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Problems with grey grout and carrara?

12 years ago

I'd lke to use light grey grout with carrara mosaic on the floor and shower floor and with the white subway tiles on the walls. My contractor wants me to use white, because the grey color could bleed into the marble, and when wet will look much darker than the dry areas. I really dont want to use white, for several reasons. Has anyone had problems with using light grey grout in this instance? It would be Durabond Platinum, FWIW. thanks.

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Comments (6)

bill_vincent
12 years ago
Grey color, especially LIGHT grey color, will NOT bleed into stone. Your contractor is very mistaken.
Billl
12 years ago
We just finished our kitchen floor with carrara 12x12 and light grey grout and I think it looks good. We picked a grey that that was the medium grey in the carrara and it just visually goes right into the background and all you see is stone.

The grout color certainly didn't bleed into the stone. However, we have a honed finish and it was much, much harder to get the grout wiped off cleanly than it would have been with ceramic. If your contractor is seeing grey around the edges, I suspect he just hasn't been taking the time to really clean the tiles well.

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen floor with light grey grout
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It's not that the color will bleed. It's that the oils from the epoxy can get into the edges of the stone, giving it a bit of a "halo", or "picture frame" appearance. If you look down the list of topics, you'll see another thread about someone asking about grout color with carrara, and I posted pics of a carrara job I did using silver shadow grout, but in Permacolor, instead of epoxy. There really shouldn't be a need for epoxy with marble.
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What did you decide to go with? I am doing the exact same thing in our master shower -- 18X18 carrara tiles that I am hoping will have a slab-look. I am laying them out tomorrow to match up the veining - would love to know what grout you selected!
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I recently installed and grouted a carrara basketweave tile (with small black marble squares) floor in our new bathroom. Since we were really concerned about getting the color we liked, I put some extra tile on a sheet of plywood and tested three colors: Delorean Gray, Standard White and Silverado. If it's possible, I'd suggest a similar test so that you are confident that you're getting a color you love. Here's what I saw: - the Standard white had a yellow undertone that didn't go at all with the grey veining in my marble - the Delorean Gray was too dark for us - the Silverado was the closest match - the tones were fairly close to those in my marble (though with a slightly brown undertone) Can you test Silverado before committing? We wanted to see the grout lines to emphasize the pattern, but didn't want anything too dark. We finally mixed Delorean Gray and Silverado 50:50. It was quite a feat to mix so much powdered grout thoroughly, and I wouldn't really recommend it, but we're very pleased with the results. Hope this helps!
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Christina, I know this is over a year later but I came across your post and am wondering which grout you went with. I too keep seeing “warm gray” but it seemed Taupey to me so I considered Frost. After counter install I realized the white subway tile I picked was too brite white. My counters are a milky white marble look quartz with subtle light gray marbling. So in a panic ive been out looking for a less bright white subway tile...who knew that white came in so many shades. Most of which turn yellow cream next to my counters. Anyway a designer at a tile shop suggested Cobblestone grout which is darker than I intended - I wanted a very subtle look- but she said cobblestone was the perfect compliment to the soft gray in my counter (I had a counter sample with me) so I am looking for pics or info on that color. Not having much luck. So...which color did you go with?
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bill_vincent
12 years ago
Or he's seeing the moisture that seeps into the stone from the grout, until it dries.
kittenkat_2002
12 years ago
Bill V - Since you're following this thread, I have to ask. I have gray grout with carrara pebbles in my shower and I'm starting to have mildrew. I know I need to re-seal it, but what can I use to get the mildew up? I clean the shower weekly, but I guess I didn't do a good enough good with the grout. Thank you!
terezosa / terriks
12 years ago
You should definitely use white thinset to set the tile because gray thinset could alter the color, but I don't see that light gray grout would be a problem.
bill_vincent
12 years ago
Problem is, if it keeps coming back, it may be in the mud bed underneath it, and then the only way to get rid of it is to redo the mud pan. Give it one last shot with an antibacterial agent, something like Lysol cleaner. (something I just found out last winter at a project where bigtime mold was found in the walls--) Bleach, contrary to popular belief, does NOT kill mold or mildew. Antibacterial soap is your best bet. If, after using the soap, it comes back yet again, you may have to look into replacing the pan.

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