep clean I have it at a 12:1 ratio. (look at the back,,it tells you the ratios)

You might use this before sealing to make sure everything is super clean.

let everything dry well (maybe shower in another bathroom?) and seal with one of the IMPREGNATING sealers, above. (u can choose to enhance or no enhance). Make sure you get your grout well.

for maintenance cleaning, this will be fine. Also mix in a spray bottle.

Beth I know the difference between effervescent coming from concrete below and cloudiness from sealers. Totally different.. I’m passing on information & experience that I’ve witnessed on several occasions and I might add that I have also passed this on to homeowners and some have went ahead and used a sealer in a shower and regretted it. It’s not my decision to make, just trying to share what I’ve experienced. Maybe you’ll be different Birgit. I realize you’re dealing with pebbles and not marble but they are both porous materials.

tammy,,maybe it's the sealer they used. I've used them for over 20 years and have never had issues. I know of no reputable tile guy who would tell someone not to use a sealer on natural stone in the shower. I do know of bad sealers and incorrect sealers and improper application. so my guess is, with things that have gone wrong, it's prob because of one of those issues. There is no reason why using the correct sealer, done properly, would cause those things to happen.

And as I've stated, hair products, soap, oil, dirt,,all things from bathing, get passed over that natural stone. what do you think will happen to it w/no sealer?? same thing that would happen on a kitchen counter w/no sealer. just because it gets wet has no baring whether or not a sealer should be used. using the correct sealer will not result in 'white film' or whatever else. key points, "correct sealer and correct application".

pop over to the JohnBridge Tile forum and read through some posts. the guys over there are all pros and know everything about tiling/sealing.

Geeesh. Why on earth did they not do that the first time?!?!! This sort of thing just boggles my mind.

Beth, I used the 511 sealer the same day after closing. I sealed every groutline and the pebble floor twice. It didn’t change the color and it’s not slippery on the floor! Thank you!