Grout Perfect indeed!

[Tile Nerd]

Why would you need to coats?

We almost never need 2 coats with TOG and from what I read you shouldn't need 2 coats with Grout Perfect either. The only times are when there are drastic color changes.

 

[TimP]

I read two (thin) coats on severe color changes but I don't know from experience.

I've done real grout on tile before. I don't see this being much harder. I know it will be different and probably slower.


I seriously doubt i'll get $350 in the poor ass south for a minimum. But I'll make my decision on pricing after I have done some practicing to see if I even want to offer it. I'm pretty sure I can get around a buck a ft though.

Keep in mind getting 1980's prices is good for us here.....

 

[Mikey P]

Sheesh, even 150 an hour for sitting on your ass coloring by numbers is great money.


No TM running, no sweat, no back breaking labor.

Get the rollers and a Ipod and have fun.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

My advice would be to practice the application & wipe or get one of the instruction CD\videos, a customers floor should not be the place where you color seal for the first time, if done wrong color sealing can bite you in the ass & you will end up spending tons of time cleaning off sealer from tile.

 

[Mikey P]

Exactly.

 

[hogjowl]

I dunno ... I can see getting a $350 minimum for that.

Seriously!

 

[TimP]

Exactly why I'm going to do my own counter top and family floors first.....but I should have the wipe down as I've grouted floors before or at least it shouldn't take long.

This stuff isn't rocket science.....hell drug addicts and alcoholics can do this crap.


Oh and Marty my area is much much poorer than yours.

 

[Mikey P]

I have a $255 minimum for any tile work.

$400 for color sealing.

You have to make a trip out in advance to determine the color. That can take a hour at the very least.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Exactly why I'm going to do my own counter top and family floors first.....but I should have the wipe down as I've grouted floors before or at least it shouldn't take long.

This stuff isn't rocket science.....

Its good you plan on practicing first because the application & wipe is nothing like grouting a floor.

 

[safeclean]

I'm ordering some probably tomorrow to do our kitchen counter top and possibly a few floors for the familiy to practice with.

I didn't realise that you could order color from grout colors. I've got tons of samples of those in our store, tech, custom, maipei, and laticrete. It looks like it's easy enough...squirt a bead....smear it in with a tooth brush and wipe excess with a towel.


Only agrivating thing seems that you have to clean it first.....seems you're supposed to do it with acid first???


Is there anything else you're supposed to do/know????

Tim Grout Perfect has 1000`s of colors and use there damp chammies is a must for the color sealing application process and I love there application brush comes with bottle. I only use acids if it is a cleaning job only to give the grout that 20% pop after Alkaline and rinsing or if I am clear sealing, with color sealing we only use high alkaline and rinse. While color sealing I change the water in my bucket when I start seeing a heavier haze develope this makes buffing quick and easy.

The only thing that bugs me is furniture you will want to figure this into your quote as some people will not prepare at all, we always leave a prep checklist with our customers all breakables must be moved or it stays this includes fridges, dishwashers everything I just add in writing furniture removal 400-500 on the quote seems to work.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=T07LOTWypRM



Craig

 

[Tile Nerd]

I like the blue microfiber chammies from Sam's. Cheap, easy to find, and they do a great job of wiping the floor after the application. We get about 100 sq ft out of each chammy. Less laundering, wipes up better then cotton and they hold a ton of color seal.

TOG & Grout Perfect both match any grout manufacturers colors.

BTW, we found that those applicator bottles slow us down.

 

[Mikey P]

The bottle would work better if it put out less sealer.

it needs a metering tip like a Hydroforce has.

 

[SJA]

Our product comes in pints and gallons. One pint will cover approx 375 - 500 sf of 12" tile. Coverage depends on the install a who is applying.

Pricing varies depending on your market - I think the following is pretty realistic without any extenuating circumstances.

Clean Only $.75- $1.00
Clean & Clear Seal $1.00-$1.25
Clean & ColorSeal $2.00-$2.75

We charge $3.50-$4.50 to clean and colorseal 1"/2" mosaic tiles

$350 job min for residential jobs & $500 for commercial. The above is a guideline. We try to generate $200 per hour with 2 guys and a truck mount.

We recommend doing a demo when selling tile and grout. Our salesman kit consists of 12 2oz bottles of the most popular colors.

You need to be very careful when answering how long any product will last. When customers ask this question they are normally asking how long will the floor look good for and that depends on the traffic and how well it is maintained. We offer a lifetime warranty as long as we service the floor annually. This is a great way to retain your customers and bundle carpet and tile together. If all factors are equal feel comfortable to tell your customers that nothing will restore the floors to a better condition and nothing will last longer or be easier to maintain than ColorSeal.

When we present all three options Clean Only, Clean & Clear Seal, & Clean & ColorSeal - 75%-80% of our customers select the ColorSeal option - even on new installations. This is not because we only push color - it is because we do a demo of all options and explain the pros/cons.

 

[SJA]

Initially the applicator brush is not easy - but when you get use to it there is nothing better or quicker. We have two methods of application:

Option 1) Beginners Version - apply a bead with the tip / yorker top and then spread with the brush

Option 2) Advanced Version with applicator brush

Check out the video clip in my signature line if anyone has any doubts.

Also for those who doubt that they can get top dollar for ColorSealing - do a demo and show the custy how their floor can look and learn to explain the benefits. Once you show how their floor will look and are able to explain the benefits I guarantee that you will overcome the price objection. If a demo and proper explaination is done there is no better or cost effective solution on a new or aged floor.

 

[TimP]

Thanks for all the help.....I'll be trying it out in a few days probably.

 

[Tile Nerd]

We put out more production with the beginners version then the advanced version. It's for beginners and it's faster.

 

[Mikey P]

Nerdy,

Do you seal the same day as cleaning?

GP says no acid clean necessary while every other brand does.

Why is that?

 

[Tile Nerd]

We can seal the same day here in central Texas because we have pretty good dry times. However we mostly service about a 15 mile radius and the way I've structure my business we usually don't do it the same day. I have a crew to clean and a crew to seal.

TOG sealers do not say you have to acid wash first. Many TOG users don't use acid during the preporatory (cleaning as you call it) steps. I can't speak for other companies but this is straight of the TOG website at http://www.thisoldgrout.com/stainsealer:

STEP 1. Grout must be clean and dry. New grout is ready for stain/sealing 10 days after installation.

STEP 2. Apply a small bead of stain/sealer to the grout joint.

STEP 3. With a toothbrush or similar applicator, brush product into grout joint with a scrubbing motion.

STEP 4. Using a damp (not wet) terry cloth towel, wipe excess product from tile with a light wiping motion.

Acid washing simply improves the bond between any type of sealer and the grout.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

Last week I had a kitchen & 2 baths all excited about color sealing, kitchens always get the alkaline followed by acid cleaning, most bath rooms just get the acid cleaning, (during TOG Stone House Training they taught us to acid clean before color sealing to get a better bond) so after we cleaned the baths with TOG Easy Etch the custy was so happy to see her original grout, she told me not to even bother color sealing it, she was so happy she payed color sealing rates even though we didn't do it in the baths (just clear sealed).

 

[safeclean]

We only do one coat if the grout color is nearly the same as the customers choice of color sealer some touch ups after if needed.

Two coats if we go from say a grey grout color to a white color seal or say a white grout to a grey color seal remember though the second coat goes a lot faster like clear sealing our jobs always come out perfect or is that grout perfect I also find black color seal the hardest to work with.

Craig

 

[safeclean]

Not Nerdy but hope i can answer

Nerdy,

Do you seal the same day as cleaning?
Yes we seal the same day always unless we are worried about efflorescense.

GP says no acid clean necessary while every other brand does.
Unsure why but acids can soak deep into the grout making the grout weaken overtime we never acid wash before color sealing only alk and rinse, it is a debate that will go on forever only time will tell woops hope I did not start one here about this. We do use acids though when clean or clear sealing only we just give it no dwell time hit it etch it and remove it.

craig

 

[Tile Nerd]

Grout is actually alkaline so even if acid is some how got deep in the grout line it is neutralized. We've been acid washing for about 7 years without weakening or crumbling the grout. Lots of repeat and referral business.

 

[Gary T]

Not too sure where some get the info that acid soaks any deeper into grout than any other substance. Does acid hurt the grout? Yes, it is supposed to. That is why we use it. Will it weaken the grout over time? Sure, if you acid was 3 times a day for 10 or 20 years. Will the grout turn to mush if you color seal after using acid? No Way, No How. People watch too many Alien movies where some monster drips acid and it eats through 10ft of steel.

 

[TimP]

The way I see it if you get rid of too much grout by acid washing you can always regrout it.....

 

[Captain Morgan]

How long do the brushes last before you have to replace them? Do they clean easily? Or do you have to throw them out after every job because of specialty color mixing?

 

[TimP]

Are you talking about the tooth brush to color seal. You can replace them every time if you like 1-2 bucks for a toothbrush. I think you can afford it making a buck a ft to color seal. Although they do rinse good and you probably could use them again.


A grout scrubbing brush lasts a while although the point on them goes away after a few jobs.

 

[Jim Nazarian]

You should have everything on this page... http://www.thisoldgrout.com/contractors/tools.htm
1 Package of tips.
2 Stand up grout brushes & 2 detail brushes.
5 toothbrushes.
Micro Fiber Shammies.

 

[Captain Morgan]

Sorry Tim I wasn't very clear.. it made sense in my head though. I was referring to the applicator brushes that are attached with a clear plastic tube to the Grout Perfect bottles. I was wondering how long before those brushed wore out and if you can get more than one use out of them by cleaning them, like a paint brush. It would seem to me the bottles will last quite a while but the brushes, maybe not so long. But it didn't look like you could just buy the applicator brushes at the Grout Perfect site, but, maybe I missed it.

 

[SJA]

The GP brushes can be purchased on the web site. You get 4 brushes with a gallon and 1 with a quart. The brushes will out last the amount of product by far. Depending on how aggressive you are / how well you take care of them - my best GUESS is that one brush should be good for about 2000 sf of 12" tile.

I do know for sure that in my local service business we have never had to purchase a brush seperately. The brushes that come with the product are more than enough.

 

[richard]

Re: Grout Perfect indeed! over stains??

Can this sealer cover/hide blotchy grout?
I cleaned 2400 s/f - some ceramic, some quary. Very heavy grease load from warehouse of industrial hydralic parts.
Not cleaned in years or not at all and probably mopped with black mop water.
I used Viper Venom, Oxy- Blaster (and Restore on some). Scrubbed, rinsed with 1200 psi.
Still blotcky and efflorescence everywhere.
If it can be colored I may try that.
I've only done one grout color job and the grout was spotless after cleaning - nothing to hide.