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susanlynn2012

Tile Size for very small foyers plus information on Rialto Beige

susanlynn2012
15 years ago

I went to Lowe's with 2 of the darker and more gray Rialto Beige tiles from the new 7 boxes of tiles and the 2 lighter tiles that I had used as samples that made me fall in love with the Rialto Beige tiles that are a light beige and a light brown with the faintest gray lines in them and the pit design is the prettiest.

The employees at Lowe's agreed that the colors did not match and had sold out on the lighter tiles. Everyone that passed by the tiles I put on the floor voted for th lighter tiles but they are not at the store anymore so that is not a choice.

All their tiles on the shelves in the 12 X 12 were the darker Rialto Beige with more gray in it in the same lot# I have at home in the 7 boxes.

The Rialto Beige 16 X 16 tiles were gorgeous and matched the lighter 12 X 12 two tiles I brought with me. If I use the 16 X 16 tiles, in a 4" X 4.33" foyer (either 17.32 sq. ft or 20 sq ft if I am supposed to round all numbers upwards... I am not sure) , I would only be able to fit 4 big tiles and many cut in between but not have much grout to clean.

In the middle foyer, I have 39 square feet including the small space inside the small closet. The 12 X 12 on the diagonal really looks nice but then I would want to return the 7 boxes for the slightly lighter and slightly less gray new batch they have way up high that they let me buy one box of that is not as pretty as the lighter tiles and the pit and vein design is not as pretty as the 7 boxes I now have in the darker Rialto Beige tile but the coloring is less gray and I like it better when sitting at my desk looking at my front foyer.

In the light tomorrow, I will look again since it was close to 7 PM when I got home from Lowe's and dark outside since I had to wait over 1 hour for someone to get me the newest lot# and then I wasn't sure if the difference in shades was worth exchanging tiles since the new lot# was still not as pretty and not as light as the 2 older tiles I have here from over a month ago that are a lot that Lowe's ran out of.

I could try other Lowe's stores out but I have a lot of work to do that I must get back to.

So should I buy the 16 X 16 tiles and not care that there will be hardly any tiles with little grout since they are the color I like or should I exchange the 7 boxes of the 12 X 12 tiles I have here now for the slightly less gray with slightly more beige than brown in the tiles at Lowe's tomorrow? I then have to have an installer come here to measure but I heard (when I was looking at hardwood flooring as I was waiting for the employee to get me new tiles from the newer lot) that for hardwood flooring it takes 30 days the whole process so I wonder how long it takes for tiles?

Maybe for my kitchen, I could go with bigger tiles but I am not sure how these big tiles would look in such small foyer areas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link where pics of a bathroom with different size tiles

Comments (9)

  • jess111
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't have any pics of my foyer but it's bigger so I don't know if it would help you, but I do have a few pics of my kitchen floor done in the rialto beige 16", laid out in a pattern with 6x6's including some bronze inserts. They're not great pics, but:

    The kitchen was in progress (still is to an extent, LOL) so please forgive the unfinished details and the old table.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Jess111, Thanks for sharing the beautiful pictures. I am thinking I will use the big tiles for the kitchen (if when I am done this project I choose Rialto Beige for the kitchen...I first want to see how easy it is to clean when the tiles are installed before deciding .... I know it is easy enough to clean for me for two foyer areas and I love that it is not slippery when wet and just about waterproof) and I like the idea of a design with the smaller tiles that adds interest.

    Jess111, What color is your grout? Did you use sanded grout or an Epoxy grout? What is the grout's width you used? It looks nice. I like the Rialto Beige tiles since they are a 5 rating and look like real stone in person to me.

    I stopped at the farther away Lowe's tonight (got so lost coming home due to so many roads blocked and an accident... no wonder I always go to the closet stores) since I was told on the phone they have a different lot number. It looks the tile I love has been solid out and the lot numbers left for me to choose from out of the two closest stores gives me three choices. None of the three choices are as nice in the 12 X 12 size as the lot that was sold out but so far I like the one best where I have 1 box from the closer Lowe's since it has less gray veins and more of the beige color with a pink tint in it that makes it less gray to my eyes and goes better with the Brazilian Cherry engineered hardwood that I am leaning towards for the rooms surrounding the foyer areas. Hence, I am just going to exchange the 7 boxes I have here for the lot# that I only have 1 box of since they have a lot of these boxes on a top shelf that they have not put out yet on a bottom shelf.

    The Lowe's store closest to me has on display Marble Beige Grout with the Rialto Beige Tiles while the farther away store used Antique White Grout in their display with the Rialto Beige Tiles that looked very nice also and but did not match the grout color chart I have here. I did not choose Antique White since the grout color chart had it in a greenish gray tint while on display it was an darker off-white that really looked nice.

    Anyone on this list used the Antique White grout with their Rialto Beige tiles?

    I have three Laticrete sanded grouts here (mushroom, Marble Beige & Parchment) that I bought and must return two of them. I really would like to use the Laticrete SpectraLock Pro Grout since to wait a week to seal the tiles may have the grout already dirty with the puppy pad trays that I keep on top of the tiles in the back of the longer middle foyer. I was told by a flooring expert on this list that Lowe's does not carry the Laticrete SpectraLock Pro grout which is what I want if an installer will be familiar how to use it and not get it in the pits or at least be able to remove it since I like the look of the pits bare. I will talk to Lowe's tomorrow tomorrow and see how soon they can install the tiles unless someone on this list emails me with a tile guy in Northern NJ who will get the job done ASAP.

    I seem to like the diagonal design in my two foyers since they are small and I feel it makes the foyers look bigger. For my kitchen I am not sure yet since the pictures being shown with two sized tiles are very nice.

    I am leaning towards the mushroom grout since the grout color chart (which may be way off) looks best with the tile lot I will be getting the tiles from that has the pinky beige in it that I liked. The tile with more gray veins is also very pretty but the beige in it did not have the pink tint that I liked and that tile looks better with the Marble Beige. The Parchment's grout color chip is a tiny bit darker than the tiles and I think I like the lighter grout colors.

    I love the big tile but I think it is better for my kitchen since my foyer areas are really small.

  • Laurie
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    lynn - did you decide on a tile size? Rialto beige is so pretty...you can't go wrong with the light or the dark!

    jess111 - beautiful flooring!

  • jerry_t
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think either Mushroom or marble beige grout. There is absolutely no difference in Lowe's SpectraLOCK and SpectraLOCK Pro grout. The formula is exactly the same. The Pro version comes with two cleaning packets... an initial and final wash, but vinegar and water work just as well. The Pro grout is also available in full units and I buy it in commercial full unit 4-packs which gets my cost down by half.

    If you look at those pictures you don't see many pits.... I suspect half or more most of the pits got filled when grouting, which is the best thing to do.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Laurie, I went to Lowe's again tonight and they made me wait forever and finally told me that he person who uses the forklift to get down the newer lot (still not as pretty as the 2 tiles from the oldest lot but slightly less gray and slightly more beige than the 7 boxes I have here so that is my compromise) left for the day (after they made me wait over 1 hour). Then they made me wait another hour for the person to talk to in hiring a Lowe's installer and finally someone told me he was out to dinner and may not come back to the store. Hence, I will go there tomorrow and try to get this job over with and installed already. I sure wish I had a handy husband like you have.

    jerry_t, Thanks for your opinion. I have decided on the Mushroom grout and this time I would to return all three sanded grouts and buy the Lowe's SpectraLock grout in mushroom color. I noticed there was an AB part (had sponges inside of it and two packets of something for $25.99 and a sanded grout part (a little more than $3 per the small container... think I remember it being $3.49). How many of these containers do I need?

  • jerry_t
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What did you say.... roughly 20 sq.ft.? One part A/B liquid and one box of part C Mushroom powder.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Jerry, one foyer is roughly 20 square feet, the other is bigger so it ends up being about 60 square feet for both foyer areas. I want the tiles on a diagonal so I may need more tiles and that is why I bought 81 tiles.

    Now I know why people hire interior decorators who take care of everything. If I was rich, I think I would do this since this is so stressful picking out tiles, picking out grout and finding someone that will actually do the work. I am so behind in my regular work and this morning clients are getting upset with me so this decision must end.

    The truth is, I really prefer Laurie's tiles. The cream in them remind me of the first set of Rialto Beige tiles I loved that the lot is not available anymore.

    So that pail with the sponges includes two packets of A/B liquid? Maybe I need then 3 parts A/B liquid and 3 boxes of Mushroom powder. There seemed to be 2 packets in the $25.99 box that said Part A/B on it so is each packet, "one part"? Maybe I need two boxes of these then to get three of these packets?

  • jerry_t
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    For 60 sq.ft and going with an 1/8" grout joint you would need two pails of part AB, and 2 boxes of part C powder. If you decide to go with a 3/16" grout joint you will need 3 of each.

    Each small pail or bucket contains 1 part A liquid and 1 part B liquid which your tile guy would mix together before adding the part C powder. He/she will need to have some white vinegar and about 4 new sponges on hand to do the rinsing with. All of this is covered in the instruction sheet. The main thing is to go by the time limits Laticrete stipulates, change sponges when they get loaded up and do at least three rinses.

  • susanlynn2012
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    jerry_t, you are such a nice guy and so informative and knowledgeable. I wish you lived near me so I could hire you to change all my flooring downstairs and it would have been done already since I would have had you buy everything and charge me for the whole package.

    I definitely am going to look for an installer today that can do a 1/8th grout joint and I will buy the materials to have on hand to get the job done.

    Thank you Jerry!