My wife and I are selecting tile for our master and main bathroom floors and are going to a respected tile store locally. We both like the white hexagonal mosaic tile we see in mags, catalogs, showrooms etc.
Advice from the tile merchant was to stay away from white because it’ll look old quickly with the logic being that the lighter grout will get dirty and ‘age’ the floor. I said what about darker grout and response was it will dominate the’ look’ with so many grout lines.
Both bathrooms are on the smaller side so we don’t want to go with bigger tiles (12″x12″ for ex.) and use is limited since we have a bathroom down stairs.
Does anyone have any experience with these mosaic tiles? Be honest cuz tile is forever, almost.
Replies
Well, if you look at old bathrooms the grout long ago turned dark, so white tiles with dark grout lines is the look they all have anyway. So, there's nothing wrong or unhistorical about dark grout lines if you like the look.
You don't have to go black, of course, you can pick almost any muted color and as light or dark as you want. There are even some bright colors, and I've seen glow-in-the-dark grout recently, too.
If you pick an epoxy grout it is supposedly much less likely to darken because it's completely non-porous.
Go with whatever you like. It's pretty easy to buy a few pieces of the tile you're interested in, glue them to plywood, and then try out various grout colors in them, to get a feel for what it will look like.
Who's doing the installation? If it's a pro, go with an epoxy grout and what ever color you want. It is much harder to apply and is less forgiving. Therefore best if pro-applied.
Any color grout which contrasts the tile color WILL dominate the pattern and this will be more pronounced the wider the grout line is. However, when installing hexagonal mosaics, the grid unit is so small, preset and not square. Therefore it do not read as a grid, but rather a multidirectional pattern as compared with a true grid created by a 4x4 square tile.
" we don't want to go with bigger tiles (12"x12" for ex.) " FWIW - For small bathrooms many of my clients (HO, archs and designers) are opting for larger format tiles. It makes for a simpler look. Look into 18x18 or 24x24 tiles!
F.
Edited 2/23/2004 6:27:31 PM ET by Frankie
Edited 2/23/2004 6:31:58 PM ET by Frankie
Thanks for the input. I like the idea of laying a few on plywood. I will be doing the install myself and while I have laid tile, I am not going to get into epoxy grout, ruling that out.
Seems that the hexagonal mosaic floor has been somewhat enduring and not just nostalgic.
I like your choice of mosaics. Jeff Buck's large tile looks good, and he did a great job fussing over the installation; it's a quality job. I wonder if, since large tile is "in" now, if it will look dated in 20 years, whereas the mosaics have already reached "classic" status.
personally ...
I love the look of the smaller white hex's with a nice medium grey grout.
Might wanna go light grey and let nature take it's course.
The more "neutral" colors I install ... the more I like them too.
Never really appealed to me before ... but something just feels "right" about a nice big beige .... feels/looks more solid ... almost like a rock as opposed to tile.
All depends what look you're going for.
If it's a small bath ... a bigger tile ... 12x12 ... will open it up more.
And .. laying that 12x12 on the diagonal will make the room look the biggest.
I'm a big fan of a running bond ... especially with a tile that has more of a stone look to it ... something with a nice texture.
Decided I wanted a plain tile ... but an upgraded patter for my own little bath ...
laid 12x12's on the diagonal for the field or rug tiles ... and made a square border to skirt it.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Look at that time stamp! Now I'm not sure if your comments were a moment of clarity or delirious rambling!
Until I saw you picture, I would never had thought the big tile in a smaller space would look good. In fact the beige looks good however, everything in our house (walls, floor, fixtures) is/was a shade of beige (pink-beige, brown-beige, beige-beige). So much so, right or wrong, we now have an aversion to beige anything!
I thing we're going to go with the small hex with grey grout. It is a classic look and will compliment the wainscot.
I understand the No-beige thing ...
we spent many a year in rental apartments across the country ... guess what .. they're all the same shade of beige!
I got tipped to the bigger makes for smaller from a designer years ago ...
after doing so many smaller baths ... they're right! The diagonal helpps too ...
mine's kinda cut down ... no border woulda make it seem a bit bigger ...
but I figure I do all sotra fancy tile for others ... have something a little bit "more" in this old house. Almost went for the copper colored slate ... but seing as how we're looking at selling in a year or maybe even sooner ... can't get too wild. So beige it was.
Things got worse after 1am ... was up till about 3am sorting thru receipts ...
basic addition skills kinda went south ... had to pick up the slack this morning.
Jeff Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Just throwing in my 2 cents here, I agree with the white hex and grey grout idea. We just finished a bathroom renovation using 1" white hex and two colors of 1" square mosaic tiles for the borders, grouted with Dolorean Grey grout. Have a look in the Photo Gallery at "holy smokes folks - pass the seegars!" for some pix of our completed bath. A couple of caveats: the unglazed white hex does look grubby pretty fast, but some Soft Scrub cleans it right up. Also, be careful of scratches when you're cutting the tile. Protect the face with some clear tape at least. My tile guy put some deep scratches (cuts, really) in a couple and nothing so far has gotten the grey grout out, even multiple applications of grout haze remover. Maybe later I can grind 'em down with the Dremel. Good luck with your project, eventually we'll be doing more white hex in the upstairs bath.
Were did you get the chalk line with the wheels? and looks a lot like a dog.
that's the new laser level I was talking about ...
barks if you're outta square.
Plus ... entertains the crew at lunch .....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
OK ,so with end does the light emit from? Lift a leg to get a 45* angle?
bah dum bum!
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
What size of a grout line do you use with 12X12 marble, if any?
marble ...
if the edge bevel is a decent size ... none ... when subbing for one particular GC ...
I prefer 1/16 .... I feel it gives the grout a bit more of a bite.
The poster above is rights ...
larger format tiles may go in and out of fashion .... the smaller hax tiles are certainly always gonna be ideal for that certain look. As would a larger tile with a "stone" or "paver" look to it.
Then again .. tile's been around for about a million years ... so it never really goes outta style.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
... so it never really goes outta style
'cept that pepto pink and pastel green...
which oddly enough seems to be making a come back as "retro"
I do historical renovations and most of the time those DalTile 1 inch mosiacs are the choice. They are great tiles. Pick a white grout, actually not white, but one click this side of white, I think Custom's Bone color is what I would use. Make up a sample board with the mosiacs and the grout. That is the only way of determining if you will like it.
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
We will use the 1" hex mosaics but go with the darker grout figuring the aging process will get the lighter grout dirty anyway and this way it will be uniformly dark.
When we bought this house, we liked the bones but knew that it would need a complete facelift. I am a back to the basics kind of guy and love the work. If I put the time in and buy quality, timeless materials especially for foundation pieces (meaning floor, trim, ceiling) then I will always have the basics to build on. The idea of creating a classic look in our Cape is worth all that effort.
Like my old man always said, 'Don't make excuses, make good'.
I wouldn't do the darker grout, but it is your house. At least run a sample board so you can see it. Porceline, by the way, will not darken, not one bit, and the grout is likely to be darker when it cures than on the package or when wet. It is also likely to get darker with dirt when it ages. So I would start with something lighter and will darken to the color you like, OK?
My mosiac tip of the day is to make sure that the setting bed (backer board or mud bed) is dead flat, and I mean dead flat. Mosiacs will translate every bump or crease, so the backerboard must be very very flat. Take a 4-6 foot straight edge and make sure that the setting bed is truly flat.
Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934
Thats what a tile salesman told you...Bwahahahha. A-hole!
Age old story about grout lines getting dirty.
Do what suits you and care for the work you do.
Be well
a
My life is my practice!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
He really put us in box, damned if we do, damned if we don't. Mosaics don't look good with darker grout, lighter grout will get dirty.
Bru, Don't let the epoxy grout scare ya. It really isn't that much harder to do than regular. More different than harder.
Practice on your sample board first. You have to work smaller areas with it anyways because of the set time.
J.
he's right about leveling the floor deck out...be careful handling the "mat" of tiles assuming it's coming as a sheet with mosaics attached...especially when setting into mortar bed..."lower" it into position accurate as possible to avoid adjustment, don't pull or drag through mud...rough handling stretches the nylon mat, you'll have to fight, possibly trim distorted nylon backing to adjust grout lines...use WHITE thinset as some will ooze up into grout recess, clean right away so doesn't set and mess w grouting...use latex bearing thinset for resiliency...use quality thinset & grout like mapei or tec, don't mix it soupy, if starts getting hard to work mix up fresh batch...use white or color tinted grout that you like the best, other than gray which tends to look "instant-dirty" in kitchens & baths, if gray tone is wanted look at silver tinted grout like tec's silverado...don't worry about color change, SEAL THE FLOOR w high quality sealer, good stuff retails about $100. a gallon but comes in quarts, cheap stuff peels up like dry celophane after few years...big tiles look good in small baths, installed lots of them...someone suggested install on 45 degree, nice look, breaks up monotony, take lots of time laying out and cutting though...better off with lighter grouts, dark ones can look dirty or too contrasty...one owner had me do grout in colonial blue w white tile...cost her a lot of money when she had me rip up two bath floors...I told her so...no one ever listens anymore...
>> Big tiles look good in small baths ...
Ever think of pushing that to the limit, installing a granite slab floor? I really like the idea of no grout lines.