I have found that using ice cold water when mixing this product up extends the working time. Also, do NOT mix it at high speed, as this will make it set faster - mix it slowly, ideally by hand. It is important that your sponge is only lightly damp - if it is too wet when you wipe the grout, you can end up pulling too much grout out of the joints and it can also result in uneven grout colour when it dries.
My experience was like yours. The internet had me apprehensive, but it was as easy as any other grout I’ve used. I used ice water, which may have helped, but it applied like a dream and was easy to clean up.
Mix with a paint stick or very slow drill. The only fast set issues are created by excessive drill mixing or medium to high speed…. If you use a drill only use slow. Avoid direction to introduce air at all costs. The issues with FA YOU hear are high speed mixing or mixing bits that force air into the mixing. Also - always mix the dry bag or the bags together -- mix them dry -- first -- regardless of using the whole bag or partial or multiple. Color will be even because the dry mixed overall -- the set won’t jump the clock because you mix with either manual tools like paint sticks or if a large batch very slow-- very slow with drill bit. If you go fast with drill bit the grout will be rock in five minutes. Mapei doesn’t call this out at all on the bags. Do not mix at anything near half speed and use the mix defined with DISTILLED WATER -- another thing they don’t say…… mapei is destroying projects because they don’t want to print seven languages of specific text on bags. It’s an extreme fallacy and risk. Never mix medium or high speed-- EVER. Premix the powder dry before any water…… tilers are laughing for failures because you didn’t pay. Lots of prep and care beyond six useless images on the bag……… use care - see fifteen videos.
Agree with several comments on this product: DO NOT mix at high speed !! If you use a drill, do it very slowly ! Excess air infusion will make it set up too fast ! Also, agree with using very cold water. This will extend working time for an amateur not used to using this product.
never use a speed mixer for any kind of rapid set stuff as you introduce too much air to the mix and as a result the mix will set much much quicker and this is the reason people fail working with rapid set mix.
@MAGAMAN as it happens instructions say specifically to use a low-speed if you are using a mechanical mixer since you introduce too much air too quickly and therefore the mixture will go hard too quickly. use a mixer and find out the hard way 👍
That corner seam should be filled with silicone not grout. This decouples the two tiled surfaces. I had a tiler grout a corner seam and it all cracked out within a year.
Yes, this was a rookie mistake - I remember getting so grout happy! My grout lines are holding after a year, but if they ever start to crack, I'll have to cut those corner grout lines and fill with caulking instead. Thanks for your comment.
@@sybaseguru my structure is rock solid. It’s the expansion and contraction due to changing temperature that causes it to fail. At the joint the two surfaces are expanding/contracting in two different directions. You need these expansion gaps, just as you do for laminate flooring, vinyl flooring etc.
I will never use Mapei again!!! I’m in tiling business since 2006 , and my latest tiling job was 300 sq/ft. I was using Mapei Ultracolor plus FA one bag of 25lbs and one 10lbs bag for the job Color was 04 Bahama Beige on both bags, when the job was finished color was different from bag of 25 lbs was lighter than bag of 10lbs. Common reaction from Mapei is about how much water did I use And that is just big BS , there is no difference when you use little bit more or less water I made video about it and show it to Mapei people, I’m done with Mapei for good
DO NOT use a utility knife to remove dried grout from your tiles in a shower, especially if you have used a waterproof substrate (I hope you did) as you could compromise it & lead to rot/leaks. Get a grout removal tool.
I used a grout removal tool which worked great for the most part, but there was still some areas it was stuck to the sides of the tile. I was worried the grout too would damage the extremely cheap tile I used, so I used a utility knife, but I pinched the sides of the blades with my fingers so the blade could not penetrate any deeper than I wanted. I also found that the back of the blade seemed to work better than the sharpened edge.
That's bullshit. I lived in a house for 30 years with grout in the corners that never cracked. If you put slllycone in your corners you are going to be cleaning it out and replacing it every few years. Redgard works just as well as any other waterproofing membrane if you apply it correctly. You are one of those people spreading internet myths started by people who don't know what they are doing. I have found that there is generally an inverse correlation between the number of subscibers a channel has and the competency of the people running the channel. For some reason, the more subscibers a channel has the less competent the content of the channel seems to be.
@@diybandit Because TileCoach made a video where he did everything wrong and then blamed redgard. TileCoach is also famous for making videos of why his time installs failed. StarrTile did a video where he used Redgard on a cardboard box and let it sit full of water for a week and it never leaked. Unfortunately some people believe anything they read or see on the internet without ever questioning it. These people are why CNN still exists.
Using leveling spacers makes a mess of the grout joints. Also, I would rather have a little more cleanup of the grout joint at the end than not have enough mortar under the tile, especially on floors.
@@MAGAMAN wrong... one can use a leveling system without all that mess. perhaps it just comes with experience but the key is once a tile is set, you then move back the thin set of the next tile away from the edge of previous tile. you dont remove any thin set (that would effect in not having enough at perimeter) but just strike it away from perimeter about 3/8 inch, you then install clips trying to not gather any thin set when placing under tile. now once you set the next tile and beat it in or move it back and forth, that thin set you just moved away will spread back to the edge without coming up joint. yes you will have a few spots to clean, but you honestly had way to much. are you a homeowner or do this professionally? as for the hex tiles, thats a real disaster my friend, that had to take hours and hours to clean. no way you were scratching all that thin set out, so you most likely scratched it out only just below the surface, so 3/4 of your joint is thin set and 1/4 grout and thats not good. the detail coming down the side of tub is diy for sure. have no issues with good instructional videos from homeowners, but you should state this.
