If you can't raise the drain any higher, you're only talking a 1/16". You can leave the joint around the drain a little wider, and just slope the grout down. As for the difference between using a square notch and v notch, it depends on the size. The usual culprit is a 1/4x 1/4 square notch and it will leave alot more thinset on the floor than the v-notch that I specified. What then happens is the thinset will purge up thru the grout joints, and you end up with a mess, and actually pregrouting the tile with the thinset. Not a good thing.

I'm jumping in late and have read through most of the responses. I understand where you are coming from as I went through something similiar a couple years ago when I wanted to have carpet replaced in 4 bedrooms and tile put down in all the other rooms except our baths. I thought I would get a better price overall if I used the same flooring place who could order the tile and carpet and have them do all the work. I got what I thought was a reasonable price from a place that came highly recommended but the man I was dealing with would not break down the labor costs for the tile and the carpet. His rationale was that it depended on who he actually got to do the two jobs since it would not be the same crew laying the tile and doing the carpet. No matter how I asked, he just wanted to give me a total price and wouldn't tell me the labor costs. I ended up feeling like I was actually paying more for the tile and carpet than he actually quoted me when he said I was getting it at a discounted price because of the size of the job. So I started back at square one and got another quote that was broken down by a company that would do both the tile and carpet. It was lower - more for the tile and less for the carpet. Then I found a guy that would lay the tile and he helped me get an even better price for the tile and a great price for laying it. I then went to the second bidder and got the carpet at his price and his company installed it with a better warranty than the first company. The total amount I spent was about $1,700.00 less than the original guys quote. One thing I found out was that the guy that did my tile only added 3% waste. The other two added 5%. My guy did such a great job of laying it out that we ended up with 11 boxes (4 pieces each) left over. (This job was over 1,400 sq. ft of tile in 5 rooms that all feed into each other with walls between and he matched it so that we have no pieces less than 12" wide around the walls, we used 20x20 tile). We ended up ordering more of the tile this summer and had the same guy tile our back porch leading to our pool area, of course we used our left over and it did match well. I hope you find someone who can give you the breakdown you need. You should be able to know what the materials cost and the labor costs.

Hi, as a retired tiler of 25 years experience I can tell you of three grout discolour problems. Firstly however I observe that there are a number of different types of tile grout out there, and each has to be mixed, applied and cleaned up in its own way. If your tiler is an experienced tradesman he or she will know how to mix and apply the product selected. For instance, conventional portland cement based grouts can me mixed either thick or thin - from tooth paste like consistency to pourable like cream, and can be cleaned up without over concern about how much water you use or whether the clean up water is kept fresh or not. These grouts are probably the most fool proof, but will allow efflorescence to develop over time on say shower walls and floors. Grouts based on an aluminum version of cement must not be mixed too thin, rather like tooth paste, and MUST NOT be cleaned up with lots of water - the dryer the better on the sponge. Two problems I have encountered with these grouts is that if mixed too thin so as to allow troweling on rather than applying with blades and spatulas the resultant grout will be chalky and weak. I also had one job where the grout (a light grey) was patchy on drying. Consultation with the importer threw up a number of suggestions such as contaminated mix water (but why did every batch show strong variation within each batch, rather than a consistent discolouration for each batch) and inadequate mixing (definitely not as I had used the same procedure with a very great number of jobs over many years without this colour variation). Tried using store bought water - same outcome. Dud batch possibility, but the grout colour is a very popular one and the importer had had no other complaints, or so he said. Then took notice of a very stubborn waxy coating on the tiles. This was a Chinese practise to prevent the tiles being damaged in transport and handling. Tile suppliers variously reported problems getting this wax off on completion of the job, but that is another issue. The possibility was that the wax was interfering with the grout, in some way. Provided samples of the "contaminated" grout to three firms who all swore they could find out what the contaminant was, but all subsequently ran for cover and provided no analysis. In the end I cut all the old grout out (130 sq meters of it) and replaced it all with epoxy grout. Problem gone - happy customer - wiser tiler. This brings me to the third type of grout I am familiar with and that is the epoxy grouts. They are two part, need precision in mixing, and must be applied with steel blades rather like say putty. Clean up is with ample water - the more the better. Most tilers hate epoxies because they are considerably more work to apply. They have the virtues however that the colour as applied is the colour you wind up with, and they are waterproof and so will not cooperate with efflorescence and will not harbour moulds or stains. Great for bathrooms and kitchens. Ideal? Not quite. The white version of everyone's epoxy slightly yellows with age, and not uniformly. All other colours seem to be "colour fast". As to your problem I suggest you try one of the paint on epoxy grout colourants. These can work really well but you need a test area to see if it does OK over the old grout. An easy job for a home owner to do - just follow the instructions. The epoxy colourant will also help with efflorescence because it helps close up the porosity in conventional grouts. Failing this the only fix it to remove all the old grout and replace with epoxy grout. That definitely is not a home owner's job. Sorry. Hope it all works out.

We are 2 active and messy cooks in the kitchen with 1 furry Jack Russell Terrier who sheds white hairs everywhere. We have unstained maple floors, finished in place with 3 coats of Swedish. I vacuum every few days with the flat soft brush attachment on my canister vac. I don't use the beater bar attachment, just the plain floor sweeper head that gets attached to the wand. It doesn't scratch, and I'm careful to check it each time before I use it to make sure no grit or dirt is stuck on it. That gets up most of the crumbs, hairs, and dust/dirt. It's the loose dirt that gets tracked in that you want to get rid of, as it can scratch the finish over time. About once a month I'll use the Bona wood floor product with the microfiber mop that comes with it. That gets up any accumulated grease that might settle down over time. We put large washable cotton area rugs (some decent ones are at IKEA) in front of the stove and the prep sink/island. I make sure to vacuum and wash them periodically, and lift them to vacuum underneath as that's where a lot of dirt will build up. The most important rug is the one in front of the rangetop, as cooking grease that vaporizes and splatters onto the floor around the stove can be the most destructive to the finish over 20 years of use. All spills are wiped up immediately, even droplets of water from wet dishes and hands. And all chairs and even the dining table legs have thick industrial strength felt pads under them (the super sturdy tan colored ones from HD). The pads are changed at least once a year, as they can build up grit which then scratches your floors as you move the chairs. And most importantly, all shoes are left at the front door. No high heels and dirt are allowed to track on the wood floors in the kitchen or great room. It's been 3 years since the renovation and they still look brand new. Wood floors can be a wonderful investment, but you have to take care of them. Wall to wall carpet can take a lot of abuse and hide a multitude of sins, but your wood floors will show how good a housekeeper you are, LOL.