Does the "dry and burlap" method *necessarily* demand muriatic acid? And do you actually mean "dry" or just very stiff? Is there anyplace I can read about this in detail? Let me put it this way-- I've never seen a time when burlap and dry grout (and I do mean handfuls of dry powder) DIDN'T require acid cleaning afterward. I read something called a field report from CTEF that talked about using cheese cloth. I didn't understand it, but it makes sense that cheese cloth would remove less grout from the joint than a sponge. It said something about lightly dragging the cheese cloth across the joint. Is this related? No, this isn't related. You can also do a search on johnbridge.com in John's forum on using microfiber cloths in the same manner. It's a new twist on still another old method of grouting, which entailed using a sponge to loosen up the grout on the face of the tile and shape the joints, and then instead of using a sponge for the final cleaning, a well wrung out terrycloth towel would be dragged diagonally across the tile to clean it. Now instead, cheesecloth or microfiber cloths are used. Some are even swearing by these "shamwow" cloths. Short of that, do you think it is an absolutely mad idea to take a little bit of sand paper to knock down the severe edge of the mosaic? It isn't actually sharp, but if that edge is always going to be felt, I'm not sure that my bare feet are enthusiastic about the prospect. (I'm not suggesting anything dire, just hitting the edges a bit. And I have a lot of extra tile to practice on.) Is this insane? I personally think you're talking about alot of work for nothing, but then again, it's not my feet. If you're going to do this, you're going to want to go through several grits of sandpaper on a sanding block, and wedging the corner of the sanding block into the joint to knock down that edge, and then bring the finish back with the finer grits, going from about an 80 grit to about a 600 grit, or even higher. You'll see when you try it out on your sample.

Well the niche is done and while it is no thing of beauty, I think I can live with it. In hindsight I should have tried harder to get marble shelves or gone with glass. He really seemed to have trouble tiling the 2x4's that made up the shelves. What is bothering me is that twice I asked them not to grout the corners (they didn't understand the term change of plane) -any corners. I pointed to where I meant and said the niche as well - no grout. Well, the GC told them I only meant inside corners so they did the outside corners and for some reason all the inside corners in the window as well as all around the outside of the niche and window where the bullnose meets the outside tile. So do I go up there now and try to dig it out or leave it and hope it doesn't crack? Ugh, again. Tilers can't come back until Friday.

Thank you so much for the info and advice. My tile is 18x18 in kitchen and living area. We will either use unsanded bone from Home Depot, or classic ivory from floor and decor. Your opinion is welcome on either of these products. Have been upset with the installer. He was suppose to use ceramaflex over hydrorite. Instead, he used a quick set in the kitchen over hydrorite and upon protest, he used ceramaflex and hydrorite in the rest of the area. Though highly recommended, he has tried to rush the job. Now the problem is using light grout over the gray adhesives. I would have fired him but have no time to find another installer. This condo is in the Galveston area so there are few choices. I was happy to know that the grout color is pretty close to the powder color when it's dry. Have you used Classic Ivory from Floor and Decor. Made by Great Northern. Thanks again.

Regarding my questions about sealing, I contacted Linda Kennedy, National Sales Manager at linda.encore@mac.com. I didn't ask Linda about grout. I didn't have the knowledge to have a discussion with my tiler about sanded vs nonsanded grout & the size of the grout lines. GW provides a great education. I lucked out as my grout lines look great & I don't have any visible lippage. I'm sure you know this but be sure your tiler caulks, rather than grouts, where your tile meets your countertop. Also, not a bad idea to play around with your tiles & lay them out as you want them installed in case your tiler doesn't have an artistic eye regarding the color variation.