Grout and Seal Guide
Grout
Choosing your grout can be almost as important as choosing your tiles. The main consideration when it comes to colour is whether you want the tile outline to be a feature of your look, in which case you choose something that contrasts more strongly. Or whether you want the tile to be the hero, which would mean selecting something that has a neutral effect with your tile colour making the joins seem to disappear. We offer two Ardex Grouts, FG8 and FSDD, both in a selection of colours.
When do I use FG8?
FG8 is suitable for internal and external use on both walls and floors.
It is water repellent and mould resistant.
It is suitable for any grout job with a joint from 1-8mm wide.
(If you are using in a swimming pool please only use No 200 White mixed with Ardex Grout Booster.)
When do I need to use FSDD?
This is a finer grained grout. It has been designed partially to be able to grout polished porcelain tiles avoiding scratching their high gloss surface.
It is suitable for internal and external use on both walls and floors.
It is best suited to finer joins 1-4mm wide. It is also a good choice when using Carrara Marble subway tiles and wanting to achieve a smaller joint.
Grout Booster - What is this and when do I need to add it to my grout?
Grout Booster is a water-based, synthetic polymer grout additive specially formulated for use with cement-based grouts. It gives improved adhesion strength, flexibility and abrasion resistance. It offers high grade polymer technology, easy to clean formula and improved water resistance.
It is suitable for walls and floors and can be used in swimming pools and timber floors. We would recommend its use in areas that might be susceptible to vibration or require flexibility.
We also recommend its use when tiling wet areas with natural stone, to help reduce the chance of water permeation.
Silicone
Silicone sealant is one of the most effective ways to finish off a tiling job. The colour of the silicone is usually chosen to match or complement the grout colour chosen.
Once again we offer two forms of silicone, ST Neutral Cure and SE Silicone.
When do I use Ardex SE Silicone
ARDEX SE is an acetoxy curing silicone for applications such as movement joints (between tiles), internal corners (tiled wall and floor) and connecting joints between tiled surface and benchtops, bath edges, cupboards, splashbacks.
- Flexible sealant (up to 25% movement)
- Waterproof – suitable for use in showers
- UV resistant – suitable for internal and external use
- Contains mould inhibitors
- Easy to use and smooth off
Suitability: ARDEX SE bonds well to ceramic tiles, glass, enamel, anodized aluminium, granite, porcelain, laminated beach tops and sanitary acrylics.
(Not recommended for other natural stones, e.g. marble, travertine and limestones)
When do I use ST Neutral Cure Non-Staining?
Ideal for use with Marble and natural stone as this product unlike most silicones will not stain the marble!
Contains fungicides to combat mould growth
Suitable for wet areas
Easy to apply and smooth off
UV and weather resistant
Internal and External, wall and floor
Low Odour
Sealers and Cleaners
Do my tiles need to be sealed?
In general, porcelain and ceramic tiles do not need to be sealed. (The only exception to this is tiles with a craquelle glaze – some manufacturers do recommend sealing as the faint cracks/craquelle glaze effect can make the glaze permeable).
We would recommend that you seal all natural stone.
