I bought a fixer upper with a full finished basement. At least 80% of the 1,800 sq. ft. basement has this tile. It wouldn’t be our first choice in terms of style, but it’s there and seems like it would be too much hassle and cost to remove and replace for a basement area. There are a couple concerns though:

1) In the first two pictures you see a section of damage tile. There is some round plug that appears to have lifted over the years and it cracked the tile there. I found some spare tiles that I can use to repair this spot, but I’m concerned about this plug thing. What is it? Why is it lifting up? Can I chisel it out and replace the tile or do I need to do something else? There is another spot there there appears to be similar lift and it is in line with this area.

2) The grout lines are horrendous and are like that through the whole space. My wife says leave them but I think it looks terrible. It looks like there was a black/gray grout initially and then someone tried to paint it white. We have tried to clean it without success. What are my options? Do I need to grind some out and re-grout?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!