Grout for Ostrich Gray Slate/Quartzite Tile

13 years ago

I am in the process of installing (DIY) honed ostrich gray / silver gray slate / quartzite tiles (16x16) in my laundry room / mud room, powder room, and pantry. I would really appreciate grout recommendations. Overall, the tiles are smooth with primarily silver, charcoal, and black coloring. There is a great deal of variation and strong patterns of veining and splotching in the tile. I have sourced from a local stone tile wholesaler so I do not have an exact "brand", but the stone looks just like Arizona Tile's Ostrich Grey Honed Quartzite.

I am considering either a charcoal or black grout that would match the dark tones in the tile, or a silver or gray grout that would match the lighter tones in the tile. What would be the effect of matching the dark vs light tones on the overall look of the tile?

Are there any brands that would be long lasting and retain color? I do intend to seal the grout (and of course the tile), but I would like to make certain I select a high quality product.

I read in another post that grout tends to dry lighter than grout sample sticks. Is this true? For all brands? Should I always select a sample darker than I really want? I have only ever worked with white grout and do not want to make a mistake.

Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions.

Featured Answer

pussuskattus

13 years ago

Pricklypearcactus -
I finally got a picture and figured out how to post it (my first - of many, I am sure). It is the ostrich grey quartzite in 16-by-16 from Arizona tile, and the grout is Dove Grey from polyblend. The Dove grey really has a lot of blue in it. (I wanted a blue tone, but I am going to make the final paint coat more grey than it is - my contractor's paint is so cheap it got really, really blue compared to what it was supposed to be!)

Here is a link that might be useful:

Comments (6)

pussuskattus
13 years ago
Hello, pricklypearcactus -
I just got done installing the same product (Arizona tile's product, specifically), and I used "Dove Grey" grout from Polyblend. Home Depot carries it, but as a special order item.

The Dove Grey is a blue grey, which, to my eye, matches the blue undertones of the tile. (Natural grey from Polyblend is a green-grey.) And the dark grout minimizes the tile pattern.

The sealer I am going to use is the Miracle 511 sealer and impregnator - it's one of the recommended ones on this and JohnBridge's (tile setting) forum.

However, one thing I am struggling with right now is whether I want to use an enhancer/sealer. Same company makes that as the Miracle 511, but the enhancer makes the tiles darker (and the grout). I have noticed that, when the tiles are darker, they are less "busy" - the lighter and darker parts of the stone are closer together in color, so the pattern of the tile is more subdued.

So I tried some samples in both the sealer and sealer/enhancer - will make the decision tomorrow morning!

Good luck!
pricklypearcactus
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you so much, pussuskattus for your insights! I brought home grout sample sticks from Mapei and Laticrete from my tile store and was really struggling with what tone of gray or black to choose. It looks like the Polyblend Dove Grey would go very well with the deeper gray/charcoal tones of the tiles (but still be lighter than the really deep charcoal/black tones).

I took in one of my tiles to the tile store yesterday and tried out the 511 sealer/enhancer and another sealer/enhancer that the store carried (though it's not as high of quality as the 511). I'm going to pick up some 511 sealer (without enhancer) to test as well. I absolutely agree that the enhancer darkens and almost seems to subdue the pattern, which was exactly the opposite of my expectations.

If possible, I would love to hear what you end up choosing in terms of sealer vs sealer/enhancer. And of course I would love to see pictures when you are finished with the floor. Thanks very much for your help.
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I put in multicolor slate in 2006. Since this picture I've put on a coat of MiraMatte which actually gave it a slight sheen which I prefer. Before that it was very well sealed with the Home Depot equivalent of 511 Porous Plus. After installation I went over any rough spots or rough edges with a paint scraper to smooth them out and then rubbed more sealer on those spots. It's only flaked once in one spot and then it was done. It will scratch - mine does when I drag the wooden table open to install leaves - but I just run a sponge over them and they disappear. It shreds sponge mops, I use a Hoover floormate wet/dry vac. I never liked mops anyway because I knew there was still dried dirty water left behind. It does not stain, and nothing soaks into it. If you want a floor you can beat up and that doesn't show dirt (to the point where it will get the bottom of my feet dirty before it shows dirt) then it's a good choice. As far as matching, I used a green/grey granite which doesn't really match any of the colors in the floor but I think that natural stones, like woods, tend to match each other easily. I used a silver slate in the backsplash with purple glass inserts, and the glass picks up on the purplish tones on the floor.
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Thanks so much for your input, hollysprings and nosoccermom. I understand what you're saying, and when we decided to stay in the same footprint I immediately thought we'd keep the floor. Then I started googling images of off white cabinets with slate floors to get an idea of how it would look. That's when I realized that while I prefer the multicolored slate with stained cabinets, I was drawn more to the solid color floor with painted cabinets. So, it was both the color and pattern of the current floor that I was questioning in our remodel, since now would be the time to make a change, if any. I thought using a slate in just one of the colors from the ledge rock in the fireplace might work better with the off white cabinets and still complement what we have. I'm glad to find out that my floor doesn't "need" replacing though, just based on aesthetics. It has been a great floor - hides the dirt almost too well and easy to care for. Here are some pics I found of white cabinets with multicolored slate floors - all very nice, just a somewhat different look than the solid slate. I'm not sure I found any pics of painted cabinets with the diamond pattern slate floor. Maybe I'll be posting my own soon :-) This post was edited by juddgirl2 on Sun, Jul 6, 14 at 16:24
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qs777
13 years ago
Pricklypearcactus:

We used the gold/green slate/quartzite in our kitchen. Our lot seemed to have much more gray/silver than gold or green and we ended up using Pewter from Polyblend and seemed to be a good match for us. HTH
pricklypearcactus
Original Author
13 years ago
Wow, pussuskattus! Your bathroom is looking fantastic. Thank you for sharing the picture. The Dove Gray grout looks perfect. What sealer did you end up using (with or without enhancer)?
pussuskattus
13 years ago
The picture you see is without enhancer (I sealed it so the construction guys would not damage the stone when they spill stuff on it).

I've decided to wait until the whole bathroom is done (the tub and shower are going to be tiled in sumi-e 1-by-1 mosaic in zushi color) and then decide whether to enhance the stone. I am certainly leaning that way, but I have too many other decisions to make right now that cannot wait! (We are building a new house, and are about three weeks away from being done).

The countertop was installed today - white quartzite with grey veins/swirls/streaks, whatever you want to call it.

Thanks for the compliment!

Grout for Ostrich Gray Slate/Quartzite Tile

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Grout for Ostrich Gray Slate/Quartzite Tile

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