How to Choose Grout For Your Next Mosaic Project

Many of you ( maybe) tried to do mosaic or similar with ready-made mosaic tiles or picked up some plates on a flea market. Unfortunately, you also need a little bit more. I try to cover most of the mental process you have to make when dealing with grout.

Cement vs. Epoxy

Cement-based grout is the cheapest and commonly used, and most widely available kind of grout. Epoxy grouts are pricier, harder to find and more difficult to install. But they are more durable, and offer greater resistance to stains, water damage and damage by chemicals found in household cleaners.

Sanded vs. Unsanded

Sand in grout makes it less durable to cracking or shrinking, so it’s more “workhorse” if you ask me. Sanded grout must be used if the spaces between the tiles are greater than 1/8.
But sanded grout can damage tiles you installed (by damaging I mean scratches all over the place) so consider before you put something like that.

Dark or light grout

Grout color means much when designing your interior. With dark grout, you can get a heavy darkroom or create an interesting pattern. Also, it worth considering where the grout will be used. In bathrooms, walls, in particular, you can safely place light grout because it won’t get dirty as fast as on the floor in the living room.

It can go three ways:

1. Matching: By matching the grout and tile color, the grout lines become less pronounced. The tile itself because it is more accentuated.
2. Contrasting: When contrasting, you draw attention to the pattern rather than tiles overall. I will personally choose plain colored tiles if you want to go that way. Different shapes (not square) will create an interesting experience.
3. Neutral: Gray one or similar are the safest options for all of that. That means you don’t need to consider a lot of possibilities and place “as is” with small adjustments.

There is no big process involving when mixing grout – simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions. However, there are some hacks that can come in handy. Pour about 3/4 of the recommended amount of water in the bucket and then add the grout. In that way, you won’t need any additional moves scratching the remains from the bottom of the bucket. When you mixed all up, add the remaining water to create the consistency you need.

Press the grout into the spaces between tiles by first moving the float across the spaces at a diagonal to make sure the grout line is filled. Then do a second swipe over the top to clean off the excess. After you waited for 30 minutes or so, remove the excesses with water. Wait three hours and repeat

Then do a second swipe over the top to clean off the excess. After you waited for 30 minutes or so, remove the residues with water. Wait three hours and repeat the action. Change the water if necessary to keep tiles clean.

After the second time remains of the grout will still be on tiles. Don’t water it, it’s best to use a dry towel or any other old clothes to do that.