Floor Tile With Small Grout Lines

Minimum grout lines the quick answer is nothing closer than 1 16.

Floor tile with small grout lines.

The color of grout is also an important factor to complement the visual appeal of the tiles. For small format tiles that do not have lugs i will usually use 1 16 spacers. Depending upon the texture and consistency of the tiles i may use 1 8 spacers on occasion. Though it can be used in smaller grout lines just as well it s a lot easier to apply it to larger lines.

If you want to know why please keep reading. A tight 1 8 grout space will allow the pattern to flow nicely from one tile to the next. For small batches you can mix the grout with a wooden paint stir stick. Mix unsanded tile grout with water in a bucket following the grout manufacturer s mixing instructions.

In some cases sanded grout might not react positively with these materials as the sandy texture can scratch the tiles. For small format tiles up to 8 inches by 8 inches the spaces between tiles will normally be either 1 32 or 1 16 inch. There is less irregularity with rectified tiles so less spacing is needed between each piece. All other cuts of tile from tumbled to chiseled to punched contain slight variations in shape and size.

When re modeling floors bathroom or a kitchen almost everybody wants to have the minimum grout lines between their tiles. For instance 8 inch slate tiles will usually look better with a slightly larger grout line. However with sanded grout you also need to pay attention to the type of tile material you re using. If you prefer larger grout lines but have lugged tiles don t panic.

Whether the tile is traditional ceramic porcelain or a quarry tile or natural stone it is critical that the seams between the tiles be adequately filled with a material that prevents moisture from seeping down to the underlayment to maintain this water proof quality all grout will need to be. First the smallest grout lines less than 1 8 inch are ideal for rectified tiles. If you re using small format tiles such as those 8 by 8 inches and smaller the tiles may come with built in lugs that make spacers unnecessary if you want a standard look tile installers recommend grout lines of 1 16 inch for walls and 1 8 inch for floors. All forms of ceramic tile use some type of grout to fill and seal the seams between the tiles.

Small tiles such as the 4 inch by 4 inch style commonly used on bathroom and kitchen walls often are self spacing. Rectified tiles are perfectly uniform with precisely defined edges requiring the least amount of grout. A rectified edge allows for smaller grout lines because the tile has been more precisely cut unlike our other handmade tiles. They have small protrusions called lugs that fit against adjoining tiles and create an automatic space for grout normally 1 32 to 1 16 inch wide.