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karenb124

How to grout porous tile

karenb124
13 years ago

Today I found the PERFECT tumbled stone tile for our backsplash! I purchased a sheet to bring home to make sure of the color etc. DH then informed me that the grout will go into all the holes in the tile. Has anyone done their own grouting of this type of tile? Some sites say that the tiles should be sealed first? But then do I want all those holes in the tile? We are trying to do this ourselves so we could use any advice. HELP!

Comments (29)

  • lazy_gardens
    13 years ago

    If you seal the tile first, then apply it to the wall, the grout can be scrubbed out of the holes more easily. (not easily, just more easily).

    In a kitchen why would you want grease and grime-collecting crevices?

  • remodelfla
    13 years ago

    Seal first and then again after you grout. But you can scrub the grout out of the holes before you seal the second time. Do a test piece though. I think I've read of people where the sealant somewhat changed the color of the tumbled stone.

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    I just put tumbled travertine up for my backsplash. I also sealed first, then grouted, then sealed again. The bigger holes will get filled in with grout; the sealer makes it easier to clean off the surface of the tiles. You still won't have an absolutely smooth surface tile - it's still somewhat rustic.

    If you get an enhancer sealer (as I did) the color changes somewhat - as I had wanted. Essentially, the chalkiness of the tiles disappear and the color becomes slightly warmer.

    Here's a closeup:

    and here's a more distant one:

    BTW, there is no curve in my backsplash as it appears in the pix. Must be my camera.

    Helene

  • karenb124
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Blubird: This looks to be very similar to what I picked. Obviously the grout will go into the holes but it doesn't look that way in your pix. Did you leave the grout there and seal over it? Still has that rustic look that I want. I do want to get a color enhancer sealer as well. It seems to make the colors in the tiles pop a bit. Which one did you use?

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    karenb124,
    These tiles had plenty of holes ;-), there were even 2 or 3 which went straight through the tiles- most of them were filled in by the grout - I was looking for 'character'.

    If you were able to view these in 3D, you'd see the shallower pits, while they did get filled in with grout initially, were easily wiped out because of the sealer used before grouting. Sealing afterwards seals in the grout in the deeper ones. I used a grout color close in color to some of the lighter tiles. I wanted a multi-hued effect; my granite is not dramatic - it's New Venetian Gold, an overall pattern - and I wanted my backsplash to pick up the colors, but subtly. It's delicious to run your hands over the tiles.

    The enhancer sealer deepened the colors and I think it moved the coloration from a rosier, chalkier hue to a more golden one, which is what I'd wanted. I'd bought the sealer in the tile store where I bought my tiles - the label says "ARTISAN- Penetrating Stone Enhancer and Repellant"

    If you'd like closer up pix of the filled-in areas, I'll be more than happy to get them for you. I just finished the backsplash two weeks ago and I still love to look at it all the time.

    Helene

  • karenb124
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Helene, I would love to see the close up of your tiles. Thanks Karen

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    Karen,

    Here are some more pix.

    Here's a closeup view of some of the filled areas:

    and here's an oblique view so that you can see that there are still pitted areas for the rustic look:

    and I thought you might want to see the difference between the unenhanced and enhanced tiles:

    If you decide to use these tiles on mesh, I have some info to make your life easier.

    Helene

  • karenb124
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Helene- you are the best. I now feel confident to do this. Just ordered sink and faucet. I will take away old countertop next week and have the granite installed. Then the fun will begin....will keep you posted. Here is a link to my before if you are interested. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0513291413608.html?22

  • karenb124
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Helene - I hope you are still reading this! I have another question. How did you end the tiles when the wall ends? I can't think of how to make this question make sense. There is no bullnose tile for this, so at the ends of the wall there are some tiles that must be cut to fit. Does the cut part face out or in? Did you get a decorative pencil tile to cover the ends? Can you show me your ends?

  • ladyamity
    13 years ago

    Hi karenb124,

    We did the tumbled travertine....the one with tons of crevices and mini craters...in our bathroom, both as a counter top and smaller squares as the backsplash.

    It was against what all the people at the tile stores were telling me but, me being me, and always a bit 'different' we went ahead with it anyway and a little over two years now and I don't have one regret.

    We did want the enhancer as the travertines that I put water on, showed more of the colors that I wanted in the bathroom.
    If you don't want much of a change, don't use the enhancer, just the sealer.
    Find a sealer that states it doesn't change the color.
    Although from my experience, all the sealers I tried did change the color but just barely....not noticeable by anyone but me.

    I used my driveway behind my gate....laid out all the tiles, then sealed using a sponge.
    You don't want the sealer to drip down between the tiles as that is coating the sides of the tile.....you don't want that part coated with sealer because you want the grout to stick in there.
    Just a light touch, not a drenched sponge full of sealer will do the trick.

    Once the tiles are up, grout and using a veggie brush we brushed out the grout from some of the holes...not all, as we wanted those holes, we paid for holes. lol

    The veggie brush worked perfectly to get the grout out and then we used a stiffer old paint brush to brush away the little bits and pieces that got stuck on the tile.

    Once you have your tiles grouted and cleaned the grout out of the holes, continue on just as you would with any other smooth tile.

    As far as ending the at the end of a run of tile....OK, don't laugh....
    I went to the hobby store and bought doll house half-round wood trim.

    You can paint the trim the same color as your wall or get it close enough to the color of your stones.

    For our shower, I used regular wood chair rail molding and gave it a reasonable facsimile of a travertine decorative trim. For the bathroom I painted it multicolor to match the small backsplash squares and if I were going to do the kitchen backsplash I was going to again use the hobby/doll house half round.

    Good thing about the half round is it can be painted, stained, faux'd into something else and then just a couple coats of clear satin poly over top and it's washable, just like your backsplash.

    Gosh....I've rambled on. That's what happens when you don't have a single person in your life that enjoys talking about tile, backsplashes, kitchens in general. LOL

  • suzanne_sl
    13 years ago

    blubird- FYI about your "curvy" pics: we just had that question come up on a photo we took of a painting hanging on a wall. My sister is a photography teacher and she says it's because when my husband took the picture, the camera wasn't absolutely parallel to the wall. So, if the wall is 90 degrees to the floor, maybe the camera was 88 degrees. Looks like the same thing happened when you took a picture of the backsplash, which I love by the way.

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    karenb124,
    Yup, I'm still reading. :-)

    Here's a picture which includes an end. All the outside ends are finished the same way with the pencils. I didn't like the look of the raw edges. We even took the extra step of gently sanding the cut ends of the tiles so that they just look like shorter bricks rather than cut bricks. The negative of doing the pencils from under the cab like I did is that you end up with a sliver of wall which needs to be painted, but I had to make an executive decision on where to end the backsplash, and since the countertop didn't go all the way to the end of the wall segment, neither does my backsplash. I can paint the sliver every few years...or so. I actually like the way the pencil edges define the area.

    suzannesl - interesting idea, perhaps that's what happened. But when we retook the pictures with my husband's DSLR camera there didn't appear to be the same distortion - it's possible it was held parallel to the wall. Thanks for the compliment.

    Amity's idea of using a wood molding is a good idea too.

    Helene

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    karen124b,

    I forgot to mention that I sealed the tiles after they were up on the wall. I used a foam brush and gently brushed sealer over the travertine and pencils. Not much of a mess - the sealer was liquid, but not very drippy when done with the foam brush. As Amity says, you don't want to get the sealer between the tiles where it might prevent grout from sticking. After grouting, unlike Amity, I didn't attempt to get any of the grout out of the holes - I still had plenty left (holes, that is). And then I enhanced/sealed again...and again.

    Helene

    Helene

  • karenb124
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you all for your help. I am going to look for a matching pencil for the edges. Gives it a finished look. I SO love the photos to go along with the advice. I am a visual person. Thanks also for the sealer info. We were ready to spray the sealant on the tiles. Now I know to carefully paint it on. Stick around guys, I am certain to be needing more help!!

  • karenb124
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Helene, me again! I am using tile on mesh. You mentioned that you have some helpful hints? We are scheduled to start tiling this weekend, as granite is being installed on Thursday, so any and all hints would be welcome. Thanks

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    Hi Karen,

    You'll find that the full sheets of tile are fairly heavy and will readily slip down the wall. I put 2 or 3 brad nails just under the top row of bricks to help hold them in place until the thinset dries.

    Keep a piece of sandpaper around to remove any pencil marks you make on the tiles.

    Don't forget that if you don't like a particular tile on a mesh sheet, you can remove and replace it.

    I've decided to continue my backsplash on a short section of wall near my phone..so I'll be working on mine too. I just have to pick up a few more pencils to add to the remaining trav and glass tiles.

    Good luck and show us pictures when you're done.

    Helene

  • njco
    13 years ago

    Helene
    I like your backsplash. I just have a few questions. Do your remember what color the grout is. Did you get your tile at a Home Depot or Lowes? I saw some tile there that looks close. thanks for any help..

  • Cottage-Craft-Tile
    13 years ago

    I've dealt with this issue many times over the past 25 years of being in the tile business. Some helpful tips: Choose a grout that is close to or a little lighter than the stone/ definitely seal the stone first, you have to decide whether you want to use an enhancing sealer or a natural sealer/ I've come across people who don't want any grout residue in those nooks and they've actually put masking tape over each tile before grouting.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cottage Craft Tile

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    njco,

    The tile came from a local tile store - Lowe's and HD carry something which looks similar, but I wouldn't swear they are the same. I remember taking loads of samples home from those big stores - it seems to me that the stones from those stores had tons of holes and 'damaged' tiles.

    Grout is Tec's Almond.

    Helene

  • njco
    13 years ago

    picked up my tile and grout at the local tile store. they told me it would be ok to use the enhancing sealer on both tile and grout. what is the opinion on use the sealer on both grout and tile.....they did tell me to wait a week or so before i seal it so all the water is out of the grout...

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    njco,

    I used the same enhancing sealer on the tile and grout. I was given the same advice about waiting several days after grouting to seal. Don't forget to seal the tiles before grouting ...

    Post pictures when you're done...

    Helene

  • njco
    13 years ago

    i was told i could tile,grout and then seal....

  • blubird
    13 years ago

    njco,

    As in life, sequence is everything. Depending on your desired outcome, you might want to consider tiling, then sealing once, then grouting, then sealing again. If you read the entire above thread, you'll note the advantage of sealing before grouting - but that may or may not be the look you desire.

    Helene

  • cpartist
    13 years ago

    I used a tumbled tile in my second bath and definitely didn't want the holes in the tile because I was afraid of mold and guck in the holes. I grouted first and then sealed. If I had wanted to enhance the tile, I would have sealed first with an enhancing sealer, then grouted and then sealed again with a non enhancing sealer. Here's my tile in my guest bath.

  • moosernelson
    12 years ago

    Hi Helene,
    Your back splash is beautiful. We are putting up one very similar, and I found this thread when I did a search on how to remove grout from porous tile. Many of the other things you wrote were very helpful as well. I have a question if you're still reading. We are using Chiaro tile (seems very similar to your travertine) and it is quite a bit thicker than the glass tile we are putting above it. Even with a pencil separating the two, it seems like we need to put a thicker backing on the wall to bring the glass tile more level with the Chiaro. We've put up Hariboard (1/4 inch), and are thinking we'll just double it where the glass tile is. Did you do something to raise up your glass tile and make it more level with the travertine, or not. I'm asking as the way you did it looks good, and I'd rather not raise it up if i don't have to.
    Thanks for any help.
    Karen

  • carolrose117
    7 years ago

    Hello Helene,

    I have my backslash up, the same as you did. Can I use the sealer while it is on the wall? I haven't grouted yet and I would like to seal then grout it and then seal the grout. Is this the right order? If so, how did you finally seal the grout? Was that with a sponge brush?

    Thanks you for going over this again for my clarification. I don't want to make any mistakes!

    Carol

  • carolrose117
    7 years ago

    Also, I like the warmer affect of the sealant you used.



  • carolrose117
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    And when you did grout it, how did you apply the grout?

    Thank you for your time!