Porcelain tile checkered flag pattern grout color

[Jeff Ivers]

I am getting ready to install black and white porcelain tile in a checkered flag pattern. The instructions with the white tiles say one must use white grout. I had thought, since this is a shop accessible area, that I would be better off with a gray grout to avoid dirty grout problems down the road. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[rlitman]

Tough call. I used gray grout in my bathroom remodel with a slate colored tile, and it looked great there, but in the one seam between two pieces of white quartz shelf, my wife hates the gray and wants me to get white grout for that tiny line. Between the tile and the white threshold, the gray looks fine (also between that shelf and the vanity counter and the walls). It's just between the white and the white that it's not great.

So, I'd think that if your seams don't go between two white tiles, then maybe you can get away with gray grout?

 

[duneslider]

This is a porcelain tile and they say they require white grout? I haven't seen that before, what tile is it?

I have done hand made tiles that wanted white grout due to potential staining issues with colored grouts. I have done some cement tiles that required sealing before grouting/install, because they can change color due to grout and stuff. I would be concerned with using a porcelain tile that said it required white grout, seems odd or like something is up? I wonder if it was a bad copy paste job from old instructions?

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Tough call. I used gray grout in my bathroom remodel with a slate colored tile, and it looked great there, but in the one seam between two pieces of white quartz shelf, my wife hates the gray and wants me to get white grout for that tiny line. Between the tile and the white threshold, the gray looks fine (also between that shelf and the vanity counter and the walls). It's just between the white and the white that it's not great.

So, I'd think that if your seams don't go between two white tiles, then maybe you can get away with gray grout?

This is a porcelain tile and they say they require white grout? I haven't seen that before, what tile is it?

I have done hand made tiles that wanted white grout due to potential staining issues with colored grouts. I have done some cement tiles that required sealing before grouting/install, because they can change color due to grout and stuff. I would be concerned with using a porcelain tile that said it required white grout, seems odd or like something is up? I wonder if it was a bad copy paste job from old instructions?

I appreciate your comments. From an aesthetic perspective, I think gray grout would be preferable and less likely to get stained over time.

The tiles are Dahl Tile matte finish. One color is made in Indonesia and the other in Viet Nam. The caution about using white grout has me concerned that the white tiles might be susceptible to staining by darker grout. Of course that makes me wonder why the black tiles would not be susceptible to staining by white grout. I always thought the advantage of porcelain, in addition to strength, was the durability of the finish. I have porcelain tile in 5 areas of my house and have never experienced any problems with breakage or staining. Of course, none of these are matte finish.

 

[The Cobbler]

The caution about using white grout has me concerned that the white tiles might be susceptible to staining by darker grout

if they stain from grout , they're not worth installing, in my opinion.

 

[rlitman]

if they stain from grout , they're not worth installing, in my opinion.

Certainly not on a floor. Maybe in a decorative wall niche at most, but I still totally agree with this sentiment.

 

[dcg9381]

I am getting ready to install black and w I would be better off with a gray grout to avoid dirty grout problems down the road. Anyone have any experience with this?

White epoxy grout. Problem solved. Seriously, never going to install any other type of grout again...

 

[duneslider]

If the porcelain tiles will stain due to grout coloring they don't belong on the floor (especially a garage), doesn't matter what kind of grout you want to use. Matte tiles, depending on the surface, can be terrible to grout with epoxy as well. Epoxy doesn't solve all problems.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Went our today and reread the "cautions" on the boxes of tile. Both the white and black have cautions about possible staining of the tile and cautions about use in only low traffic areas because of the potential of scratching. So, I just called the dealer and they use this tile for checkered flag pattern floor installations all the time and they usually use dark grout. Apparently this is a case of over-exuberant attorneys trying to protect their companies from liability by trying to shift all responsibility to the consumer. Grr!

 

[no704]

Have a black and white tile floor in a bathroom with black grout. No problem.

 

[Old tool guy]

I would use either black or white … grey adds another color to the floor. However white grout will make the white tiles look bigger, and black grout will make the black tiles look bigger.

 

[MongoTA]

Consider a grout bag, it minimizes smearing.

 

[drmarkr]

White is never going to stay white. If it were mine I would do gray and call it good.

 

[Overboost44]

I have black and white tiles porcelain tiles in my kitchen. White field, black perimeter. I used oyster gray grout. The grout will eventually get darker from traffic. Cleans up easily. They have been in there for far too long according to my wife and she wants them gone. Hey, it looked cool when I was a bachelor and put them in in 1999. As pointed out above, if you use white, those will look larger and vice versa. You need to use a different color than either.