Grouting the floor

After spending one afternoon making my first attempts at grouting the floor; leaving the gaps to gradually fill with dirt seemed like a very sensible option.

All flooring related products in the local DIY shops never seem to have terracotta tiles as an option on their labels. Grout was no exception. After Ummming and Ahhhing for ages in B&Q I went with ‘Unibond Tile On Floors Quick set waterproof Grout’ in the colour beige. Then, as usual, I consulted the internet for advice, and set to work, mixing it up in my red plastic bowl usually reserved for polyfilla and popping it in the gaps of the tiles. Due to the rough surface of the terracotta tiles, it’s very important not to get any grout where you don’t want it. As you can see from the first photo, I wasn’t particularly successful at that. I tried the pointing trowel, I tried a knife, and I even tried an icing bag. All of which was disastrous.

On hubby’s day off, we searched the aisles of B&Q looking for some kind of device that would insert grout into tiny spaces without getting it everywhere. No luck; we went home empty handed. However, during the journey we came up with an ingenious invention we couldn’t believe we hadn’t thought of before: masking tape. My second attempt, masking up the tiles first, then using a knife to put the grout in the gaps, and a curved handle of an old fork to push it down, was much more successful. The only down side is the sheer amount of masking tape I’m getting through. It’s about a £1.99 roll per square metre, so, with about 28 square metres to cover this isn’t a cheap option. I think I might try other things like newspaper taped down at the ends of strips, or something instead. Anyway, I’m pleased with how it’s looking so far, but not so thrilled at how long it’s taking.