HI all,
I got some ceramic floor tiles for the downstairs WC. I'd kind of like to lay them up tight together in contact with no grouting between, but will it look right if they're not specifically manufactured to be laid this way? And if so, how does one distinguish tiles you grout from tiles you don't?
cheers,
cd
On Thursday 21 November 2013 15:27 Cursitor Doom wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Don't - it will end in tears.
Grout is there for a reason :)
Most tiles have slightly rounded edges at the face, so there will probably be a groove between them anyway. If you have to fill that (and you should), you might as well fill a slightly wider gap
The grout takes up tiny inaccuracies in manufacture. If you lay them tight, after a while you find they won't quite fit right. Also there are very slight "twists". The errors are multiplied as you lay them.
The grout disguises all this.
Also the joints have to be sealed, you need a gap to get the grout/sealer in.
OK, thanks guys.
In that case I wonder if you can get tinted goo to mix in the with white grout to make it the same colour as the tiles? (which in this instance are a creamy colour)
On Thursday 21 November 2013 17:13 harryagain wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Also, compared to the effort of laying floor tiles and getting everything nice and flat, goruting is about 10% of the total effort - it really is very easy.
On Thursday 21 November 2013 19:43 Cursitor Doom wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Buy coloured grout (google for Mapei for some examples - lot sof colours available).
You will want to mix it, by hand is fine (wooden spoon, stainless steel or large glass bowl works well IME) in small batches as you only have 15-20 minutes to work it. Then you sponge off and mix and apply the next batch.
Ready coloured poweder will ensure you get consistent results - expecially if you weight/measure out fixed amounts and add fixed volumes of water to mix.
Don't use white - I did and it was a mistake. Despite grout sealer, it gets ingrained dirt and goes grey. Best to chose a mid tone colour or even a draker colour for contrast.
In article , Tim Watts writes
Make a sample batch first mixed to the planned proportions to check how the colour comes out, then go back and buy more colour when it is too light. Black, for example, is impossible and will be nothing better that dark grey even at many times the suggested mix.
..and that slightly wider grouted gap will lose small differences in relative flatness/level from one tile to the next, which will occur if the substrate is less than completely flat and level, and/or if there's the slightest difference in thickness between adjoining tiles.
Eh?? Sealing the grout?? Never had to do that before. Is this because they're used as flooring in this case? Is grout alone not sufficient??
On Friday 22 November 2013 14:26 Cursitor Doom wrote in uk.d-i-y:
It's only a paint on watery liquid or a spray. It's optiona, but helps keep the dirt from ingraining (to a limited degree).
This is true - my kitchen floor is of quarry tiles (9" of course, so spares are rare) and some of the grout (cement-based, judging by the hardness) is
That's how Victorian floor tiles were laid, butted up and dry sand/cement mix brushed over them to fill any slight gaps. I'm not convinced about trying that with modern glazed tiles.
NT
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