What size grout joints should i use

Grout absorbs movement from the natural contraction and expansion your tiles will experience from temperature and humidity changes.

Without grout, your tiles could buckle and come loose. Grout seals up the space between tiles so that dirt and spills stays on the surface where they can be easily cleaned up. Without grout, messes and germs can slip through the cracks and cause problems.

However, with modern tile technology, you can have tiny grout lines for a clean, modern look. Before the technological advancements of modern tile making, porcelain and ceramic tiles were highly irregular some cheaply-made modern tiles still are. Tiles from the same box could be slightly bigger or smaller than one another, without perfect right angles. Some tiles are irregular by design, not subpar manufacturing. Uneven edges can create an old-world look, but this also means the tiles cannot be right next to each other.

Pressed tiles are shaped and then fired. Hope that helps! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Welcome to Style Curator, your destination for daily interiors inspiration! Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Privacy policy. Password recovery. Style Curator. A relaxed, beachy bathroom with powder blue feature wall.

How to ventilate a bathroom: Solutions for a healthy, smart and functional bathroom. Slate Grey—great idea. Thanks for your insight! Please enter your comment! Although a proper grout joint accommodates subtle changes, surface leveling is necessary, particularly when installed using a thin-set method. This is especially noticeable on a thinner grout joint. In order to achieve this with stone, the installer must be extremely skilled, the surface must be level and — in many cases — the stone must be installed and then ground down to minimize differences.

Many project budgets do not accommodate this luxury. When your sub-floor moves, your tile has nowhere to go. Certain techniques, such as using anti-fracture membranes or expansion joints, can alleviate some of the problems associated with thin grout joints or butt-joints.

Grout treated with a colorant also has a different texture than originally colored grout. On the plus side, grout colorants usually seal the grout in addition to changing its color. Typically, grout that has been treated with a colorant does not need to be sealed.

Removing grout that is adhered to a tile floor can be difficult. The type of tile greatly affects the difficulty of grout removal.

Also, if the grout was polymer modified, it may be more difficult to remove. In general, the more porous the surface, the better grout will adhere. Conversely, grout is more easily removed from dense impervious tiles e. To remove the grout, start with an alkaline cleaner and a nylon scrub pad.

Make sure to check that the scrub pad is not damaging the tile. Normal floor tile will not be affected by a using a scrub pad, but some decorative tiles do not have the same surface hardness. It is best to check your decorative in a secluded area. If the scrub pad is not effective, there are specialty cleaners on the market that chemically attack the grout.

Typically these are weak acids. As with all acids, follow the manufacturers warnings carefully and use caution. Always check the tile in an inconspicuous spot first in case the cleaner affects the tile.

Again, these specialty cleaners will not affect most floor tiles; however, it is prudent to check. Some tile installers use stronger acids that they carefully dilute. While experienced professionals can do this, there are great risks in doing so. There is the possibility of bodily harm as well as damage to the surroundings. Changing grout color is more commonly done but; again, the results are generally not as good as the original item.

The color in grout, unlike tile, comes from liquid dispersed pigments. Grout is usually colored with an epoxy paint made for the purpose and sold in tile shops. When the grout is new, has not been sealed, and the edge of the grout joint is neatly defined and when the adjoining tile surface is very smooth, sometimes good results can be achieved.

However, if the grout is not porous from sealer or dirt or the adjoining tile is rough or absorptive, it may be impossible to get a satisfactory result. When grout has been stained to the point that it cannot be maintained or returned to its natural color, you can return the grout back to near its original color or any other color through the use of a "grout stain.

Others will recommend specific brands that they know work with their grout to correct color. However, grout colorants work best with grout that has not been sealed. Grout Stains are epoxy-based products that are specifically designed to penetrate into the grout and seal the surface with a permanent color.

The edge of the tile also makes a difference in the success of the colorant. Tiles with well-delineated edges are easier to treat than tiles with a large bevel or textured edge. Also, you will want to try a test area since grout treated with a colorant does not look the same as originally colored grout. On the plus side, grout colorants also seal the grout and protect it with an "epoxy-like" finish. Cementitious grout, as you may have observed, is porous - it can absorb a stain.

Looked at under a microscope, there is a large surface area to absorb stains. For this reason, many owners choose to seal their grout - usually the better the sealer, the more the grout joint is protected. Even better, if epoxy grout is used, it is virtually as stain proof as the tile. Removing stains from cementitious grout is similar to removing stains from clothing. The same cleaners you might use on clothes to get out a stain should also work on grout.

Keep in mind though, that grout is based primarily of cement and sand. Sand, like glass, is unaffected chemically by most cleaners. Cement is not - rather it is alkaline based and is dissolved by acids. As baking soda and vinegar react, so do grout and vinegar.

Accordingly, it is better to clean grout with an alkaline cleaner Spic and Span, Mr. Clean, etc.