About 4 years ago we had a tile floor installed over my old 20+ year old linoleum. We were on a cruise when a "friend" came in to do it as that seemed a perfect time to be out of the house and out of his way. We-l-l-l-l, no one told me that you should not mop unsealed tile and/or grout....however, in my own defense, I did not know that the tile and grout had not been sealed. Over time, it took on a dull and dirty appearance. So my first order of business in updating the kitchen was to have a professional grout cleaning company come by to give me an estimate to clean the grout and tile. You can read all about that ordeal here.
Now I must digress a minute here.....last Friday Rhoda and I met for a little retail therapy, (i.e. flea marketing) and I was moaning and groaning over the cost of having the tile floor removed and replaced. She suggested that I try painting the grout with an outdoor patio paint as she had used that technique on a kitchen remodel of her own. She said she had used Patio Paint and it held up good. I figured I had nothing to loose but the price of a small bottle of patio paint.
I could not wait to get to Michael's later that day to find some paint. I had seen Patio Paint in the craft section before but apparently they now call it Outdoor paint. I got two colors -- one in Linen which was close to the tile color and the other in Barn Wood which was close to the original grout color. I think each bottle cost around $1.99. Got home and painted two sections to see which color I liked. Hubby and I both decided we liked the Linen as it made the tile look much better and your eyes didn't immediately go to the grout. So, since Friday night I have been working on the grout and let me tell ya'll, it's amazing what a difference there is! While this has been a back-breaking job, down on the tile floor painting each grout line, I'm doing the happy dance when I think I've saved about $1,600 which is what it would have cost to have the floor ripped out and replaced. I've got about $10.00 altogether in paint and supplies! After a few hours of painstakingly painting with my little brush, I went out Saturday and got a little bottle of glue which I emptied out and used the bottle with the pointed nozzle for better control. Made the job go much faster.
Here are my two paint choices....after we decided on Linen I went and got a bigger bottle
Great stuff!
Here's the "supplies" I'm using
Here's the floor "before" with the dirty looking grout
Look what a difference - "before" on the left and "after" on the right!
And now here's a big section all done!The bottle says the paint is permanent and self-sealing. I've tested all sections I've done with water, etc. and so far the paint is adhering very well.
I should finish the floor by tomorrow afternoon and then on to having the cabinets and walls painted and adding some rope trim and bun feet to the cabinets. I've got a little drawing of something I'm having made to go over the stove.....I am so-o-o-o ready to get started and have my "new" kitchen done!
After my "sweat equity" hubby is taking me to the Scott Antique Market in Atlanta this weekend! I've never been and I hear it is fab-u-lous!
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