We used unsanded for the field tile and sanded for the border/mosaic in both bathrooms, and it worked out fine. Tile guys didn't have a problem with that.

What you might do is look into Laticrete's Permacolor grout. Although it IS sanded, they use a much finer sand in it, so it can be used in all size grout joints.

We had very divergent grout line widths in the backsplash that we tiled in our powder room this autumn. We used Laticrete SpectraLock (epoxy) grout:

Spectralock's another good choice, but more expense than really necessary.

awesome! Thank you guys for the suggestions...i'm going to try and locate some of that Permacolor...sounds like a good grout...

bill_vincent wrote: "Spectralock's another good choice, but more expense than really necessary."

Bill we acknowledge and honor your experience and expertise. In contrast, we have tiled only one large shower and one sink backsplash, both for ourselves, and certainly do not consider ourselves tile experts. But I have seen you make similar responses when epoxy grout has come up in the past, and I find the response very curious.

In the total cost of any project where tiling is involved, the cost of the grout materials is usually a very small fraction. Moreover, the DIFFERENTIAL between the cost of cementious grout and epoxy grout to cover a given area is but a fraction of the total materials cost of the grout, so the "epoxy premium" is a small fraction of a small fraction. In our (9 foot by 33 inch small) powder room renovation, the total cost of the Laticrete SpectraLock epoxy grout for the entire backsplash tiling job was $21, while the cost of the tiles themselves exceeded the cost of the grout by a substantial multiple. For the room project in which the materials alone (new sink, faucet, and toilet, plus tile and wallpaper, with new lighting fixtures not certain but under consideration) are running $2,000 to $3,000, the cost of the grout was a drop in the bucket.

Because cementious grout is sold only in large bags, the minimum quantity of high quality cementious grout would probably have cost us more than the small Laticrete SpectraLock epoxy grout kit which provided us about 30 to 40 percent more grout than we actually needed. We probably SAVED materials cost by using epoxy grout, in other words.

Admittedly, the biggest reason that the epoxy grouting was a DIY project for us was that not one professional tile installer in the Portland, Oregon, area would agree to apply epoxy grout; they all wanted to slapdash cementious grout in there in the shortest time period possible, take their money, and run.

By using epoxy grout in the wet environment of a sink, we got grout that we do not need to seal, will never need to re-seal, and which is a very inhospitable host to mold and mildew and just short of impervious to those problems. In the eight years since we retiled our shower using epoxy grout, we have never had a mold problem; the same shower had serious mold issues when the grout lines had been cementious grout. Shouldn't maintenance costs be taken into account when comparing costs between cementious and epoxy grout?

Lets see-- a small fraction of a small fraction.....

A 25 pound bag of Permacolor will run you about 25.00, and will cover about 150 square feet of 12x12 tile with a 3/16" grout joint. A large unit of Spectralock (or any other epoxy, for that matter) will cover about 60-70 feet, and will cost approximately 80.00. That also doesn't include the premium the installer will charge you for using epoxy, if you're not doing it yourself.

Also, your premise that standard grouts are only sold in large bags is wrong. If you go into any Lowes or Home Depot, you'll see that they're also sold in 10 pound containers, very readily available.

As for the sealing, I'm sure you've also seen me go around on this before, as well, but to reiterate, I don't believe in sealing grout. I think it's the biggest scam my industry offers. I don't believe it does a thing for you but delay the inevitable. I come from a family of tile contractors, from my grandfather to my father and uncle, to my sister, and believe me when I tell you it's a big Italian family, and not one of us has ever sealed our grouts.

i put epoxy grout in two huge bathrooms with floor drains. I can wash down my bathrooms whenever I want, and not even think about the possible seeping of moisture in the grout lines. Other people have called me over to help them out when they want high quality, epoxy grout. Later, when they find that they could have done it all just by reading instructions, they are relieved to know they could have done it all by themselves anyway.

maybe we can all agree that some homeowners find the extra $50 or $100 money is not a big deal, and that they also appreciate the fact that epoxy won't turn darker with dirt (whether there ever was a sealer or not), that the epoxy's original color can be brought back by steam cleaning (using a $30 steamer) or with bleach, and that epoxy grout doesn't leak or absorb water so if an animal pees, or if someone does, it won't get into the grout.

You can do touchups with epoxy if you want your grout lines just perfect. Other grouts require you to open the grout line (scratching some out, can be a lot of work, and risk to the tiles) and then you have to hope the colors match.

The fine-grained sanded grout and the unsanded grout are definitely good options too.

They are all good.

hth