Hi, I posted something similar in the general real estate thread a few days back before realizing I should have posted it here.

Does anyone have an opinion on regular vs “zero” grout lines?  I am about to have travertine floors installed, (14” I believe), diagonal, in the bathrooms and kitchen of my home.  I was asked if I wanted regular or zero grout lines, but I have absolutely no idea which one to pick.  No one I have spoken to in person has a preference or can tell me upside/downside to either.  Does anyone in here have SOME information or an opinion?

They are both the same price, and the grout would be color matched.  My assumption would be that the regular grout lines might keep things more even looking (edge thickness differences) while the zero grout line (while still technically not zero, just VERY thin) would make the floor look more like a solid piece of stone? 

ANY response much appreciated.  I have like 2-3 more days to decide and I’m at a loss.

With straight cut travertine, the preference I’ve seen (and we used ourselves) was “zero” grout lines.

It looks cleaner and you don’t have to worry too much about the grout getting dingy. The caveat here is the installer has to be very good to make sure each tile is even with the other or you’ll notice some areas will have edges protruding. Over time, this becomes more pronounced as the house shifts, something grout can account for. We had our installed by a company that had a lifetime installation guarantee and so when we noticed a tile protruding, they came out and fixed it (which usually resulted in them cutting the tile out, grinding down the subfloor and putting a new one in). They had to do this twice over the course of 3 years.

You should ask usc because his dad is a flooring specialist (you’ll have to wait until this evening when he can log back in).

So what did you decide?

Good design is when all full tiles are laid on the floor and the entire pattern has no cut tiles (grout is used to absorb the extra dimension). Poor design is when one or two sides have cut tiles regardless of grout or grout less. When I walk into any room I look for the side with the cut tiles. All my previous homes I laid out the pattern perfectly without cut tiles. If the room has an odd dimension then I shop for other non standard size tiles that will fulfill the full tile module dimension.

Another method of achieving a full tile pattern is to create a border with smaller size tiles and have the field be the full size tiles.

Some people would look for cracks and slope on the tile surface. You know who you are.

1/8 inch grout lines look the best and seem to be the most popular.

I went with the zero grout lines (looks about 1/8… or maybe smaller?).  They look amazing.  I was actually about to go the other way before your advice, I’m extremely happy with my decision.

This was taken with a cell phone camera… and I wasnt focusing on the floor.  I’ll post another when I get home and can take a better pic.

BK, I had them laid in diagonal (diamond) pattern, so they must be cut.  I think it looks much better that way.

MojoJD - 22 September 2009 05:08 PM

I went with the zero grout lines (looks about 1/8… or maybe smaller?).  They look amazing.  I was actually about to go the other way before your advice, I’m extremely happy with my decision.

This was taken with a cell phone camera… and I wasnt focusing on the floor.  I’ll post another when I get home and can take a better pic.

BK, I had them laid in diagonal (diamond) pattern, so they must be cut.  I think it looks much better that way.

I like the diamond pattern as well as the staggered pattern a lot.  I’d have to see a closer picture but that may be a 1/16 of an inch grout line.  Looks awesome!

Diagonal does required cut tiles. Nice. This is the only way to distract me looking for the grout joints.

Yep… for straight edge travertine, diagonal is usually the best look. You’re making me miss my old house.

I used porcelain tile in a running bond (looks similar to a brick wall) in our current place. This results in cut tiles (sorry bk) but it looks better than just standard and I wanted to do something not diagonal (I’ve used the diagonal pattern in the last 2 homes).

If this was the house I was going to stay in for a while… I would have actually gone with tumbled travertine in a Versaille pattern.

What flooring company did you use?

Home Depot—> Carpet Pros

I was happy with the work product, but the scheduling mistakes were a nightmare.  I had things lined up, and they were the first.  They incorrectly calendared the start date one day late, despite 3 reminder phone calls to the manager in the preceding weeks.  It all worked out in the end, though.  These guys worked FAST, and everything came out very nice, with virtually no elevation changes/ridges between any of the stone (had it done in 4 areas of the house).

Any opinions on engineered stone like Graniti Fiandre, etc ?

xoneinax - 23 September 2009 06:37 PM

Any opinions on engineered stone like Graniti Fiandre, etc ?

Formica=70’s
Graniti Fiandre=90’s

Sorry, this porcelain tile is dated.

Stick to real stones and avoid synthetics.

When to use Marble, Travertine, Granite, or Gauged and Honed Slate for flooring ?  Material costs are not much more unless you are doing a shopping mall

Unpolished marble or granite good for flooring ?

xoneinax - 24 September 2009 10:19 AM

When to use Marble, Travertine, Granite, or Gauged and Honed Slate for flooring ?  Material costs not much more unless you are doing a shopping mall

Unpolished marble or granite good for flooring ?

My dad installed marble tiles in a bathroom of one of my rentals (when I lived there) and installed granite tiles in the entryway of his former home.  It really comes down to personal preference and the style that you want to go with as the installation is the same with any of those flooring choices.

I prefer the unpolished marble, it can look absolutely stunning if properly cared for.  You will also find that the majority of your costs from natural stone vs synthetic tile come from the installation costs.  Its a lot more work to lay natural stone, and you will see the big difference in an exponentially higher install price (and thus, final cost).

I also had a wonderful tile installed for my entryway, and I highly recommend it.  It has a noticeable texture, but its not too rough.  It really brings out the depth and looks better than simple colored tile.  They have it at the woodbury Home Depot.

(again, cell phone camera.  it distorts the right angles and color a bit - maybe its the cracked lens?)

I matched the tiles to a dark grout and I think it came out nicely.  This (above) pic was taken just after install (the walls aren’t painted yet).  For the price, I highly recommend it.  Every visitor we get has immediately noticed/commented on it… and it was 1/2 the price of my travertine per sq ft.

MojoJD - 24 September 2009 10:42 AM

I prefer the unpolished marble, it can look absolutely stunning if properly cared for.  You will also find that the majority of your costs from natural stone vs synthetic tile come from the installation costs.  Its a lot more work to lay natural stone, and you will see the big difference in an exponentially higher install price (and thus, final cost).

I also had a wonderful tile installed for my entryway, and I highly recommend it.  It has a noticeable texture, but its not too rough.  It really brings out the depth and looks better than simple colored tile.  They have it at the woodbury Home Depot.

(again, cell phone camera.  it distorts the right angles and color a bit - maybe its the cracked lens?)

I matched the tiles to a dark grout and I think it came out nicely.  This (above) pic was taken just after install (the walls aren’t painted yet).  For the price, I highly recommend it.  Every visitor we get has immediately noticed/commented on it… and it was 1/2 the price of my travertine per sq ft.

You are correct, natural stone is more difficult to work with in terms of installation because you have to be more careful with it.  Natural stone tiles tend to be thicker than synthetic tiles (9/16-3/4 of an inch vs. 3/8-7/16 of an inch).

Not to mention matching, throwing out the inevitably unevenly cut tiles, accounting for subtle differences in thickness for surface leveling, sealing, etc.

MojoJD - 24 September 2009 11:02 AM

Not to mention matching, throwing out the inevitably unevenly cut tiles, accounting for subtle differences in thickness for surface leveling, sealing, etc.

My dad using little tricks to level out slightly uneven surfaces such as where wood flooring meets tile flooring and it looks so much better than using an overlay or top spacer.

Looks nice, we also had zero groutline travertine in our last house, although we had travertine throughout the first level in my last house and while it looked nice I think I’ll have natural stone only in the kitchen area and bathroom areas too like what you did.  Too cold and too hard to the feet in the other areas of the house.  Definitely will go with hardwood flooring in the next house.  Seems the matte finish is more contemporary these days, the glossy finish of polished granite and marble seems to be a bit dated.

In my next home (and hopefully my last)... I would do wood in the living areas (if only they made bamboo that looked better… eco-friendly!) and stone in the high-traffic areas.

My kids actually complain about the last and current home because the entire downstairs is hard flooring… the house before that had carpet in most of the living areas and they commented that the old house was “softer”.

I actually like the matching grout on Mojo’s tile… in retrospect, I think we should have done the same… does anyone knows what it costs to regrout? Heh.

irvine_home_owner - 24 September 2009 01:37 PM

In my next home (and hopefully my last)... I would do wood in the living areas (if only they made bamboo that looked better… eco-friendly!) and stone in the high-traffic areas.

My kids actually complain about the last and current home because the entire downstairs is hard flooring… the house before that had carpet in most of the living areas and they commented that the old house was “softer”.

I actually like the matching grout on Mojo’s tile… in retrospect, I think we should have done the same… does anyone knows what it costs to regrout? Heh.

It’s not too expensive, just takes a little labor to strip the existing grout out.  You want to buy the sanded grout because it’s easier to work with.

irvine_home_owner - 24 September 2009 01:37 PM

In my next home (and hopefully my last)... I would do wood in the living areas (if only they made bamboo that looked better… eco-friendly!) and stone in the high-traffic areas.

My kids actually complain about the last and current home because the entire downstairs is hard flooring… the house before that had carpet in most of the living areas and they commented that the old house was “softer”.

I actually like the matching grout on Mojo’s tile… in retrospect, I think we should have done the same… does anyone knows what it costs to regrout? Heh.

I’ve heard a lot of bad things from people who went with bamboo.  Apparently its reputation for being soft (it is, in fact, a reed and not a wood) is understated.  It gets dented all the time, and just pray that no one with heels or any stiff-bottomed shoe walks into your place.  You also have to take into account tables, chairs, stools, bookcases, etc. leaving divits behind when they are moved.

regarding its looks, i’ve seen many stains and some look great (in someone else’s home!... )

MojoJD - 24 September 2009 05:16 PM

irvine_home_owner - 24 September 2009 01:37 PM

In my next home (and hopefully my last)... I would do wood in the living areas (if only they made bamboo that looked better… eco-friendly!) and stone in the high-traffic areas.

My kids actually complain about the last and current home because the entire downstairs is hard flooring… the house before that had carpet in most of the living areas and they commented that the old house was “softer”.

I actually like the matching grout on Mojo’s tile… in retrospect, I think we should have done the same… does anyone knows what it costs to regrout? Heh.

I’ve heard a lot of bad things from people who went with bamboo.  Apparently its reputation for being soft (it is, in fact, a reed and not a wood) is understated.  It gets dented all the time, and just pray that no one with heels or any stiff-bottomed shoe walks into your place.  You also have to take into account tables, chairs, stools, bookcases, etc. leaving divits behind when they are moved.

regarding its looks, i’ve seen many stains and some look great (in someone else’s home!... )

Stick with maple, rosewood, or mahogany if you want wood flooring.

What about engineered wood? Is it REALLY different once you get it all laid down?

MojoJD - 24 September 2009 05:36 PM

What about engineered wood? Is it REALLY different once you get it all laid down?

That’s what I’m talking about…engineering wood.  The best thing to do with it is to glue it down using Bastik’s Best adhesive.  The real hardwood floor is 3/4 of an inch thick and you have to nail it down.

The selection of materials should be consistent with the style of architecture. A modern industrial loft would be odd with travertine or a vintage colonial may not blend well with engineered wood flooring. The interior of a home and the exterior should compliment one another. The level of interior spec should match the building type as well. Don’t over spend on expensive interior finishes for an attached home because it is like putting a polished mahogany dash board on a Geo Metro.

When I toured the Watermarke model homes I almost puked when I saw the Louis XIV french paneling and Versaille like finishes on a for sale apartment.

Model homes are too overly staged and to a point cluttered with too many craps hanging on walls. After a while the interiors look like a Cost Plus, Pier One, and TJ Maxx Home Goods stores.

Why couldn’t designers decorate the space like how real people should live?