When fitting or repairing bathroom tiling you need to get the grouting and sealing right. If you rush it you will end up ruining the look of your bathroom and you are also likely to find that water leaks around your sink, bath and shower. This will also happen if you use the wrong materials – you need to use waterproof, ideally mould resistant products not just water resistant ones.

Parts of the preparation work are tedious but I cannot stress enough how putting in a little bit more care and time will result in vastly better results. If your tiling is starting to look and dirty consider just re-grouting rather than replacing the lot. This will transform a tired bathroom into brand spanking new one.

The following article covers how to prepare your surface, removing grout, re-grouting and sealing. Many of the points are covered in this video we found on youtube which will be particularly useful for those not familiar with the tools or how to apply silicone sealant.

Removing Old Grout

If you are grouting new tiles make sure that you have left the tile cement to dry for at least 24 hours. That’s it – skip to the next section.

If you are refreshing or repairing exisiting grout read on! First of all clean your work surface with a good scrubbing brush and a multi surface cleaner. Now you have to remove the old grout. If you are repairing cracked grout then make sure you remove all the grout in the cracked area. Do not just try and cram a bit of new grout over the crack, this will not work but it will make a mess of your tiles.

There are several tools you can use to make the job of grout removal easier. Consider a power tool like a dremel or similar. You can get grinding blades or special attachments that are perfect for fitting between tiles and grinding away the grout. If in doubt just ask for advice at your local DIY shop as they will be able to help you choose the right tools. If you decide to use a power tool do not press too hard in an attempt to speed the job up – you risk scratching your tiles and injuring yourself.

The low tec alternative involves elbow grease, a small knife and chisel or flat head screw driver. Use the knife to run along the edge of the tile to separate the grout from the tiling and then chisel out the thin wedge of grout from between the tiles. Go lightly and angle your chisel otherwise you will chip your tiles.

Be careful when removing grout as it is abrasive. If you are working in a shower cubicle or bathtub and you stand on a lump of old grout you can scratch your bathroom furniture, use an old towel or a blanket for protection. Once you have finished run your vacuum over the tiles to get rid of any grout lumps or dust.

If you have any broken tiles chisel them off and replace. Leave the tile cement to dry for at least 24hours before re-grouting.

Mixing or Buying Grout

You can buy powdered grout that needs mixing with water or premixed pastes. What you choose is up to you and depends on what is on offer, how much you want to grout and what your budget is. If you would like to use a coloured grout then you can buy specialist powders from the tile manufacturer or you can simply dye your own using standard dyes. If you are only looking for and approximate colour match, which is good enough for most jobs, then you can buy premixed grout in a range of colours.

Remember you need to use waterproof not water resitant grout. Products with latex in are good and less likely to crack in the future.

If mixing your own follow the directions on the packet but make sure that the texture of the grout is firm enough to hold on a knife but is still soft. Leave it for 3 – 5 minutes and mix again as this will remove the lumps.

Applying Grout

It is really important to applying your grout in the right direction. You should apply it at 45 degrees to the tile edges – i.e. diagonally. This helps the grout really get in between the tiles. It will make a complete mess of your tiles but it really is the only way of doing a good job. The grout wipes off the tiles really easily so do not worry about that.

You can use your finger or a cloth for applying the grout if you are only repairing a small crack or section. However for large areas get a grout float. Use this to press the grout into the spaces and gently scrape the excess grout from your tiles.[

Grout Float

After 15 minutes use a damp cloth to go over the area you have done to remove the grout from the tiles before it dries. Use light motions to make sure you do not displace the grout.

Now you want to finish the grout to give it a smooth surface and to make sure it is not higher than the tiles. I find it is worth using a wet finger to lightly run over the grout and make sure that there are no gaps. This will also remove excess grout and start to give you a smooth finish to the grout. If it starts looking bumpy, re-wet your finger. You can also achieve the same effect with a damp round edged sponge or a cloth. Have a go with both techniques and find the one that suits you. This is the bit of the job that my husband looses interest with resulting in bumpy uneven grout that ruins a perfectly good tiling job so do not scrimp on this bit of the job. It is virtually impossible to tidy up the grout once it is dry without removing it and starting again.

Do not grout in the hole between your bathroom furniture – sinks, baths and shower cubicles – and the tiles. You need to seal this with silicone – see next section. You will get some grout in this space during the job but just scrape it out with a screwdriver.

Make sure you leave the grout to dry before you use the bathroom. Read your grout instructions but be prepared for a wait for a few days.

Sealing Bathroom Furniture

When you clean out your old grout you should also remove the old sealant. You might need to use a sharp knife to remove it from the bathroom furniture and the tiles. You should use a tube of waterproof sealant that matches the colour of your grout or bathroom furniture. You can buy transparent ones too for the edges of glass shower panels.

Use a sealant gun and apply it very slowly at an angle. If you try to rush it you will get big globules of sealant everywhere but where you actually want it. On that topic, be very tidy as silicone sealant dries quickly and is hard to get rid of. Wear gloves and work on small sections.

If you are working around a shower cubicle seal the inside walls against the tiles but if you are sealing a panel to a shower tray apply the sealant to the outside of the shower not the inside. Applying the sealant to the inside seems sensible but it is a common mistake and results in leaking.

Once you have applied the sealant with the gun rub over it with a wet finger or wet tool to push it into the gap and smooth the surface.

Colour has been studied by scientists (Leone Battista Alberti around 1435) and artists like Leonardo da Vinci (circa 1490), for centuries. The physical properties of light, how it travels and what it means in scientific terms are not particularly helpful to the designer. This is because we do not see light in its pure form but through the tissues of our eyes which deliver information to the optical nerve – information that our brains then try to make sense of. The human mind creates optical illusions and effects which are very important in how we experience the light and colour around us. Understanding these effects is very important to good design.

Colour

Colour Placement
If any pure colour pigment is mixed with white, grey or black you get a neutral colour. Neutral colours are used extensively in modern colour schemes. However if you place them next to a deeper colour their colour will appear to change – the neutral colour seem to develop the contrasting/complementary colour to the deeper hue. Complementary colours cancel one another out to produce a grey, white or black. So for example a strong green colour against a gray wall makes the gray wall look redder. This is because our brains look for differences in the visual information they receive and essentially exaggerate them so that edges and objects are identified more accurately.

Colour Mood
Colour is really important to communicate or even change people’s moods. This is because we associate colours with particular things. So we see certain colours as warm and usually invigorating and other colours as cool and relaxing.

Colour Schemes
A quick trawl through a book shop or the internet will the reveal the names of lots of sorts of colour schemes – Triadic, Split-analogous, Monochromatic etc. We will not go over these here because what they mean is not really important. What is important is for you to think about where you are using your colour, which colours you like and how big your space is. In general light colours and large single colour blocks increase the feel of space. Lots of colour in smaller blocks is more invigorating but can make a small space feel cluttered. If you want some statement colours choose a very neutral colour to act as a base and then add your brighter splashes. Alternatively use a single colour but use hues of it – slighter darker and lighter versions. The different hues approach is also great for creating a calm colour scheme, but start with a more neutral, less saturated colour.

Once you have an idea of the colours you really want to use and the brightness versus neutrality of your overall scheme you can use one of the many excellent online colour scheme generators for inspiration. Personally I like this one – http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Note from the editor: Homebase provided us with this extract to generate interest in their Easter 2010 offers.  Normally we do not publish articiles which are primarily there to push a company or product however in this case we think the article is a timely reminder of the dangers of DIY.  We also think that their free information sheets and their online DIY advice center are useful resources.  Check them out here – Homebase DIY Advice Center.  We have not accepted any money for publishing this article.

Results from the UK’s biggest home and garden survey

The Home & Garden Survey was carried out in November and December 2009 by Homebase and surveyed a total of 208,257people.  As the nation gears up for the first long weekend of the year and paintbrushes, drills, hammers and pasting tables are dusted off, Homebase has revealed the causes of the most common DIY disasters following the biggest home and garden survey ever conducted in the UK.

Homebase, asked more than 200,000 people about their DIY experiences and were inundated with tales of hammer horrors, painting panic and far-from-fool-proof-flooring. The DIY disaster league shows that the number one project likely to cause a calamity is painting and decorating, followed by flooring, hammering nails, drilling and plumbing.

Men are most likely to find themselves in a spot of bother when hammering nails, while for women it’s decorating. One in ten women have had a disaster doing the painting and decorating while 15% of females claimed their biggest disaster when it comes to DIY is their husband! With more than 1,000 of those surveyed claiming to have sustained an injury as a result of a DIY disaster.

Despite a few problems along the way the vast majority of people are still keen to have a go at Doing-It-Themselves with only 10% of respondents saying they rely on the experts for the whole job and 80% of people saying they get pleasure from improving their home doing DIY.

Paint Pot

The Homebase DIY disaster league:

1. Painting and decorating
2. Flooring
3. Hammering nails
4. Drilling
5. Plumbing

Examples of DIY disasters shared with Homebase in the survey:

• Drilling holes through brand new central heating pipes 20 minutes before the carpet fitters were due to arrive
• Cutting an overgrown garden with a strimmer and hitting a stone resulting in a smashed conservatory window
• Hanging floral wallpaper upside down, with the pattern not matching
• Hammering a new shelf resulting in a flat screen TV being knocked off the other side of the wall and falling to pieces on the floor

Simon Yeomans, DIY category marketing manger at Homebase commented, “Easter weekend is always one of the busiest of the year for DIY with plenty of time to tackle important projects around the home. People are more likely to try something ambitious and our advice is to make sure you prepare well. Homebase has a series of ‘How To’ guides available in store and online for all the most popular projects with step-by-step instructions, top tips and the tools you need for the job.”

About Homebase

Homebase is the UK’s second largest home improvement retailer and is recognised for choice, style and customer service across the wider home enhancement market. It has more than 300 large, out-of-town stores throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland. In the last financial year, Homebase sales were £1.5 billion and it employed some 20,000 people across the business.
Homebase sells over 30,000 products across its home enhancement ranges, and has a growing Internet offering. Homebase serves 60 million customers per year through its stores and offers customers the convenience of home delivery for bulky, high-value items.

Homebase was the first UK DIY retailer to achieve Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody certification and the first national DIY retailer to be recognised with a Government TrustMark Award, achieved for its kitchen installation service.

Homebase is part of Home Retail Group, the UK’s leading home and general merchandise retailer.

Bathroom Design

As any interior designer will tell you, it is all very well choosing the right fixtures and fittings, but it is the finishing touches and how you dress the room that can draw a scheme together.

Lighting

Consider a staged lighting scheme so that you can choose lighting to suit your mood. Bright halogen downlighters will flood a room with white light creating a feeling of space. However, if you want a relaxing bath you may want something a little more subtle.

Floor level lighting shining on tiling or simple wall lights can help to create a subtle ambient light perfect for creating the feeling of a sanctuary. And don’t forget the mirror. Downlights can cast awkward shadows on the face when you look at your reflection. Wall lights mounted either side of a mirror create the ideal light for shaving or applying makeup. A three staged lighting scheme will help increase the versatility of your room.

For a more elaborate, period ambience your lighting may need to be more flamboyant. A dramatic chandelier in a large traditional bathroom is a real winner and will help to create an instant feeling of opulence. However, if you don’t have enough space, simple wall sconces can give create a similar effect of sumptuousness.