How to get perfect grouting every time

If you’re attempting to install your tiles yourself, good for you. It’s actually not as hard as it sounds. Even if you’re going to use a proffessional installer you’ll find these tipes useful. Before you start installing take a minute to think about grouting. First of all consider what colour best suits your tiles. Lighter coloured grouting obviously looks better with lighter coloured tiles, or you may want to go for the defined look and opt for gray grout. You also have to think about the size of the grout joint as it can have a big impact on the overall finished look.

Using the right size grout line is important for technical reasons. If you are using a natural stone tile (such as travertine, marble or slate) and you use large grout lines, the tile can sometimes end up looking fake. We actually recommend that your set natural stone tiles with a 1/16″ grout line.  If you’re installing porcelain, or have tiles that are similar then try using smaller grout lines - they’ll look so much better.

Most people leave the size of the grout line up to the fitter, but we feel you should definitely speak to them beforehand, just so you’re not disappointed with the outcome. The general rules are that larger grout lines are used for tiles with less than perfect edges such as natural stone tiles, and smaller ones used for porcelain and uniform tiles. But each installer has their own unique style as well so make sure you discuss your needs with them beforehand.

General guidelines for grouting:

• Natural stone tile (such as Travertine, marble, slate) - 1/16″ or 1/8″
• Tile with a irregular shaped edge 16″ or 1/8″
• Common tile (Porcelain) - 3/16″, 1/4″ (safest bet) up to 3/8″ or 1/2″

Two different types of grout

There are two different types of grout -sanded and unsanded. Sanded grout is used in joints that are 1/8″ or larger and unsanded grout (natural stone tiles) is used in joints that are 1/8″ or larger.

Weber Stoneset Flexible SP Tile Grout £14.00 inc VAT

Stoneset flexible SP grout is a wide-joint, cement-based, polymer-modified tile grout for interior and exterior use in situations where some ovement or vibration is expected. It grouts natural stones and ceramic, porcelain, quarry and terracotta tiles.

Weber Stoneset Fine Wall & Floor Tile Grout £ 8.50 inc VAT

Stoneset fine wall and floor grout is a water-repellent, polymer-modified grout for natural stone, ceramic, porcelain and mosaic tiles where some movement or vibration is expected. Suitable for both interior and exterior use, at joint widths up to 10 mm.

 A great example of how white grout can add contrast to dark slate tiles.

An example of how thin grouting lines give a smooth appearnace to these porcelain tiles.

 An example of very thin lines of grout with marble tiles - you can hardly see the lines at all, giving an overall classy effect.

These grouting ideas were bought to your by Floorell, for more information visit www.floorell.co.uk