1) By the book, you want the joints to be a minimum of 2/3 empty before you grout. The reason is that if the joints are fuller in some areas than in others, the grout will dry unevenly, showing light and dark areas. 2) Put a small piece of blue tape on the underside of the stone. Once you're finished grouting, pull the tape. 3)Yup. :-) It's been my experience that unless you have a super porous surface, such as terra cotta tile, or some limestones, where you can pour a small puddle of water on the tile, and literally watch it disappear into the stone, that the Impregnator will be more than sufficient.

Your kitchen sounds beautiful! Love soapstone. My marble was sealed after installation, but prior to grout. Grout color is tricky - at least for me. Do a sample board and select grout in different colors. I am unable to look at the little grout samples and say "that's the one." Best of luck

chitowngrl the best "tile" forum inside gardenweb is the bathroom forum. Post there. Since stone is a natural material, its reaction to this grout cannot be predicted over the internet. Starting with the smallest box of grout, try it out. Years ago I posted on a tile forum about Freezering most of the mixed grout and using it gradually. I was a pioneer in this. I have found it only works when it works. There are many factors in this equation. Too many to add here now. It IS possible to split the contents of a box and mix only half a box. This puts you at risk of getting more than half the hardener in one of the two batches, and less than half in the other batch. Measure carefully. If the less-hard batch gets put into the freezer, it will last long. Vice versa, if the more-hard batch goes into the freezer, it will not work well at all. It will harden in the freezer. -- Epoxy grout is good for DIY because they have the time to read instructions and do things right. Professionals experienced in Portland cement type grouts have a hard time with it because it requires them to unlearn some deep habits and to pay attention to "new" aspects of grouting.... so you are best continuing as a DIY. -- Without seeing it, I'll venture a guess my strategy for that wall would be to begin grouting the wall with a Portland cement type grout in the same color. I would not fill the grout lines fully. Then I would go back over it all with the epoxy product you mentioned above. This is because epoxy grout is good on vertical surfaces when it only has to fill shallow gaps. Epoxy grout is a little bit like molasses. Even when it starts hardening up, it can still slump. My thinking is that epoxy grout can slump, in many of the spaces where you want it not to slump. This does not result in the flat grout surface you want; it can look very unprofessional. Slump means like cake batter or peanut butter sliding down and getting thicker protruding at a point where it's blocked, and obviously also being thinner in other places, which leaves the stone protruding. I cannot say what to do specifically. I'm not an expert at the highest level. I have used epoxy grout a lot, in many renovation projects. I have used epoxy grout to cover over other grout too. You can confirm that this is possible. Call or email the manufacturer. Somewhere you will read that this grout is good (guaranteed) when it fills shallow spaces like e.g. 1/8th inch. Pre-grouting with old fashioned grout is a fine step to do, it's not overkill, it's something a DIY can do. Mixing thinset or Portland cement type grout to partially fill the grout lines may sound like a chore, but it isn't when you encourage yourself by reminding your self it's the only way to get the result you want. -- If you want to consider alternatives, read up on "Grout Boost" for Portland cement type grout. It is great for kitchen backsplashes. Grout is one of the most detailed subjects imaginable. Ignore the comment emknc made.

In our stone refinishing business over the last several years we have been honing and rehoning many marbles(especially calacatta's,carrara's,dandy,statuary and more in and around the ny metro area.We do this work onsite at businesses or residences on polished marble whose owners found that dealing with polished marble in an acidic enviroment was to much to deal with. We also rehone honed countertops that have become abraded and or etched thru use. Or were just delivered with a finish that was a bit too shiny or at times not quite uniform enough. Anyway what we found is that if we get the level of hone just right although the countertops will etch from acidic substances it is much less obvious to the eye and can be easier to maintain. It also means customer will have longer intervals between professional services from companies like us. While polished stones or marble will etch and stand out like a sore thumb a polished surface is less resistant to the intrusion of staining agents. In the stone world always remember that a true stain will be darker than the stone and an etch mark will always be lighter. No exceptions to that rule. So anyway some polished stones will not need much sealer or take much because their surfaces when polished had a chemical reaction(beilby layer)with the polishing compounds used that caused the surface to gloss over and fill in the pores. However honed surfaces may make etching less obvious they can be more easily stained if not sealed properly. There are many sealers out there on the market that are very good. Water based sealers can be better for more porous stones due to there larger molecule composition. They also can be easier to work with and have less of an odor.Solvent based sealers can be more penetrating and work well on denser stones. Some have strong odors some dont. I like to work with sealers that dont smell and there are many goods brands out there. If you intend on doing this yourself send us an email and we will be happy to give you sugestions and walk you thru the process. If your fabricator is reputable and will take the time to properly seal the countertop then I would go with him as he should have a good knowledge of what the stone needs. The porousity should be tested so you know how porous your stone is. Based on that your fabricator should use a high quality sealer. No matter how good a impregnator(sealer) is,it is just as good as the operator who applies it. Your marble will need a minimum of two applications of sealer possibly more. The most effective way of applying a sealer is to load up the surface ,give the sealer time to absorb and then completly remove any resisue left on the surface. Most companies will apply another application immediatly after the first. We have found that if we do a application in the morning and one later on in the day we get a better result. Our chemist tells us that it is even better if you wait for the first application to cure(24 hours) and then apply a second one you will get even better results. While it is hard for a company to make extra service calls like that our chemist has always maintained that a better sealing job could in fact be done by the homeowner as they would in some cases have the time required to do a better job. If you do chose your fabricator make sure they tell you what sealer they are using so in the future you can use the same when needed again. Once the sealing has been done retest the surface using the water test and see how long it takes before the stone absorbs the water or not. If the water doesnt get absorbed after 30 minutes that is a great job. Remember a couple of important facts-sealers only temporarily inhibit or prevent the intrusion of staining agents into the pores of the stone. Sealers for stone are impregnators and live below the surface of the stone. Impregnating sealers can not prevent etching.(chemical reaction occuring from the calcites in acid sensitive stones neutralizing an acidic substance and leaving behind a dull spot) Stu Rosen www.mbstonecare.com www.stoneshine.com