Advantages of Epoxy Grouts over Cementitious Grout -A comparative study.

Epoxy grout

Epoxy grout has become more and more popular among tile contractors and builders. We find new benefits every time on using this product. Unlike cement grout, which is made from a cementitious powder mix, epoxy grout is made from epoxy resins and a filler powder. The grout is extremely durable and almost completely stain-proof. Regular grout isn’t waterproof, so unlike epoxy grout, it can absorb water when it’s wet and can stain pretty easily. If you’re tired of scrubbing the stain mass off your grout, epoxy grout could be your solution.

Composition 

Epoxy grout is made from two different resins mixed with a filler, making it very waterproof and better suited to harsher cleaning products. Epoxy thin sets offer greater bond strength and chemical resistance than cementitious grouts. Although it has plenty of benefits, note that epoxy grout is more difficult to work with than regular grout. It also tends to look like plastic, which some homeowners don't like. Regular grout is very easy to shape in outside corners where tile wraps around a wall, curb or shower niche. It is harder to achieve the same effect with epoxy grout since it takes a little longer to set up in the grout joint.

We found it makes the most sense to grout a bathroom in three to five rounds. Epoxy grout sets quickly, so you don't want to mix all the grout in the bathroom and then rush it into place. Epoxy grout haze or residue on tile surfaces has a glossy sheen. Make sure your installer cleans your tile properly before and after grouting to avoid this.

The time necessary to clean the tile and the high price tag (it often costs three to fives times more than regular grout) can make some installers hesitant to work with epoxy grout. Some epoxy grouts are designed just for glass tile. Many brands have a regular epoxy and a special glass tile epoxy, too. The difference is the filler part of the grout. The filler for glass tiles is finer so it won’t scratch delicate tiles.

3 Key Steps for Grouting are:-

Brown, tan and mocha-colored grouts are hard to get right with regular grout. Many people are drawn to epoxy grout for its even color. The color of epoxy grout comes from the filler and is constant throughout. Regular grout can have its pigment removed during the cleaning phase.

You can make epoxy grouts sparkle by adding iridescent particles to your mix. Ask your contractor to prepare a sample board in advance to see how much sparkle you really want. The options are endless — you can even fine-tune colors by purchasing different fillers and blending them. Although opinions differ, we aren’t a fan of using a regular grout sponge with epoxy grout. The slightly coarser epoxy grout sponges tend to remove excess epoxy grout from the tile surface much better. Using an epoxy grout is completely different than using regular grout; no step is the same. From mixing to application to cleaning, epoxy grouting has its own set of rules. Make sure your bathroom professional has experience with the product and ask for a grout sample board before installation begins.

When comparing normal cement based grout to epoxy grout, one can realize the advantages of the latter over the former. It’s in your best interest to go for epoxy grout because

it has several advantages over normal grout. The most important benefit of epoxy grout is that it’s far easier to maintain and clean.

For all of those who already used products like the ones you can buy in the market, going back to other types of material is not an option. We think we will have some comments about this issue at the end of the post. But the fact is, epoxy grout can easily be cleaned using any normal alkaline based grout cleaning agent that dissolves all the dirt and grime present in grout lines. Now, can you remember doing that with the regular material? Could you easily clean all those brown smudges that penetrate deep inside? I know I couldn’t clean them all, and I was so mad at myself for wasting time to do that.

Normal grout is highly porous in nature and it absorbs all the dirt, grease and grime it comes in contact with. Epoxy grout, on the other hand, is non-porous and wouldn’t absorb any contaminant or stains. So cleaning of epoxy grout just needs dissolving and subsequent removing of grime and dirt that gets collected atop epoxy grout.

Another distinct advantage of epoxy is that unlike any normal grout it needs no sealing.

Because epoxy is not porous like normal cement based grout, it need not be sealed at all. Trying sealing epoxy grout is a sheer waste of time, effort, and money as it won’t absorb any sealer. On the contrary, sealing epoxy grout just encourages the accumulation of dirt and grime on a top layer of the dried sealant.

The epoxy haze that gets deposited on tiles, if not removed in time, necessitates the use of powerful stripping compounds for its removal. At times, the floor stripper could damage the correctly installed grout in grout lines. Sometimes getting rid of epoxy grout vapors becomes so difficult that it’s worthwhile to re-tile the surface completely.

Despite the limitations posed and enhanced the risk of installing epoxy sealer, you should still consider it for installing your tiles next time! Its unique and better properties coupled with the convenience of cleaning and negligible maintenance expense make epoxy grout a better option than normal grout.

	Cementitious Grout	Epoxy Grout
Full Cure (Ready to Use)	14 to 21 days	4-7 days
Compressive Strength	30-40 Mpa	45-55 Mpa
Flexural Strength	7-12 Mpa	30-40Mpa
Shear Bond Strength	1.5-2.5 N/mm2	25-27 N/mm2
Durability	Average	Excellent
Water Absorption	3.5g-5g	<0.05g

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