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Help with tile and grout selection (pics)

Pipdog
11 years ago

I'm renovating a bath in a 1950's ranch. I have chosen tile which is a hybrid of Calcutta and Carrara. It has less gold than Calcutta and less gray than Carrara. I'm now deciding what color grout to choose -- I'm thinking either white or light gray, but my installer is strongly suggesting white.

Here are the hex tiles for the floor -- would white grout be a bad idea for the floor? I'm concerned about durability and staining as two young children will also be using this bathroom. Should I have it sealed?

Here's the subway for the shower:

And the tile for the shower niche:

Comments (10)

  • enduring
    11 years ago

    It looks beautiful. I have read on GW many others who are disappointed with white grout because of soiling. Maybe not all, but many. There were several posters who were advised to get grout the color of dirt :) They were happy with that selection because of unnoticeable soiling. Yes, sealing is recommended. There is an epoxy grout that is very durable, and I believe less prone to soiling. It takes more care with the installation and it is way more expensive. Bottom line, white grout will soil and will need cleaning. Don't use vinegar or bleach. Others have recommended Oxiclean as a good safe cleaner for grout. All this information I have gleaned from past post on this forum.

  • positano
    11 years ago

    I just put carrerra 1 inch honed hex on my busy bath that 2 kids use. I absolutely love it and have had no problems with the grout. I would definitely advise against white grout for the floor!
    I used Tec Grout in Mist and it is the perfect gray. It makes the tile pop just a little. My friend put white grout on her marble floor and is cursing herself now.

    I sealed the floors and wall grout myself with Miracle 511 in the blue bottle. I did 2 or 3 coats. So far so good with a young boy and girl using it!

    Here are some pictures.....

    From Upstairs and Basement bathrooms

    From Upstairs and Basement bathrooms

    This was my sample board. Deloreon Gray on the left(too dark) and Mist on the right. Both from Tec.

    From Upstairs and Basement bathrooms

  • KevinMP
    11 years ago

    I used honed calacatta gold 9"x18" on the shower walls and tub wall surround as well as on the bathroom floor, but I used 2"x2" grecian white tile from a big-box store on the shower floor (only because I couldn't find honed calacatta that I liked in stock locally and didn't have time to wait). Anyhow, I used TEC dove gray unsanded grout on the shower walls, bathroom floor, etc, but sanded grout on the shower floor because the distance between the tiles with the mesh backing was fairly sizable. The color is perfect because it has a slight taupe/green hue which works well with the calacatta. Many people recommended TEC silverado, but it's too bright gray, in my opinion. Delorean gray was my other option but I still through the dove gray looked best with my field tile. You can also get matching colored grout (in the appropriate texture (i.e., sanded or unsanded) from your retailer, and you'll need that for the corners. Good luck.

    {{gwi:1425386}}

    {{gwi:1445859}}

  • mydreamhome
    11 years ago

    I agree with the other posters above. We had a Calcutta in our previous master bath and used a grey grout. It really set off the colors in the tile & it was easy to keep looking clean. If you drop into a tile store (not Lowe's or HD) they often have grout samples for you to play with in conjunction with your tile so you can pick the color that best matches in your opinion. It would be worth the trip--don't forget to take your tile samples with you!

    Hope this helps!

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    There is a good thread in Kitchens about grout, The truth about grout. I was tryng to decide if I could manage tile in the kitchen, decided too much work for me. I'm not as worried about the tile in our bathroom, but no kids here.

    Check it out, probably on page 2or 3 by now. I learned a lot about selecting and caring for grout!

  • enduring
    11 years ago

    To help clarify, I believe KevinMP intended to say "caulk" instead of "grout" when he wrote:
    You can also get matching colored grout (in the appropriate texture (i.e., sanded or unsanded) from your retailer, and you'll need that for the corners.

    I linked the thread that Williamsem was referring to:

    Here is a link that might be useful: grout discussion on the Kitchen Forum

  • KevinMP
    11 years ago

    Yes, I meant "caulk" and also "thought," not "through." Sorry about that.

  • Pipdog
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the input everyone!

    KevinMP, beautiful shower and I really like the dove gray grout. I will add that to my list of ones to look at.

    postino, is that Cambria Torquay on your counters? I am considering Caesarstone in a white or cream for the counters as I think I would be too obsessive over a Calcutta slab. Plus, our fabricator has a remnant piece of Caesarstone and it would be so much less expensive for us to use. I'm wondering how you feel the stone on the floor and in the shower blends with the composite surface on the vanity? Does anyone have any thoughts about mixing the two? My husband is reluctant to put Caesarstone on the vanity, but I think for maintenance and durability reasons the Caesarstone would be a much better choice for us.

  • positano
    11 years ago

    Hi Pipdog!
    Yes that is Cambria Torquay on my vanity. I really love it and I get the feeling of marble without the worry. Whenever I see the kids bang the toothpaste container on the counter I am thankful I didn't get marble for this bath. I think it works really well with the floors.

    I wouldn't put the torquay with a carrerra or calcutta backsplash, but with marble on floors it works. I have white subways as a backsplash and in the shower and carrerra for the shower niche and threshold.

    I love it all!
    Good luck

    PS.I have honed carrerra in my basement bath and it is holding up beautifully. If you really love the marble go for it. Just seal it well and hone it. As long as you don't have any little ones that love to bang on counters!

  • groutrevive
    11 years ago

    If you should find the need to adjust color after the installation I'd like to invite you to check out Grout Revive. It sounds like your on your way to a successful project though.. best of luck. grout paint

    Here is a link that might be useful: Grout Revive