I changed the entrance of my shower tub. The panel board was moldy; water was getting in between the top tiles and the panel board. the joint was not well sealed. I put new everything for the entrance, even a membrane between the plywood and the tiles. However, it seems to leak from the wall now. Water is coming out of the wall outside the shower tub. Would it be the grout, tiles...? Tiles and grout are probably 20+ yrs old ( turquoise tiles). I tried to put some ready grout ( in a tube), but it still leaks! Calking is well done. Should I remove the old grout and put new one everywhere? Thanks for your help!

We have travertine on the floor in two bathrooms, had travertine in the entryway from the garage, and only took that up when we tile the entire downstairs with a different travertine (re-tiled it for continuities sake, not because of wear). Yes, it can scratch or chip (our entryway tile had some minor scratches, but we've tracked stuff in from the garage, have slid boxes across the floor, had workers coming in and out through the garage while reno'ing various parts of the house, etc.). But, scratches and chips on travertine can often be repaired, whereas ceramic/porcelain tile cannot be. I have buffed out etch marks (using a green scrubby) on the honed travertine in the guest bathroom (former cleaning lady set the bottle of TB cleaner on the floor and it left a nice oval shaped etch right in front of the shower). I've used a tan/brown permanent marker to "color-in" scratches in our travertine as well (color, wipe off any excess with some paper towel or buff with some fine steel wool), and they disappear. Like allison0704 said, use a good sealer, and choose a decent quality stone, and you should be fine.

Thank you so much to everyone for the advice. That's what I was afraid of...too many elements. It's an older home and I want to keep the "charm" of an older space. I was planning to use honed black granite for the counter tops. It's going to primarily function as a kid's bathroom. I am using the antique brick in a few other areas of the house. I recognize the riskiness here, but was hoping it would come across with a charm that is original to the home. The antique brick blends better with the other elements in the home than the carrara does. I'm still not sure how to bring it all together. I know that the white porcelain is timeless. Will the carrara/black and white bath be outdated, considering it's been such a popular choice the last couple of years? What about the subway tiles? [Traditional Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2107) by New York Architects & Designers Jane Kim Design [Eclectic Bathroom[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-bathroom-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_712~s_2104) by New York Architects & Designers Jane Kim Design This post was edited by TXBluebonnet11 on Fri, Jun 21, 13 at 4:04

I don't mind the block random at all, but I think it too will be more challenging than "square tiles in square rooms." However, the edges might be forgiving enough to just be covered with baseboard, if your baseboard is thick enough. Each type of tile probably has its inherent installation challenge, and I think in that case it would be to keep the lines straight through the room because you could go off kilter a bit without noticing it as you work. Then it would be really random :-) I haven't tiled for a long time, but my recollection is that it's all about layout and measuring (well OK other than the glueing, leveling, and grouting!), and you could maybe see how the sizes of various pattern repeats compare with the size of your room. You're certainly wise to think through the installation process when you pick your tile. Challenging yourself a bit is often a good thing, but a really wrong choice could be a real nightmare, which most old houses already have in abundance! Oh, and mixing painted and stained trim? I think variety is the spice of life, so it sure wouldn't bother me. Especially if you're consistent within a room, which I'm not even always - with respect to style or colour (if I have original trim for an opening I use it, but if I don't, I use new or other salvage and it doesn't match). I think if the trim works for the room it's in, it doesn't matter if it matches the rest of the house. The only tricky question I run into is how to do the jamb when you make a colour transition. Sometimes the answer is easy, sometimes not. KarinL