www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

The ground floor has around 90 to 95 square metres of tiling. Tiles are 80cm x 80cm. The tile shop we purchased the tiles from have recommend using an epoxy grout as this is much easier to clean and far less likely to stain. I'm totally sold on having this type of grout vs the usual cement based one. However, I'm struggling to find anyone who will do this job. A few people I spoke to said they don't want to do epoxy grouting but would be happy to do cement based one. I have asked the tile shop for a recommendation for a person who can do this job but they've yet to come back to me. I understand (from Google searching) that the epoxy grout is harder to work with and apply but I'm still keen to get this job done.

My questions are:
1. Have I just been unlikely with finding a tiler who will do the epoxy grouting or is it like trying to find unicorns?
2. What's a good guide price for budgeting for epoxying the area. As mentioned earlier, it's on the ground floor, about 90 to 95 sq m and the tiles are 80cm x 80cm.

Thanks in advance.

1) No, epoxy grout is much harder to use than cement based grout, it goes off quicker, and the area must be spotless, it also costs more than cement grout, with this in mind, those that know, don't touch it.

2) A rough approximation is that you will need 64Kg of grout (based on 90m squared)
Epoxy grout is £40/6Kg (11 x 40) = £440
Cement grout is £20/15Kg (5 x 20) = £100

And you still have to find someone to lay it.

I can only guess the shop make more money from epoxy grout.

He only said grouting S-E and depending on tile thickness and say 2mm grout width he'd need about 8Kg.

S-E has suggested 66kg of epoxy grout (11 x 6kg) and aeromech3 has suggested only 8kg.

The tile shop has recommended 20kg.

8kg <--> 20kg <--> 66kg

That's a huge spread in estimations

I do not know the epoxy mix cover, only the standard cement based; what thickness your tiles and what width grout lines, you were not forthcoming so difficult to estimate?
Will the tile shop take back unopened bags / tubs ?

aeromech3 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 17, 2021 3:56 pm I do not know the epoxy mix cover, only the standard cement based; what thickness your tiles and what width grout lines, you were not forthcoming so difficult to estimate?
Will the tile shop take back unopened bags / tubs ?

Ah sorry, I forgot to include those details. Tile thickness is 8mm thick. I'm not on site so I can't check the tile gap thickness but I think they are pretty tight so I'd guess 1 to 2mm.

I tried the max grout width once and never again, 2mm is good, 1mm almost impossible to force the grout down into this space, that is the gap and not the tile bevel. Think hard about epoxy, if you have mixed and spread araldite before you will remember the short time it can become unworkable; epoxy thins when warm if you are injecting it but then goes off quicker; you have a large area for a DIY to attempt with epoxy.
I have seen a video showing a guy spreading washing up liquid on the tiles first, joke, yes 2 part epoxy will set even in water, but it will not adhere well, let alone against soap.
As hinted, if the shop estimates 20Kg ask if they will reimburse for unused tubs returned.
With cement based I am always surprised how far it goes when applied correctly.

I tried epoxy grout once. Had to take the tiles up and replace them. A good quality grout mixed from powder will give a good finish. The fact that no tiler will touch epoxy should tell you something.

I checked again on site and turns out the gap varies between 2mm to 4mm. In my head, the gap seemed tighter so my estimation of 1 to 2mm was off.

Yes, I believe the shop would take the epoxy grout back. The tile shop is owned by a good family friend and thus I have a good amount of trust on what they have said.