Whether you work as part of a new home construction team or work with tile and stone in your home improvement business, seek grout education and training to keep current with grouting equipment, grout manufacturers and the latest grouting products.

Receiving the proper training on a variety of grouting supplies and techniques will ensure you’ve done the job right the first time, reducing customer complaints and maintenance calls down the road. Once you’ve mastered the basics, find continuing education opportunities to keep your tile grout knowledge up to date. Seek to:

1. Sign up for comprehensive training classes that cover basic tile and stone grouting tricks and techniques from grout colorant selection to grout sealing and cleaning.
2. Attend seminars to focus on specific grouting skills and equipment like grout mixers, grout pumps or grout cleaner and to network with other grouting professionals, grout suppliers and tile grout manufacturers.
3. Find self-paced tile grout training like online courses, DVDs or literature to learn more about tile grouting equipment or techniques while you’re on the job.
   

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Find training opportunities with hands-on experience using new grouting supplies and techniques

If you're just getting into the tile or home improvement business or simply need a refresher on the latest grout techniques, find courses to learn new grouting methods from start to finish. Hands-on or instructor-led classes provide practical experience you can use in the field.

I recommend: Stone House Training offers educational opportunities with tile, grout and stone restoration in a real-world setting at the Stone House. Techniques include grout cleaning, stone polishing and tile repair. Get on-site training classes through the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation. Grout and tile courses teach quality installation techniques tailored to your educational needs.

Use seminars for specialized training with grouting supplies and standards to fine tune your skills

Stay current with tile grout issues, equipment or techniques with seminars that address narrow topics. If you're inexperienced with grout selection, epoxy grout or a new grout mixer, for example, workshops can help you fill in the gaps to increase your expertise.

I recommend: Take classes on topics like Tile and Grout 101, stone restoration and OSHA safety training through Stone and Tile Training. Discover how to use the Grout Perfect System through the Colorseal training program offered by Grout Perfect. The seminars cover grout identification, cleaning and ColorSeal application, which completely waterproofs the grout surface.

Obtain self-paced training materials to discover additional skills while you're on the job

Training courses and materials that you can access at your convenience allow you to receive additional tile grout training without missing a day of work. The materials can also become a reference library you can access as a refresher before each job, if necessary.

I recommend: Take a tile and grout training course on DVD offered by Fabchem. The training session focuses on the materials, equipment and techniques of cleaning tile and grout. Steambrite offers a self-paced tile and grout learning module that covers such topics as grout composition, chemical preparations, cleaning and sealing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Use customer questions, maintenance needs and grouting requests to determine types of grout education and training you need to keep your business marketable and competitive. Keeping up with customer demand is a great indicator of where you'll need to keep current in your grouting skills and services.

Applying grout perfectly creates gorgeous tile floors, walls and ceilings for your construction business customers. Basic grouting equipment — water, grout, grout removal tools, clean-up equipment, a grout mixer, grout sealant and a coating to keep your tiles free of grout as you work — when used professionally, can yield great results that impress your customers.

If you run a construction business, applying tile grout deftly is essential, since customers often notice the look of the grout between their tiles. While customers may have no opinion about grout before you start tiling, they will likely be very vocal about work they do not like. Applying grout well is as essential as applying ceramic tiles evenly. In fact, applying grout well can often make tiles look better.

To apply tile grout, you need:

1. Tools designed for properly mixing grout;

2. High quality grout for maximum performance and longevity;

3. The right grout for residential and commercial jobs.

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Get the supplies you need to properly mix grout

Whether you're working on a residential or commercial property, you need a good grout mixer to do the job right. Hand mixers are portable, relatively easy to operate and are ideal for small jobs. Large grout mixers are quite expensive and bulky, but are your best bet for substantial projects.

I recommend: Chem Grout sells electric hand grout mixers great for residential grouting projects. In addition to electic grout mixers, CS Unitec offers pneumatic grout mixers for safe use around water and with certain materials, like concrete and epoxy. Geo Solutions features industrial grout mixers perfect for large commercial jobs.

Apply epoxy grout for added durability

Epoxy grout is made from resin and hardener, which makes it resistant to stains and chemicals and, therefore, ideal for backsplashes, floors and kitchen counters. Today's epoxy grout includes detergents, so cleanup is easy. Epoxy grout works great in any area where hardness, durability and stain resistance are important.

I recommend: Bostik manufactures epoxy grout products compatible with numerous surfaces, like travertine, slate and granite. Epoxy.com has a number of epoxy grouts that can stand up to tough stains and spills.

Choose cement-based grout for larger industrial jobs

Cement-based grout, a mixture of fine sand and water, is durable and less expensive than epoxy grout. This utilitarian grout works great in commercial and industrial applications and holds up indoors and outdoors.

I recommend: Unifire sells several high quality cement-based grouts that can stand up to any job. W.W. Henry offers cement-based grouts in a variety of neutral shades.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Grout manufacturers produce tile grout in a rainbow of colors and your client can select either a color similar to his tiles or a contrasting color. If your client decides on a matching color, keep in mind that you might need grout colorant to get the perfect shade.
• •  When mixing the grout, you can check for perfect consistency by pushing a float or other piece of grouting equipment into the mixture. If the grout forms a dent and then slowly fills again, you have the right texture. If, as you work, your grout dries up, make a fresh batch. Adding water to hardened grout will only dilute the mixture and make the final product prone to cracking.

Grout's main use is for filling in the gaps between pieces of tile or other objects, and it's used in many applications. Not all grout is the same, nor can the same grout be used for all applications. As might be expected, grout is designed not only for specific materials but for specific applications as well. Below, you will find information that will help you understand grout key terms.

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Grout

Because of its almost-liquid consistency, grout works well to bind various materials together, such as ceramic tile, quarry stone, granite and more. There are three kinds of grout: Portland cement-based grout, epoxy grout and furan resin grout. Each kind of grout is designed for use in specific applications.

I recommend: Wise Geek offers a good description of three different types of grout.

Portland cement grout

Portland cement grout is the oldest type of grout. It's comprised of Portland cement, sand and water. This grout works well for many types of tiles and masonry, such as ceramic, glass, brick, cinder block and other materials, including stone.

I recommend: Construction and Design of Cement Grouting by A. Clive Houlsby has some good information about Portland cement-based grout.

Epoxy grout

Epoxy grout consists of hardener and epoxy, which makes it difficult even for acid to penetrate it. Epoxy grout work well for floor tiles, kitchen counters and back splashes. Even in high-traffic or wet environments, epoxy grout will serve you well. The two drawbacks with epoxy grout are its cost, which is more than Portland cement-based grout, and the fact that it can discolor limestone or quarry tiles. Tiles made of porous material must be sealed before using epoxy grout on them.

I recommend: Epoxy Systems provides helpful information about epoxy grout on its site.

Furan resin grout

Furan resin grout is a mixture of resin and furfural alcohol. It's even more resistant to chemicals than epoxy grout, but also more difficult to work with, which means it's used mostly by builders and other tile-related professionals.

I recommend: DIY Bathroom has a good description of furan resin grout.

Joints, finishing joints, grout joints

If the joint, or spaces between the tiles or materials, is more than 1/8-inch, the grout can be sanded to make it smooth. Portland cement-based grout and furan resin grout can both be used for this application.

I recommend: In Smart Guide: Ceramic Tile, by Creative Homeowner Press, Mike McClintock and James Barrett discuss joints and grout.

Seal

Due to the porous nature of Portland cement-based grout, it will have to have a finish applied to seal and preserve it. Neither epoxy grout or furan resin grout requires a finish.

I recommend: How to Seal Tile Grout discusses seal for Portland cement-based grout.

When you do tile work, a big part of the job is applying the grout. There are many different pieces of tile grouting equipment you'll need in order to apply and maintain the grout properly, such as a grout mixer, grout pumps, grout colorant and grout cleaners. There are many grout manufacturers, and you'll want to research several in order to find the best grout pricing and costs for your business.

When you're looking at the basic grout materials you'll need for your business, you should focus primarily on the pricing and costs of the supplies that you need.

1. Find the pricing and costs of grout mixers.

2. Find the pricing and costs of tile grout.

3. Find the pricing and costs of grout cleaner.

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Compare prices and costs of grout mixers

A grout mixer will allow you to easily mix the materials to make your grout before applying it. Different mixers will give you different options to choose from, such as speed, weight, amount of material it can mix at one time and other options. You'll want to look at several different grout mixers to find the one that will work best for your needs, and at the right price for you.

I recommend: ToolPusherSpecialtyTools.com offers a wide range of grout mixers from $200 to $2400. Tools4Flooring offers a variety of grout mixers from $8 to $1,100.

Compare prices and costs of tile grout

One of the most common uses of grout is for tile installation. Once the tile is placed properly and cemented down, grout will need to be added to fill in the spaces and give the tiling a nice, clean look. There are several types of grout available, and you'll want to be able to offer your customers several options to choose from. You'll also want to choose grout that is easy to apply and maintain, in order to achieve a successful installation. In order to keep several options available, you'll want to compare prices on tile grout from different companies.

I recommend: Home Supplies 4 U offers two types of easy-clean grout in two sizes, from $37 to $120. ENasco offers tile grout from $6 to $40.

Compare prices and costs of grout cleaner

If you're business offers the cleaning of grout as well as installation, you'll want to use grout cleaners that will get the job done. Since you may have several customers with different types of grout, you'll want to research different types of grout cleaners to find which ones are the best to use, and to compare prices and costs of several grout cleaners.

I recommend: This Old Grout offers several grout cleaners from $7 to $12. The Grout Cleaning Store offers several grout cleaning kits from $80 to $190.