How to choose a grout for tiles in the bathroom and other rooms

Deciding which grout to choose for the tile in the bathroom is often as difficult as picking the tile itself. Today the market offers such a wide variety of grout mixtures (fugues) that only a specialist can determine the suitable material. There are basic aspects that you need to pay attention to when choosing a fugue. Having dealt with the characteristics of the mixtures, you can choose a high-quality grout for the tiles used.

What is grout for tile joints and why is it needed

Grout is designed to fill the gaps between the tiles used for wall and floor cladding in the room.

The main functions of grout mixtures are:

• providing an attractive appearance of the cladding;
• preventing moisture and dirt from entering the joints;
• masking styling defects;
• extension of the life of the tile;
• protection against mold and mildew.

To choose the right fugue for the tile, you need to pay attention to the following factors:

• type of grout;
• Colour;
• appointment.

Equally important is the choice of the manufacturer. Grout should be purchased only from trusted manufacturers with an impeccable reputation.

How to determine the type of grout

The following types of grout are distinguished:

• cement;
• epoxy;
• polyurethane;
• silicate.

Cement grout

The most common grout for tile gaps is cement. It consists of white or gray cement with the addition of pigment, as well as plasticizers or minerals (sand). It is produced in dry form, before application it is diluted with water to the consistency of sour cream. This simple grout mixture has good strength.

For joints up to 0.5 cm, mineral-free fugues are used. With a width of more than 0.5 cm, it is necessary to choose mixtures with sand, otherwise the applied material will crack.

Areas of use. Cement grout is suitable for finishing tiles in rooms where humidity is not high: an apron in the kitchen, floor in the corridors, walls in the toilet.When used in the bathroom or near the sink in the kitchen, it is better to use a latex supplement. If you mix the puffer not with water, but with a special latex additive, then the elasticity and moisture resistance of the grout increases significantly. A mixture with latex can be used for showers and even for pools.

Epoxy grout

Unlike cement based fugues, epoxy grout consists of two components that must be mixed before use.

The package contains:

• epoxy resin (sand filler, plasticizer and pigment);
• hardener.

This grout is used for processing joints with a sufficiently large width - up to 15 mm, it holds well and does not crack. It is believed that epoxy grouts are not environmentally friendly enough. But this is not true, because the mixture can emit harmful substances only during the preparation process. After solidification, no volatile components are released.

If it is difficult to determine which grout for the tiles in the bathroom is better, you can safely choose epoxy mixtures. This material will serve for a long time and reliably, but requires skills and experience in applying it.

Areas of use. Epoxy grout is used in rooms where humidity is high: in the bathroom, corridor, on the terrace, in the kitchen for an apron. The mixture is perfect for swimming pools, car washes, laboratories, garages, as it is able to actively resist the action of chemicals.

Polyurethane Grout

Polyurethane grout is a water-dispersion solution of polyurethane resins. The material has excellent water repellent characteristics. The elasticity of the grout allows you to use it for sealing joints and cracks on moving substrates. The thickness of the gap can be from 0.1 to 0.6 cm.

If in doubt about the choice of grout color, you can experiment with several shades of polyurethane mixture. Until completely dry, it is easily removed.

Areas of use. Polyurethane-based grouts are used both for internal work (tiled seams in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on the heated floor), and for closing gaps outside (external cladding, tiled seams on stairs and terraces).

Silicate grout

Another type of grout - silicate - can be made:

• from liquid glass;
• from mineral-inorganic compounds.

Liquid glass grouts can be colored, used for any tile, and transparent, designed for mosaics.

Mineral-inorganic silicate mixtures are used to seal joints at industrial facilities and places where exposure to chemistry, high humidity and low temperature is possible. Suitable for sealing joints between ceramic tiles, artificial stone, porcelain stoneware, mosaics.

The mixture is applied with a special rubber spatula, the remains are easily removed from the tile. The popularity of silicate grout is not as high as that of other types of fugue, but it is indispensable for working with transparent mosaic.

Areas of use. Grout is used for outdoor and indoor use. High resistance to weather conditions and aggressive environments allows the mixture to be used for industrial facilities.

Silicone grout

In fact, silicone grout is a sealant for sealing joints at the corners and at the joints of the wall with the floor or bath. It is suitable for sealing bath skirtings, shower trays. Typically, this material is used for gaps with a width of not more than 0.3 cm. It is better to purchase a sanitary sealant, which has an antiseptic in its composition.

It should be remembered that silicone sealant is not a complete replacement for grouts based on cement and epoxy. The composition can not handle large areas. This is just an auxiliary material for sealing individual sections and joints.

Watch the video about the types of grouts and their application:

How to choose a grout for a tile by color

Next, find out which grout for the tile is better depending on the color of the tile. The color palette of grout mixes is very wide, ranging from classic white to the most incredible shades. You can find a puffer that exactly repeats the color of the tiles, or play in contrast. There are options for grouting, the colors to which the consumer selects. The general aesthetics of the interior depends on the correct choice.

Cement grout color options.

White grout

White grout is universal. It goes with tiles of any color and emphasizes its contours. If you doubt the choice of grout color for a long time, take white.

White grout on a light tile.

White grout on a white tile creates a coherent whole.

White grout on the combined tile.

Tile grout

If the room is small and you want to visually expand it, they select a grout that exactly repeats the color of the tile, or a little lighter or darker. In this case, before starting work, the shade of the tile is compared with the already dried grout, because it becomes slightly lighter after drying. This technique allows you to hide existing stacking defects and create a single surface.

The grout is applied in tone gray, green and black tiles.

In this case, grout was used in tone of light and green tiles.

Used brown grout turning into white.

Tile grout, but with a little contrast.

Game in contrast

The use of contrast grout makes it possible to highlight tiled elements. This technique is best used for non-standard tiles or with a pronounced color. It is better to try contrasting shades in advance, so that the room does not turn into a constant irritant. For example, on a brown tile seams of white, yellow or black colors will look good.

Black grout on a white tile.

Dark grout on beige tiles.

White grout is used to seal joints of mosaics and tiles, with each tile highlighted by a white seam.

Contrast grout made in tone tiles, but darker by several tones.

Shining effect

To diversify the visual perception of the tile will help grout with glitters. These are special spangles that are added to the epoxy mixture used for any room.

The following types of sparkles are distinguished by color:

• silvery;
• golden;
• bronze.

At the same time, the color of the grout can be any, but it is the sparkles that give it a shade. Glitter grout looks good on a plain mosaic. In order for the seams to shine, light must fall on them. Therefore, appropriate lighting must be taken care of in advance.

Glossy color options with sparkles.

Most often, glitter grout is used for jointing mosaics.

Glow effect

A new interesting grout option is a mixture with a luminescence effect. In the light, the seams look like ordinary ones, but in the dark they begin to shine with a bluish tint. It is not necessary that the room is completely dark, you can simply install the lamps so that the light does not get on the lining.

Luminous grout for tiles.

The choice of the color of the grout, depending on the location of the tile

For tiles laid on the floor and tiles laid on the walls, you must select the appropriate grout color. If you use white or light cement-based grout for tiles laid on the floor, then over time the tile joints will become dirty and gray. There are several ways to get out of this situation.

1. If you do not want to spend money on expensive epoxy grout, then choose a gray cement grout. Such a grout does not change the appearance throughout the entire life cycle.

Gray cement grout for floor tiles.

2. If it is important for you to use a puffer of a certain color and this color is not gray, then use grout with dirt and water repellent properties. As a rule, epoxy grouts are chosen for such purposes.

Compatibility of primary colors of tiles and grout

Features of the choice of grout depending on the purpose

The life of the grout largely depends on the correct choice of the mixture. As a rule, manufacturers indicate on the packaging under what conditions the material can be used.

For houses or apartments where the air is sufficiently dry, cement mixtures are usually used. But for rooms with high humidity, such as a bath or a bath, you need to use epoxy grouts. Despite their high cost, with appropriate care, they serve from 30 to 50 years.

For external cladding, it is necessary to purchase a frost-resistant grout that does not crack under the influence of low temperatures. Elastic materials are suitable for joints where deformation is possible.

All grouts sold on the building materials market must comply with the European standard DIN EN 13888, which defines the division of mixtures into the following classes:

• CG1 (cement based) - the material so marked is used for dry rooms without significant temperature fluctuations;
• CG2 (cement based) - the material withstands more severe conditions. Additional letter A indicates abrasion resistance, and letter W indicates increased resistance to moisture;
• RG (resin based) - the most resistant to high humidity and temperature fluctuations of the mixture.

The main properties of the grout are reflected in the inscriptions on the package, where it is indicated for working under what conditions the mixture is intended.

Top tile grout manufacturers

To make repairs and forget about it for a long time, you need to spare no money and buy materials from manufacturers with an impeccable reputation. The best world brands make grouts, precisely following the recipe and using high-quality ingredients.

Experts recommend purchasing products from the best manufacturers:

See Mapei Grout Prices:

We hope you now know how to choose a grout for a tile and you can choose high-quality and durable material in accordance with the purpose of the room and its design.