-
Undercut grout debate (I’m in a pickle)
Hey Joe, I an in need of your professional opinion. When I started this project I undercut the baseboard and some grout to finish the row. See Pics…
The gout is a bit brittle and chipped off more that I wanted so before I start the bigger rooms with a long 14′ jagged grout line along one wall and floor I did an experiment by scribing the grout line. See pics.
My question is this.
1) If I scribe I don’t want to leave any gap. I may opt to back cut (Bevel) the scribe at an angle under the plank and grind it off perfect. I may use a router. I just used a thin cheater board in the pic. you can see the gap left above the plank when I tried to use the osc. tool to undercut the short piece in the transition area. The grout under the brick just chipped away. My feeling is that this will leave too much air compared to scribing. Then I remembered I had the contour tool and will give that a go to see how much better it can look vs. undercut.
2) I am using the 6.5 mm 22 mil wear layer Lifeproof (9 x 48) plank. I don’t think this has much (If any) expansion/contraction in controlled environments. I am still going to leave a 1/4″ on the other sides of the room since is going under baseboards. I want to use 1/8″ or less up against the kitchen cabinets and flush on the grout line and leave the expansion to the other side with the baseboards.
Please let me know your expert opinion especially on the expansion part. I sometimes tend to overthink things but unlike finish carpentry or other woodworking this is a bit more of a permanent (Semi-permanent) project I don’t want to repeat anytime soon.
Thanks for your input.
This is what I found (<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>rigid PVC composite materials with an ISOCORE or closed-cell foam core).
- Low temperature expansion coefficient (similar to concrete)
This polyurethane foam is reinforced with continuous glass fibers and exhibits unique properties thanks to its specific anisotropic structure:
-
17 Replies
-
-
Thank you, Joe. Your advice has been great. I think I will scribe this. I do have a couple additional questions for you.
1) When looking for a color match for caulking. The builder gave me a couple tubes of Sand stone beige sanded caulk they used the match the tile and also to color the grout. They don’t make that sku anymore, I called the company who makes this directly and that was the news.
How can you get a grout color or caulk color to match when the pics they have are usually not even close the the actual color it’s expensive with trial and error. I used the almond silicone in the bathroom and wet areas and it “sort of” matches but it still looks alright but not the best.
2) This might be a little out there, but looking at the diagram, how long would it take you (Pro) to complete this with no help. I am asking because I need to be quick about the mess and some furniture to shift back and forth to minimize the mess. I am thinking it may take me most of one day to do the kitchen because of all the angles and I do have to remove & replace the fridge and dishwasher and I have one pantry to contend with. The rest is pretty straight and long.
Also, (Red) have to undercut those recently installed baseboards. Just for reference the foyer to laundry is 16 ft. exactly. using an osc tool it goes pretty quick but…time is deceiving sometimes.
I know when I did the laundry room it took about 2 hours for the plank not including moving the appliances back an forth. This one is less and at first glance it looks like a bunch of straight lines of click and tap and done in one day but…looks can be deceiving.. The hallways and bedrooms took about 2 full days (Approx. 600 SF. because I had 9 doorways and 5 closets with funky angles. I’m not slow but sometimes it takes a couple trips to the saw for one doorway with multiple angle cuts.
This will consume 30 to 35 boxes of plank is 35 rows. At second glance it looks like a 2 or 3 day job. one day for click and tap, half a day to undercut and scribe plus funky cuts + some time for moving stuff and a little time for clean up. I guess I’m just trying to plan for time. What’s your best guess.
Your thoughts on both are greatly appreciated.
I guess that’s why I’m asking
Thanks Again, RC
-
Thanks Joe.
The blue lines is where the planks are going on this round. Brick wall needs to be scribed. The red lines need to be undercut. Floor is straight and level. Just straight forward. The reason I’m not doing the dining, living and master/master bath areas is because I have to do sloping and leveling from slab to tile with cement first along with cleanout and paint/carpet removal and so forth. I know that part will require much more time.
Thanks Again.
RC
-
Hey Joe, I did not get to the floor project last weekend because life happens. I just wanted to update you on the grout color match. you might have some other people asking questions and you may want to pass along. I think I found a winner on the color. It’s tough to try and sample caulk because it’s $15 bucks a tube. I bought and tried several and this one is <b color=”text_primary” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>MAPEI Mapesil T Plus 10.1-oz Multi-use Ivory #5039 Silicone Caulk. There may be lot’s of people looking for some sort of color match for this shade of floor. This may save some people some money on trial and error. I am attaching a photo of the trial. It looks spot on. It also helps the grout is a similar shade. Also, the pics of the scribe I posted earlier may be deceiving. The grout contours down to the floor so it’s slightly more than 1/8″ so I may bevel the underside a bit. I plan to try and get this big room this weekend and I will send update pics. Your advice has been very valuable.
<b color=”text_primary” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>
<b color=”text_primary” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>Thanks Again,
<b color=”text_primary” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>
<b color=”text_primary” style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>Rod
-
It looks great!!
-
Hey Joe, I have not started yet, plans went south and had to handle something. I have been trying to figure out how to secure the floor without screws through the tile and plank into slab and I thought you may help with this. Once I have the brick scribed and the straight line established with a couple rows I was thinking to dab a little hot glue between the grout and the plank to hold it in place. After finishing the main install cut the glue loose and caulk. Also, Maybe put a dab or two under the plank in the second row. Do you think this is a good idea.
I look forward to your reply.
Thanks Rc
-
Which hot glue are you using? The one I recommend would be perfect for both of those situations.
-
yes, the one you recommended.
Thanks,
RC
-
-
Ok, perfect! That glue will stick to the tile.
-
Hey Joe, I was doing some scribing yesterday so I can set the rows. I used the glue as I described in the earlier post and held the line solid. Now that I have a good foundation to work off. I am debating whether to remove the dishwasher or plank around it. I have not removed the toe kick on the dishwasher yet to see how much they screwed the legs up or down to see how much room I have. I have about 4 rows before I have to make that decision. My issue would be that I may have to remove the dishwasher if it fails. I had to remove the builder special one year after I moved into the home and even though I got a good one this time I think it may be easier to just plank under it.
Your advice is greatly appreciated
Thanks Again,
RC
-
-
Thanks Joe, I wasn’t sure if we were on the same page about using the glue as a spacer. obviously it’s really not possible to secure it with any sort of straight edge spacer. Thanks for your input.
I did run into a small issue scribing the last 2′ of plank it’s throwing me off 1/8″ inch on the straight edge. I will have to go back and cut off a bit more. Other than that, it should be great. I wanted to spend some time before this weekend to do that so the rest goes fast.
As far as the dishwasher, Yeah, I was dreading emptying out the cab. under the sink to get to the hoses. Not that it is a mess just that there’s still a lot of stuff under there. I was just worrying about the dishwasher being level in order to drain properly..
Thanks for the compliment on the scribe. I would say it would have taken about 2 hours from my day this weekend to finish that big room. Actually the scribing is time consuming but the cuts are easy. I’ll probably use the die grinder with a flap disk to cope that last little bit to deal with that 1/8″. The scribe is right at the top but the way the grout comes to the floor is at an angle so it pushes the plank away.
It’s just the last piece about 2′.
Thanks again for you help and if you have any ideas to deal with the grout to floor would be appreciated.
RC
-
Update: First pics was about 10 hours up to and under the dishwasher legs and moving furniture back into place.
About 6 hours on Sunday got me to the pantry.
About 6 more hours on Monday got me to the front door. Up to this point where I connected around the bank of walls I used about 32 boxes with minimal waste.
The connection was still about the same 1/4″ off but I was able to connect with no open seems. This part of the project seems to be around 800 SF. I spent a few hours undercutting baseboard, coping the brick and getting the line straight to the front of the house.
Total man hours is about 22 so far. I think I still have about 10 left. 40 boxes will be used total. I can figure 280 planks will be used and 5 minutes per plank including cuts and other prep work is reasonable. I should be close to finishing this evening.
I think I have used almost every technique you have shown on your videos and probably saved me hours. I started laying out the rows to end in a favorable spot at the doorways and connection points which helps. I had to plane and glue where I didn’t plan on a small piece at the island. All said, it is coming out nice.
You were absolutely right to tell a customer 3 to 5 days because me working solo is going to take 4-8 hour days equivalent and having an arsenal of tools at my disposal. I could have saved a few hours having a jamb saw to undercut the baseboard but just didn’t see the value in spending 40 bucks a day and the back and forth to return it or buying one for 300 that I will probably never use again.
Any You-Tuber that says they can do this in one day is blowing smoke.
If you have any advice for me that would help move this along will be appreciated..
Thanks Again,
RC
-
I don’t, because you are doing great!
-
Thanks Joe. By now, I feel like I am doing a mid-term project in school doing updates but I feel like you are the teacher and I should. I am attaching photos of the latest which took an additional 4 hours. Almost there.
Log in to reply.