Fake grouting

[Graham.]

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Decorator's caulk?

[Theo]

Is there anything I could use to grout some tiles, but which could be easily removed should the need arise? Normal grout sticks to the surfaces and coheres into a solid mass which is hard to remove. I'm thinking something which will stay in place but could be scraped out with not too much force. Bonus points if it can be blended to look the same as the existing (off white) solid grout. It's a bathroom so humidity is a given, but not water directly on the tiles.

For example, one sort of thing that comes to mind with a kind of grainy consistency when dry is toothpaste. But obviously toothpaste is not going to survive long term. Silicone sealant is another choice, but it has a rubbery look which would stick out a mile.

Any suggestions?

Thanks Theo

[Murmansk]

Not much help, but I came across someone who had attached quadrant beading round their laminate flooring using toothpaste!

[brian]

In message <VGs* [e-mail]>, Theo <theom+ [e-mail]> writes

Decorators caulk ?

Brian

[Theo]

That would look quite different from grout I would have thought?

I was wondering about taking regular grout and then cutting it with (white) sand. Maybe that would make a weak grout mix that's easier to rake out?

Theo

[alan_m]

Possibly any (light weight) filler that's advertised as easy sand once dry. It will dry solid and unlikely to be waterproof but you would be able to remove it with a sharp blade.

Why would you want a compromised grout? I assume that you are not just thinking of just using grout around the edges to stick the tiles in place.

When replacing individual tile I have removed waterproof hard(ish) grout with a multi-tool with a suitable blade however I have smashed out the tile once the grout has been removed.

Alternative: something like

may be able to force a 2mm diameter strip between tiles

[Theo]

Hmm, that might have the right grainy texture. I might experiment with some acrylic filler.

This is for the access panel for a concealed cistern. It was grouted up long ago, and then the need comes to service the innards. It was a right PITA to dig out the old grout to remove the panel without damaging the tiles (too risky for angle grinder or dremel). Hence the wish for something a little less permanent but that keeps the concealed look.

Separately, in the kitchen I have some electrical sockets where the tiles are level with the front and some bright spark has grouted them in. Inevitably the sockets now need changing (dodgy switches), so once replaced it's the same problem as the cistern (both for replacement and for inspection).

That's possible but grout is concave when applied, so it would look a bit of a bodge.

Theo

[Jeff Layman]

Just wondering about something which sets hard and is water-resistant, but relatively easily softened with an organic solvent such as white spirit. You could paint on the solvent over the grout and leave it to soak in and soften it. Or perhaps use something like a paintbrush restorer/cleaner (often benzyl alcohol based) to soften it.

Is there anything which fits that description though?

[The Natural Philosopher]

Any acid will pull a cement based grout off tiles fairly quickly. As I discovered when trying to re-use some tiles .

Brick acid got the grout and thanks to someone's suggestion here, the waterproof adhesive turned out to be acrylic and came off with paint stripper

Any acid will get grout, but the weaker ones take longer.

[The Natural Philosopher]

That will be harder to remove than real grout.

[Brian Gaff]

Well, how much of the real stuff is there? You could remove it and use silicon sealant everywhere, but beware it can attract mould if its not anti biological. Brian

[John Rumm]

Or make an (elegant, slim) frame for the access panel so it can be withdrawn or hinged etc?

I wanted a small access door / panel so that I could get to pipework and isolation valves, and did consider this with a tiled panel. In the end I made a small hardwood door and matching frame:

A better option might be to fit a socket surround plate, and bring it out so that it sits on the surface rather than flush with it:

[Theo]

I have a cunning plan with magnets to hold the panel in place, so it can be removed more easily. But it's all built up so I don't want to disturb it too much. It's on a completely clean and very conspicuous floor-to-ceiling tiled wall, so a frame would stick out badly. I suppose it would be the fallback plan if nothing else would do.

The tiles are highly textured :-( so a plate wouldn't sit flat. But if I grouted in a spacer maybe that would work:

Only trouble then is it means every socket needs digging out and spacering, otherwise the remaining ones will stick out as different. Ho hum, job magnification...

Theo

[soup]

[John Rumm]

Sometimes if you can make it invisible, better to make it feature :-)

Yup, just fill behind the spacer.

or not stick out as different!

[John Rumm]

And to be fair, if you grout and sponge off the excess before it fully dries, you get no grout stuck to the tiles and a nice neat grout line.

[alan_m]

So push the thin strip fully into the crack and cover it with a very thin layer of grout. You could use a thick string/thin rope to provide the bulk of the infill rather than what was linked above. A proper grout with something flexible behind would more easily crack and be removed when you pushed a tool into the grout line.

Its much like the old trick of filling a rust hole in the cill of a

1970s MK3 Cortina with screwed up newspaper before covering with a thin metal mesh and body filler :)

[Theo]

Oh ISWYM. I might try that.

There might be movement/expansion cracking of the grout, but I can live with that. At least it's a reminder where the panel goes.

:-) Happy to join a long tradition of artisans...

Theo

[nothanks]

Cisterns need to be accessed from time-to-time so I would (did!) make a tiled removable panel, retained by a couple of mirror screws, and with a hardwood moulding around the edge to cover the gap.

Cut them out, fill the area behind with something suitable and grout to match existing, fit the new sockets on the surface. Alternatively (and slightly naff, perhaps) you could make a thin bezel to go behind the sockets to increase their effective size.

[Thomas Prufer]

Plaster of Paris?

Thomas Prufer