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Grouting is the last step that turns a set of laid tiles into a finished floor. This guide walks through it step by step – and shows you how to work out the tiled area and tile count first, so you can judge how much grout to buy.
Work out your tiled area first →Grout does more than fill the gaps: it locks the tiles together, keeps water out of the joints and sets the final look of the floor. Getting it right is mostly patience and technique. Before you buy, draw your room in the free planner – it gives you the tiled area and tile count from your real floor plan, which is exactly what a grout coverage chart needs. Then follow the five steps below.
Grouting too early lifts the tiles, so wait for the adhesive under them to cure fully – usually 24 hours, longer for large formats or a cold room. Pull out the spacers and rake any adhesive that has squeezed up out of the joints, so nothing sits proud of the tile. Vacuum the dust away so the grout can bond to clean edges.
Match the grout to the joint width: fine joints take an unsanded grout, wider ones a sanded type that resists cracking. Pick the colour for the look you want – a tone close to the tile makes the floor read as one surface, a contrasting tone draws the grid. Check the pack is rated for floors, and for wet rooms if the tiles are in a bathroom.
Mix the grout to a firm, lump-free paste and let it slake for the time on the pack. Load a rubber float and spread it diagonally across the joints, pressing firmly so every joint fills solid with no voids. Working across the joints rather than along them is what packs them full and stops the float from dragging the grout back out.
Once the grout has firmed up, strike the joints to an even, slightly concave line. Then wash off the haze in stages with a barely damp sponge, rinsing often and wiping in circles – too wet and you wash the grout straight back out of the joints and streak the colour. Let the surface mist over between passes.
When a light film dries on the tiles, polish it off with a dry cloth. Never grout rigid where the floor meets a wall or in the internal corners – those movement joints have to flex, so fill them with silicone instead (sanitary-grade in wet rooms). Keep foot traffic off until the grout and silicone have cured.
Grout coverage depends on the tiled area, the tile size and the joint width. The free planner lays out your real floor plan and gives you the tiled area and the exact tile count, so you can read the right bag count straight off the coverage chart.
Open the free planner →