Granite tiles, first time with unsanded grout should it be "smooth"?

[dominogold]

Installed granite tiles on a countertop (black galaxy). Turned out great. Grouted with the unsanded grout in charcoal color at home depot. The grout may have been too watery as it wasn't quite "peanut butter" but was close.

Turned out good as well but it seemed to have "settled" just a little bit when it dried. Maybe because it was too watery? For example when I run my hand across the tiles I can defiitely feel the edges. Is this a big deal or normal? All of the seams are covered though. Should we grout it again? We've never used the unsanded stuff before so I'm not sure what is normal for unsanded grout and granite tiles, which have sharper edges anyway.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

The grout shrinkage is inherent with unsanded grout and becomes more pronounced with wider joints. Too much water is definitely a contributor to this. How wide are your joints?

It's normal for the grout to be down just a tad, but if it bugs you, I think you should re-grout it. It's just a countertop and won't take long.

[jdm]

Kurt --

Just to be clear here, by regrout do you mean add grout to what's there, or remove the existing grout first?

[dominogold]

Joints are very close like probably 1/16" to 1/8".

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Depends on how long has the grout been done? If it's just been finished and now he's noticing the sunken joints, I'd directly add more grout over the top of it. But.....

A problem with grouting a thin layer over cured, dried grout is that the moisture will be sucked out of the new layer really fast and will promote a weak bond. Plus it only has the face of the old grout to bond to. When dealing with cured, dried grout, scratch out at least 2/3rds of it before re-grouting. That way it dries slower, and bonds to the sides of the tile. Removing reasonably fresh grout with a grout removal tool is a dream compared to old, hard grout.

Mix the new grout to a more proper, thicker consistancy and you will notice much less shrinkage.

[dominogold]

Grout has been on for a few days. I really don't know how to even scrape it off it's pretty narrow gaps in there.

Will it really be a problem to just go over it again?

[Tool Guy - Kg]

Try if you like, but definately dampen the old grout first.

If that doesn't do ya, and you wanna clean the grout out, all you need is a utility knife and some extra caution.