Black grout. People told us it would look bad. Many people advised against it. Entire discussions on Houzz suggested light grout with dark wood look tile. We decided to go with our gut and use black anyhow and I LOVE the results!
These are all iPhone photos, so they are not the best quality, but you can get the idea.
When we originally saw the color choices for grouts, we knew we probably wanted black, but we also asked to see a sample grouted with brown, just in case we might prefer that.
These were the two colors we saw. When we saw the sample, we knew we wanted black. Once the grouting started, the installer immediately noticed a problem with the black. The color was not consistent as it was being spread. It was suggested that we use an epoxy rather than sanded grout. This was a more expensive option, but the color turned out beautifully dark and consistent.
Epoxy
Tile here is American Hertitage by Marazzi in the color Spice.
**UPDATE: Based on the popularity of this post, I am adding some updated additional information on a new post called Black is the new black…the sequel. Hope this helps any of you out there deciding on wood look tile.**
Tile here is American Hertitage by Marazzi in the color Spice.
**UPDATE: Based on the popularity of this post, I am adding some updated additional information on a new post called Black is the new black…the sequel. Hope this helps any of you out there deciding on wood look tile.**
Which Wood Look tile did you choose? Brand, Store? Color?
ReplyDeleteIt is called American Heritage by Marazzi in the color "spice". In the previous post, there is a little bit of information on how we had it layer.
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DeleteThis is the EXACT look we want in our basement. I personally think it looks more like real hardwood which is why you buy it isn't it ; ) Anyway, where did you purchase the epoxy black grout? What was the brand name? Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteOne more question...we were thinking about using 1/16 joints. What size did you use?
ReplyDeleteThank you @David Seneczyn. We love our tile and are so glad we used it. It looks creepily similar to real hardwood. Most people don't even realize that it is tile until we tell them.
DeleteWe did use a 1/16 in joint and we placed it at random, even though it was not advised by the manufacturer. The grout is SpectraLock by Laticrete in Midnight Black (1222).
I wish you all the best on your project!
Oh, one more important detail…Epoxy grout can leave a very bad "grout haze." Whether you are doing this project yourself or hiring someone, you should know that it takes a very specific method after install to clean this off. Not all installers are familiar with this. We found ourselves with a significant amount of grout haze at the end of our project. Save yourself a lot of pain and read about it before you begin. That said, I would still choose epoxy.
DeleteI was curious if you still like your black grout. We're getting ready to lay wood plank tile flooring and both my hubby and I like the look of the black grout best. But our flooring company keeps advising us not to use black. Are you still happy with it? How has it held up since you've been living with it for a while??
ReplyDeleteWe are still glad that we chose black. You can ask them to lay a couple of pieces of tile on plywood and show you a few samples (if you are willing to pay for a few small containers of grout) and they should be willing to accommodate to help in your color decision. The only problem that we have with the black is that we have long plank tiles that are 6x36. Because they are so long, we have some areas where the bowing of the tile shows a bit more and you can see the unfinished edge of the tile. If you look above, in the second photo down, you can see an area on the left that sticks up slightly. A lighter grout may have hidden that, but we are still glad we chose black. Best of luck!
DeleteSent from my iPhone
I am about to go with a walnut color grout on this exact same tile, but now may go with black based on your review.
ReplyDeleteWe used a black sharpie to cover up some little nicks on the marazzi american estates spice. Seems to work well enough for now.
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you do and how it goes! If you do choose black grout, keep that Sharpie handy! We use Sharpies all the time to touch up areas of the grout too. Spill something difficult to clean? Sharpie that grout. Kids get crayon in the grout? Grab a Sharpie. Accidentally dump a bunch of flour on the floor and it sticks in the grout? You're going to be glad you have that Sharpie! Ha ha! Luckily, Sharpies are way cheaper that grout cleaning services. :-)
DeleteThank you so much for this blog! Because of your blog, we confirmed we wanted the black grout. Same tile in the same color we already selected. Well, installer suggested we use acrylic grout instead of epoxy or polyurethane so we did. I noticed that there is a tiny sliver on the edge of each tile (more noticeably on the short edge) where the grout isn't flush with the very top of the tile, and when the light shines on it, it looks like very thin white lines. Did this happen to you? I can't tell from your pictures, but we are having them do a grout stain/refresher over the original black grout to hopefully stick more in the pores of those slivers. Wanted to know if you had the same issue, or if we had it because they didn't use the epoxy grout. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi, I am sorry that you are having problems with your tile. I know what you are talking about. We have a few spots like this, but it sounds like you may have more. It may be that you had problems with your subfloor or maybe not enough mud was used. One thing you can try (and be VERY careful with this), is taking a black sharpie and carefully coloring that thin side that is showing to see if that helps. Keep a paper towel in your hand because if your hand slips, you have a couple of seconds to wipe off the top of the tile before it dries, but hurry! It sounds like a tedious process, but try a section and see if it helps. Again, I am sorry you are having problems. Keep in mind that all floors have their own drawbacks. One of my friends recently put in very expensive hardwood floors. A week after they were installed, her son pulled out his trundle bed and left huge scrapes all across the brand new floors. Your tile may have imperfections, but hopefully they turn out to be something you can live with, knowing that that they are durable and functional. Best of luck!
DeleteThanks for all the details! Were thinking about putting this tile in our house but I worry about seeing footprints on them the way we do now with our laminate. Have you noticed anything like that? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the details! Were thinking about putting this tile in our house but I worry about seeing footprints on them the way we do now with our laminate. Have you noticed anything like that? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHi Kristen. I have never noticed anything like that on our tile. Good luck!!!
DeleteNice tiles you have there. They look lovely and perfect for the floor just like in Pavé Tiles .
ReplyDeletethanks so much for all your advice! We are going to do it exactly as you did it. American Heritage, spice color, black epoxy grout. 1/16" grout line. We're going to find an installer who has specific experience in epoxy grout. I'll warn my wife that we'll need to use a black sharpie from time to time.
ReplyDeleteAny last minute tips before we pull the trigger?
Hi Todd! How exciting for you! We have had the tile for three and a half years now and we are still loving it. I can't really think of any advice to add other that if you currently have tile that will be jackhammered up, be prepared for a horrible mess. Be sure to plastic and tape off all your cabinets and the rooms that won't be jackhammered. Wishing you a smooth project!
DeleteWell, we have finally installed it. Unfortunately, our contractor did not do it well. There is an epoxy haze, and the grout lines are light greyish instead of black. Any suggestions? What did you do when you had the epoxy haze?
DeleteHi Todd. I am so sorry to hear that you had some problems with your project. If I were you, I would speak to your subcontractor about what may have gone wrong. Our sub agreed that he had rushed the install of the grout and he purchased a chemical epoxy haze remover (they are available online and through Home Depot). It took a lot of elbow grease and the cost of the remover was not cheap. We had a general contractor who split the cost of the remover with the sub. If you used a small business rather than a large tile company, perhaps you could negotiate a split of the cost of the remover. You could also try Mr Clean Magic Erasers. We used those on a few areas and it seemed to help.
DeleteAs for the color of the grout, I am not sure why it would appear lighter and gray. Ours definitely looked black. I do have a possible solution, but you may not like it. We had an area where paint spilled on our grout during our renovation and it was stained white. I got boxes of black Sharpies and very carefully colored the grout lines. I ended up doing the entire room because I wanted it all to match. It was time consuming, but it worked for me. If you choose to do it, make sure you have the marker in one hand and paper towels in the other. If you get it on the tile, you have a few seconds to quickly rub it off. I also suggest testing it in a hidden area such as behind a toilet.
Again, I am sorry you are having problems. I hope you can get things to a place where you feel happy with your choice.
thanks for your thoughts! The strong epoxy haze remover (which was recommended to us by Laticrete themselves) by itself hasn't worked. However, we've discovered that if we use that remover along with a some sand, and scrub it really hard manually with a wire brush, the haze appears to come off. So if our contractor agrees with that approach, I think we'll do that for all the floors.
DeleteI love the idea of doing the grout lines manually with black sharpies. Our contractor has a product called, "Grout renew" that looks like it will do the trick for the most part. However, it appears like it will need a bit of touch up, so the sharpies might be exactly what we need!
Best,
TK
Oh an important FYI for anyone considering Laticrete grout: The Laticrete representative I spoke with strongly recommended that for the 2nd wash, you use super-duper, scrupulously / ridiculously clean water, constantly refreshing it. And most importantly, use *towels* to dry it up after the 2nd wash, *not* sponges (which is what their directions actually say).
ReplyDeleteLuck,
TK