Epoxy grout is expensive. It costs more per unit and it costs the installer more time to install and cleanup.

Make sure the subcontractor is deducting the regular grout material cost.

Ease of maintenance will be the ticket with epoxy grout and you will never be regrouting...ever.

What do floor people think who do tile all the time?

That's an entirely reasonable upcharge, or even a bit low for the amount of square footage being done. Epoxy grout is much more expensive as a material, and it's more expensive for labor as well because it's much harder to deal with.

However, I have to caution you that an installer who is reluctant to work with it wouldn't be my first choice. You don't want to be the job he's getting his on the job experience with.

Thank you both. In fact, the original charges did not include the grout, as far as I know, so the upcharge is entirely for labor. We're buying the grout ourselves.

I am concerned too about the fact that this subcontractor has been so reluctant to use epoxy grout (actually, what we're buying is Spectralock, which I understand has similar properties). We've trusted to our contractor to provide good subs, but I'm not very comfortable about this one. If I had it to do over again I would push harder for a different one.

Be very careful here...you do need someone with experience with the material...you want to avoid a potential disaster. I will say that $2 per square foot upcharge simply to work with the epoxy grout rather than cementious grout seems excessive on the face of it. An installer has to stick with the grouting task until it is thoroughly done. That means...there is no returning the next day to remove haze or do a final cleanup...it all has to be done continuous from start until finish.

What I am saying here is that the installer will be making an extra $950 labor over and above his normal charge for maybe 8 or 10 straight hours of work. However, if he has to split the areas and work two days instead of one grouting with the stuff, then $950 seems reasonable. When you factor in his normal charge to grout...well that figure's not so good.

You have to decide whether to pay the freight here, but whatever you decide to do...you need an installer who has experience working with Laticrete's Spectralock grout. And make sure you buy enough grout and make sure it is all from the same lot (production run).

A good installer has the spectralock figure as his standard of labor price. I feel he is too high for an up charge..but who knows regarding Frisco rates. If he is reluctant to use Spectra Lock..I wouldnt use him..end of story.

Epoxy grout is a pain in the butt to install. Your tile guy will spend about 3 times as long to install properly. His price is NOT out of line.

I might suggest you look into "Urethane Grout," available at Dal Tile. A gallon is under #100 but is ALMOST as good as epoxy and is FAR easier to use. I recommend it in ALL my shower installs.

I recommend epoxy to MY customers. It isn't bad to work with IF you get it as clean as you need to when doing it; as others have stated. If you miss some, it's like cleaning up bubble gum or worse.It doesn't stain, and holds up very well. My 2 cents.

I wouldn't spend the extra for using epoxy grout on the walls, just the floors.

Can't speak to the costs, as I've DIY'ed all my floors, but I'm glad we used it in our high-traffic areas.

Well, we did pay the extra money to have the Spectalock grout installed by the contractor's usual tiler, and we are not thrilled with all the results.

On the laundry room floor, I'm not sure how it's working out. The grout is gray and we've only lived in the house a week. The room does get very dirty (dogs) and I mop it often, but I can't tell whether the narrow seams are clean or not. Our front entry also has gray grout.

However, in the bathroom it's a different story. The tile and grout are very light and the floor shows dirt very easily and needs frequent mopping. The grout there is NOT rejecting dirt. I've wet-mopped a couple of times, also tried with an ammonia solution, and the grout in traffic areas is significantly discolored compares to the grout in areas where we don't walk.

Needless to say, after all the drama to get this done, I'm really disappointed. I haven't yet had the remaining grout (two wall areas in the bathroom) get dirty enough to need cleaning.

By sheer coincidence, an acquaintance who owns several rentals came by and actually pulled a jeweler's loupe out of her purse to look at the dirty grout. She said that (1) we shouldn't have used sanded epoxy grout (I just bought what was in the store, which was Laticrete Spectralock) and (2) that the grout she looked at is too porous and was probably not mixed right. She said it's very hard to find a tile installer who actually knows how to use epoxy grout.

We have the local Spectralock rep and our contractor coming out to look at the problem next week.

Disappointing.

Price is reasonable.

It's pretty hard to not mix epoxy grout right. It comes in pre-measured packages that you stir together.

My experience with epoxy grout is not that it doesn't get dirty, but that the dirt can be scrubbed out, and doesn't stain the grout permanently.

Weedyacres, thanks for the reply. You know, after neither wet mopping with water nor ammonia solution worked, I tried spraying one area of the darkened bathroom grout with 409 and rubbing it with a cloth, and it still looks dirty. If this is the normal performance of epoxy grout, I just don't see the advantage over regular grout in this floor, and in fact, I am wondering if sealed regular grout would have cleaned up better.

It's very puzzling since epoxy grout seems to have such a good reputation for being easy to keep looking good. This grout was installed by a subcontractor that I believe is considered very professional. I will be interested to see what the Latricrete rep (and the tile installation company owner) say about the situation.

It sounds like most of the cleaning you've tried just involves wiping with different formulas. Try bathroom cleaner (like scrubbing bubbles) and a toothbrush, wiping up the residual with a cloth.

I am a tile guy started at 16 and im now 36. It is a reasonable up charge he was hesitant because epoxy takes 3 times as long i hate hate hate the stuff. It is suposed to be stain proof but it isnt i know from expierince it discolors all grout does. All grout has dye to give it its color just like a shirt do they make any fade and stain proof shirts? No and there is no such thing as stain proof grout. If you want clean grout dont get dirt on it. I have heard of instalkers charging as much as $3 a foot more for epoxy i usually add $1 so $2 is not bad. Any company selling epoxy will tell you the stuff is great but they are just trying to get you to buy their products like a car sales man. It is more stain resistant than portland cement grout. There are no grouts that bleach will not ruin.

Please don't take Mr. Wilson's comment seriously. He obviously has no clue what he is talking about. If you want the best grout without having to go back and seal it to keep it from staining, then you're going to want Either epoxy grout or Mapei's Flexcolor with quarts. both of these are Epoxy and Acrylic based so they do not crack and stain like cement based grout does. I know its been years but one of the reasons the grout messed up is because sanded was used in the small 1/16th grout joints. never use sanded grout in that small of joints. But most importantly dont listen to this comment above me.

Also epoxy takes about 5 days to fully cure which you must stay off of it or you will be embedding dirt in the uncured (soft)epoxy. I’m a CTEF certified installer and I approve this message

As a floor cleaner/refinisher/repair expert I feel qualified with confidence to claim the final word on this.

Epoxy and urethane grouts have benefits over cement based grouts.

However it is important to know that they will not necessarily look nicer over time. The main benefit they provide is durability. They hold up longer and are more resistant to chemical cleaners(think commercial kitchens) and in wet environments like pools and steam rooms. However for a typical residential floor they are not the best option. The surface can stain or discolor. I have worked on floors with cement based grout and was able to clean and restain the color and the floor looks brand new when we are done. However with epoxy grout many of them cannot be restained and even after a deep cleaning it doesn't look like new. This is especially the case for the white epoxy grouts which tend to yellow over time.

David

www.groutworksnj.com