Clean the faces of the tiles without disturbing the grout joints. Clean as well as you can so that final cleanup will be minimal. In most circumstances, a reclaimed floor is laid on a modern screed but sometimes it may be necessary or desirable to lay reclaimed tiles or quarry tiles on a limecrete floor.

Again this only really applies to cement-based grout. Using a sponge, you can seal the grout using an outdoor-rated grout sealer. Final Thoughts If you follow these steps properly then you should have no problem grouting your outdoor patio. The main problem beginners face is the initial challenge of grouting all the tiles before they harden. FAQs What is the best grout for outdoor tiles? These floors continually breathe and with our sealants, this is not a problem and in effect rather simple as the same process as detailed above can be followed. Wide grout joints between pavers require lots of grout, so you’ll need to mix a fairly large quantity to cover even a modest area of floor. While your grout is slaking, dampen the tiles with water. This helps slow down the setting up of the grout and makes grouting easier. For smaller areas, use a sponge and water and wipe the tiles down 3. Mist larger areas using a pump sprayer, like the kind used for misting indoor plants. For really big floors, use a garden hose fitted with a mist nozzle. Don’t leave any standing water, just dampen all tiles and grout joints. In more recent times the opening up of travel to warmer climes in the 70’s piqued our interest in the material. No self-respecting conservatory extension of the 80’s seemed complete without a floor of Spanish terracotta.

Once grouting is complete, both types will need around 72 hours to start curing and up to a week to be fully cured.

The most important factor in achieving a good finish is to use a tiler with proven experience of laying and sealing terracotta tiles, as the wrong application of adhesive, sealers, grout and finishing products can ruin these beautiful tiles, costing you time and money. Wet application: When the tiles are fixed using permeable bedding materials, ProPave can be applied using the “Wet Application” method. Thoroughly wet the patio surface with copious amounts of water. Using a stiff broom, brush sand into joints ensuring they are filled to capacity. Ensure the paving surface and sand are kept wet throughout the operation with continued use of gentle water flow from a hosepipe. This water aids deep penetration and compaction of the jointing sand as it drains. Repeat process until all jointing is filled to full depth. Soak the area with water & top up any joints that require further material and wash off excess sand from the surface. Dry application– This method is used to apply brush in grout where the bedding materials used to fix the tiling are impermeable and therefore will not allow drainage of application water or where the temperature conditions are dropping below 3°C, with concern that the water application (Wet Application) will freeze and expand in the joint, before it has drained away, making it weak. It’s important to keep the tiles clean whilst you apply grout. To do this, get a moist sponge and sponge frequently to clean the tiles without removing grout. Step 6: Grout the rest of the patio For stubborn areas of heavy build-up of dirt or sealer we would recommend following up with NanoTech HBU (please ensure the tile is wetted before applying).Once a good seal is achieved leave the sealer to cure for a minimum of 12 hours to cure, before applying the Ironwax Satin/Gloss. Once the grout has been applied and the floor is completely dry, then apply one final coat of Ironwax Satin/Gloss across the entire surface including the grout to provide the floor with a good level of protection. After 12 hours the floor can be walked on as normal. The other type of grout available for outdoor use is brush in grout. There are two different application methods for brush in grout:

After cleaning the pH level of the floor will be alkaline so its best to neutralise this by giving the floor an acid rinse using Grout Cleanup. Using this product has other benefits to, ie.: Two main types of grout are applicable for outdoor use. The first is the standard cement-based grout, and the second is the brush in grout. Below are some of the pros and cons of both, which will help weigh up what is best for you. Rated for outdoor use Apply the product generously and evenly to the face and edges of the tile and continue to saturate for 3-4 minutes moving the product continuously with the roller or brush to ensure complete coverage. Allow 2-4 hours between coats and apply a minimum of 3 coats to ensure a good seal before grouting. Dirt and harsh weather conditions can damage patios, but proper grouting is one of the best ways to protect against this. Grouting will seal off the gaps between tiles and help to prevent the build-up of dirt and damage to the outdoor tiles. Anthracite Riverstone Outdoor Which Types Of Grout Can Be Used Outdoors?A solution of Grout Clean-up diluted with 3 parts water will ease the problem temporarily, but you will find in most cases the efflorescence will repeat itself until all the salt crystals have evaporated on the surface, and this can take several weeks in some instances. In worst case scenarios Tile Doctor has developed a new product calledAcid Gel to combat efflorescence issues which is applied neat. Recommended Products for Terracotta

Tile Doctor Remove and Go is very effective at removing impregnating sealers and can be applied undiluted and used in the same way as Pro-Clean. It's worth noting that Pro-Clean is better with the removal of topical sealers however if you are unable to determine which sealer has been used previously then you may need to utilise both products. It is worthwhile considering adding sealer to the grout mix in the proportions of 1 part sealer to 10 parts water. This also effectively seals the grout. First of all, before we get into either type of grout, it is important to note that both must be rated for outdoor use. If you use grout that is not suitable for the outdoors, it will not last and may damage the tiles. Cement-based groutTerracotta has been used for hundreds of years as floors in the UK. The Romans had the art of heating rooms through the use of warmed terracotta down to a fine art. Fashions come and go as do the associated production skills. Whether the Romans left Britain or the Britain’s moved away from Roman power is still debated, either way over the next hundred years the use of Terracotta disappeared.