Our tile guy said to not use anything but water to clean the tiled areas until the grout was sealed, because chemicals in various cleaners can permanently discolor the grout. Is there any truth to this? I'd swear I answered this, but I guess not! It sucks getting old! Your installer is right in that many CAN hurt the grout color. He's also right in that water should be all you NEED to clean it. But if you DO need something more than water, mix up some Oxyclean. It'll do just as good a job as chlorine bleach without hurting the grout the way bleach will. Does tumbled marble tile need to be sealed? We have tumbled marble 3x6 subways for a border and accent tiles in the master shower and tub deck, and 1x2 mesh on the shower floor. Our kitchen backsplash is also tumbled marble. If we should seal that, what is a good brand and what method is best to apply it? Although I don't believe in sealing grout, I DO believe in sealing stone. Two good recommendations would be Miracle 511 Impregnator, and Stone Tech Impregnator Pro. Both would be applied in the same manor-- take an old terrycloth towel, and rip it in half. Use one as the applicator, and the other, to wipe off the excess. Take the applicator, and wipe a liberal amount of sealer on, let it set for about 5 minutes or so, and then take the dry half and buff off the excess. Done. I just had my new bathroom tiled and my contractor (NYC area) did not recommend it. His bathroom and kitchen are not sealed. I think (but am not positive) that he also said that sealing was another way to make money and that once sealing is done it has to be done again in the future. With respect to sealing the grout, I agree with him 100%, including the part about it being a racket.

Yes, it will. But be prepared for a stiff installation price, because the installer's going to have to either make absolutely certain the floor is dead flat after burying the wires, or he's going to have to spend alot of time with the tile keeping it flat afterward. This would not be a job for just any installer. Rectified porcelain gets set like stone, and between that and the square edges, it's extremely unforgiving. Walking in bare feet, you can feel as little as 1/64" in height difference from one tile to the next. Problem is you can see it, too. This is something you want to make sure you have someone who really knows what he's doing. Here's a couple of pics of a rectified porcelain front entry:

From the Tiling FAQs (linked below): Most glazed tiles, as well as porcelains, will not allow the sealer to absorb into the surface, and as a result, it dries on the surface as a white haze, which is a BEAR to remove. The only tiles which should be sealed are most natural stone tiles, quarry tile, or terra cotta. Our floors are a glazed porcelain tile with a no-seal grout. Neither should be sealed yet our contractor tried to charge us for 2 coats of tile sealing and one of grout. For 358 ft2 (about half of your area).... $895 for grout sealing (1 application) $1,253 for tile sealing (2 applications) First, our tile guy (not the one charging us, it was the contractor) told us there was no need to seal the grout Second, I had already learned (from our own Bill!) that you do not seal glazed ceramic tile. When I objected to it they tried to tell me that the cost of the no-seal grout was so much more than regular grout that in the end it would cost the same. Well, I looked it up and retail it was nowhere near $2148! (I knew it wouldn't be, I wanted proof.) I had just about had it w/our contractor at that point so I was NOT backing down...they eventually admitted that the original estimate was in case I got a tile & grout that had to be sealed. When I asked why, when they found out what I had chosen didn't need sealing, they didn't credit it back...they had no answer. Even our KD, who usually backed them (at least initially), was not pleased to hear this. BTW...100% of it was credited back to us. So, take a lesson from my experience and force the issue! If your tile does not need sealing, and I don't think it does, do NOT let them bully you into paying for it! Here is a link that might be useful: Tile FAQs

Just a quick comment. We kept the same ceramic tiles that had been down for 40 years. We liked them and they are no longer available. We only had 24 - 12" octagons left from the original purchase. Daniel, our miracle tile guy, added the tiles for the 2 ft. of additional floor space we needed and he made it with one left over. There was some slight color mismatch between the tiles that had been down and the tiles that had been in a box, but he matched the old grout perfectly. I agree that the GC should do it now for all of the above stated reasons, but, just in case, the grout can probably be matched pretty well. Also, keep any extra tiles for later, just in case. The tiles toward the front of the picture toward the carpet are new.