Help!!! Cracked a dark grey kitchen floor tile!

rosie383

My little one manged to get hold of a heavy pestle and mortar and knocked it off the workbench onto the tiled floor.
My husband spent a lot of time tiling the floor last year and I really don't want him to get upset if he sees it.
The tile is one of those stone-type, dark grey, matt, IYKWIM. The crack has lifted some chips out of the tile and there are 3 lines with chipped bits out. Shows the creamy bit underneath. I tried colouring it in with grey crayon, pencil and grey felt tip. Nothing worked and more little chips came off as I tried to colour it in.
Has anyone got any suggestions? It would need to be something that isnt going to come off every time I mop the floor.
BTW a chip that was broken out of the freshly laid laminate floor (by one of the kids dropping something on it!!) coloured in beautifully with a brown crayon. Can't be seen at all. Who'd have kids?????

BaileyB

Best thing would to replace the tile, do you have any spare? And the fact you have small children and there are chips in it could cause problems if they (or you) walk bare foot on it.

phill99

Now that its cracked and chipped it'll only get worse! Its not a complex job to replace a tile, although the hardest bit is actually getting the ols one out!

If you don't want to try it yourself, a handyman type person should charge about £30 - £40 to sort it.

BaileyB

Just drill a few holes around the tile and then cut out the grout so there is none left and just chisel the rest out.

rosie383

Thanks guys. I was really hoping to avoid trying to replace the tile as we have no spares left. Would there be no way I could just rub a wee bit of grout on it and smooth it over?
It's more of a cosmetic thing really as it is in a corner of the kitchen that doesn't generally get walked on, and the cracks are thin but noticeable.

mikey72

Maybe a resin adhesive like alraldite, which will dry clearish, or a laminate worksurface filler in a matching colour if you can find one may blend in.
But they will look shiny rather than matt, so a light sand when it's dry would help

rosie383

That sounds like a good plan. thank you very much. If I had to replace it I would have to buy a whole new pack of tiles and grout which is not cheap.

rosie383

Had a look and can get a couple of 5ml tubes for £3 eBay. Is there any thing I can use to colour it? Did find some in grey, but it was about £50 for a big quantity.

WestonDave

What about grinding up some of the broken bits (which you've no doubt binned! so cancel that!) and mixing them with the araldite to make the same colour.

rosie383

Don't have any broken bits, they were literally just wee tiny chips which just got brushed up. I will have a look in the shed and see if there is even one half tile lurking.
The tiles are exactly the same colour as pencil lead. Would it affect the performance of the glue too much if I ground some of that up and mixed it in with the glue?

Pete*G_4

do you know what make of tile they are? if it's a named brand, then find a supplier and see if you can order a "sample" tile. I've done this with Porcelainosa and Ceramica tiles in the past to replace odd ones we've broken