advice on premixed acrylic grout

Hi I am currently having tub surround tiled with 4x8 tiles 1/8 inch spacing. It was recommended to use premixed acrylic grout for stain resistance and durability. Any feedback and what brand to use would be appreciated. Not sure it makes a difference but it would be a white color.

I have read some bad things about premixed acrylic grout any tips on this would be great as well

Corinne

I have read some bad things about premixed acrylic grout any tips on this would be great as well

And you still want to use it? That makes no sense to me what-so-ever. My suggestion is that you stay away from that crap, the Internet is full of horror stories about that stuff. Try Specktralok.

Ditto.

I was wondering the same thing. We are about to start tiling our bathroom, both the shower walls and floor and I wondered about using the premixed grouts and also heard of an epoxy grout that was much more water resilient. Is that true? And also, does the grout need to be different for the floor than for the walls?

I would avoid any pre-mixes. I just don't have the faith in them that I do in other products. Laticrete Specralock or Mapei Opticolor are both great products. Ultimately, there is no reason not to use a traditional cementious unsanded grout with a wall tile.

Urethane grout is premixed and doesn't have the smell like epoxy grouts. It is premixed and is chemical, stain and mildew resistant. It never needs to be sealed like cement grout. Quartz lock by Starquartz is available through pro shops like daltile. Just follow the directions for installation in wet areas. Great stuff.

Here is the thing anything that is trying to be cement and has a shelve life as premix not going to happen. I will not say places that carry that product line. But it should also give a clue on information given from a hourly paid person. TEC products like the xt grouts do extreamly well. All premixed grouts or morters are glue that can resalitify and loosen with moister.

I have used all available types of grout on tile projects including epoxy, urethane and acrylic grout.

The biggest drawback that I can see with acrylic grout is the amount of time it takes for the grout to set up. You need to allow a lot more time (a couple days) before you can get back on a floor or can use a shower as the acrylic takes quite some time to set up and dry out.

One particular advantage that acrylics offer is that they remain flexible unlike epoxies which get extremely hard. This can be an important characteristic when setting certain types of tile such as glass tile where the manufacturer warns you not to use epoxy because it is too hard and can cause tiles to crack due to expansion and contraction in the tile field.

The biggest difficulty with using any of the newer types of grout are understanding how to properly clean them during the installation process. This can be most easily accomplished by reading through the installation instructions two or three times and calling the manufacturer with questions BEFORE you begin installation.

As to the idea that acrylic or urethane pre-mixed grouts are going to loosen with exposure to moisture, this is completely preposterous. To give you an example: Flexlite, which is an exterior pre-mixed acrylic masonary finish coating is the same basic type of material as acrylic grout and has proven it's effectivenes as a durable waterproof exterior cladding.