What Happens If Ceramic Grout Lines Are Too Close

Use unsanded grout for lines smaller than a inch wide since it will shrink as it dries.

What happens if ceramic grout lines are too close. If you re working on vertical surfaces you ll find that it s a lot easier to use unsanded grout for wall installations given that it is a lot stickier than other materials. When re modeling floors bathroom or a kitchen almost everybody wants to have the minimum grout lines between their tiles. Be sure not to use a lot of water because this could wash the grout back out of the joints before it dries. I tried to keep as much of the grout up on the tile so excuse the uneven ness of the grout lines.

I think this might be a bigger problem. Grouting is not difficult to do well but it is even easier to do poorly. It keeps moisture out of the substrate helps keep tile lines straight and. The close ups show that i should run a box cutter between the tiles to clean the thin set in some areas.

Because a medium size grout line is easier to work with and in most cases can hide some slight imperfections it is often the choice of both experts and the average diy homeowner. I did this with the white tiles too. One key to success is to remember that grout has a limited working time and can dry before you know it if you grout an area that s too large the grout will set up and become difficult to work with or remove. Allow the grout to dry completely for 24 hours.

I am also assuming that when you say zero joint you been the tiles are butted up to each other and there is no space for grout. Answer answer the joint between two adjacent tiles is referred to as the grout joint which is what i think you are referring to. Industry standards do not recommend butting tiles together whether they are a stone tile or a ceramic tile. I also can t imagine how maddening it would be to set such small tiles with basically no grout line.

How to lay tile without grout lines. The tileman asked if i wanted a thick grout line or butted. Medium sized grout line widths 1 8 to 1 4 inch require the use of sanded grout and are typically featured when moderate size variation occurs among the tiles or when tiles with lugs are used. Since this is what all customer request from the installer most installers and contractors find pride in very close grout lines and they consider it a sign of a high quality job.

Well my 17 x17 porcelain bathroom floor tiles are butted so close not even 1 16 spacers will fit for any grout. As far as i ever knew grout lines in a shower should not be overly close together because if they are too narrow they could crack leak more easily. Some even want to install their tiles with no grout at all. Grout is a necessary and integral part of many tile jobs for several reasons.

Grouting is the final step of installing ceramic wall tile after the tile adhesive has fully cured. Note the white tiles in the pics i have gone ahead and grouted the best i could today.