How to Grouting and Caulking Before Laying Your Tile?
Allow the tiles to set overnight. Before grouting, caulking, and finishing your job, wait at least 12 hours for the mastic to dry and the wood tiles to set. If you don’t, you could wind up displacing your tiles design. Remove spacers from between your subway tiles. Move over your wood marble tiles from the left to the right and remove all of the spacers you placed to separate the small tiles from one another. If you don’t remove the spacers before applying grout, you’ll have problems with your grout in the future. If the spacer won’t come out, use a flathead screwdriver to pry it out. Be careful not to damage the tile.
Open your premixed grout 15 minutes before you use it. While you can mix your own grout, it is much easier to purchase premixed grout and apply it without preparation. However, make sure you don’t open the grout until you’re ready to use it. If you open it earlier, it may begin to dry before you use it.
Spread grout with a float back and forth. Scoop up a generous amount of grout from your bucket with your float. Spread the grout over the spaces between your tiles. Apply extra grout, as you want to make sure you’re completely filling all grout lines. Avoid filling the space between your ceramic tiles and your counter, appliances, or windows. You’ll fill these in with caulk later.
Remove excess grout with a float. Run your float lightly across the grouted portions of your tile. Use it to scope up as much excess grout as you can. By removing grout, you’ll make your cleanup process a lot easier. You’ll also be able to use the excess grout elsewhere in your project.
Shape your grout with a pen, pencil, or the rounded edge of a float. Take a rounded tool and run it along your grout lines. This will give a slightly concave appearance to your grout lines. It will also help to compact the grout and fill any pockets that aren’t already filled. Use a sponge to remove any grout haze. Dampen a sponge in cool clean water. Wipe your rustic tiles in a back-and-forth fashion. Rinse your sponge after you’ve wiped down one 4 foot (1.2 m) row of tiles. Continue to wipe your wood tiles until you’ve removed any grout or grout haze that remains on them.
Caulk the edges between your marble tiles and cabinets, windows, and appliances. Use a caulk that closely matches the color of the grout you used. Squeeze your caulk gun or the tube slightly to push out just enough caulk to fill the gap. Finally, dampen one of your fingers in warm water and use it to smooth the caulk. You can use a rounded end of a pen, pencil, or another object instead of your finger. Place painter’s tape on the face of the tiles adjacent to where you’ll caulk. Remove the tape shortly after you’ve applied the caulk.
