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Version: 2011.07.01

Tile & Grout

Tile offers nearly endless design options for floors, walls, surrounds, and backsplashes. Ceramic and natural stone tile behave differently, and grout selection has a noticeable effect on the finished look.

Ceramic Tile​

Ceramic tile has long been a practical, popular choice for its design options, durability, and easy maintenance. Because it is man-made, it comes in a wide selection of sizes, colors, patterns, and finishes.

Finishes range from matte to high gloss, and some are better suited to specific areas. Scratches, for example, are more noticeable on high-gloss tile, making it better suited for bathrooms, surrounds, or backsplashes than for a kitchen countertop. Tiles are either decorated and glazed or left unglazed.

Solid-color tiles provide a consistent look, but shade variation is inherent in all fired ceramic products, and certain tiles show greater variation within their dye-lots. Color variations are also normal between the samples in the Design Studio and the wall or floor tile installed in your home.

Natural Stone Tile​

The beauty of natural stone tile adds timeless elegance to any kitchen or bath. Each piece is uniquely individual. You can choose from five types of stone—marble, granite, limestone, travertine, and slate—each varying in hardness and porosity.

  • Natural markings are normal. Irregular markings, shading, veining, and crystallization are part of the beauty of the stone. The veining direction differs from piece to piece, so when tiles are installed side by side, the veining will not run in a consistent direction.
  • Tiles differ from samples. Installed tiles will not look exactly like the tile you saw in the Design Studio. If you combine natural stone products—such as a stone tile backsplash with a stone slab countertop of the same color and type—they will not match. It is also not possible to hand-select your natural stone tile.
  • Surface texture. Tiles are polished or honed before installation, but faint cloudy spots from polishing swirl marks may be visible in certain lighting and at certain angles. No natural stone tile has a perfectly smooth surface, and small chips or pits may appear in different lighting. Fissures, often mistaken for cracks, are not defects.
  • Travertine. Travertine has a unique fill process: in its original form it has thousands of holes, which are filled and polished after the stone is cut. The stone polishes to a high sheen while the filled areas remain dull, and the back of the tiles is rough from the filling process. This is normal and does not affect quality.
  • Thickness and surface. Being a natural product, stone tiles vary more in thickness, squareness, and length than man-made ceramic tile, so an installed stone-tile surface will not be perfectly smooth from tile to tile.

Decorative Liners, Accent Tile & Trim​

Tile and metal trim pieces finish the edges of a tiled area to prevent exposed edges that look unfinished and are more susceptible to damage. Classic requires trim or edging material on all tile. These pieces are manufactured separately from the field tile and will vary in color and dye-lot from it. Because the field tile usually differs in size and shape from the trim, the grout joints will not align.

Liners—sometimes called feature strips or decos—can enhance the look of a kitchen or bath. They may vary in thickness, width, color, or dye-lot, and matching trim pieces are not always available. Like trim, liners will not align perfectly with the field tile, particularly where there are items to tile around, such as an electrical outlet. Natural stone liners are porous, so grout fills their crevices and affects their color.

Grout​

After choosing a tile, you select a grout color. Grout can display uneven color or inconsistencies within the same installation, or vary from the sample in the design center, due to differences in temperature and humidity at the time of grouting. It is common to see slight differences between grout on a floor and the same color on a wall.

A high-contrast grout choice emphasizes any unevenness or irregularity in the tile, while a color-matched grout tends to hide such imperfections. On beveled tile, imperfections are amplified because more grout is visible where the tiles meet. Exact layout, grout type, and joint widths are determined by the tile setter at the time of installation, based on the actual size and shape of the tile and the dimensions of the area.

Grout is naturally porous and needs to be sealed. Classic does not seal grout before closing because of the curing time required; it is advised that the homeowner seal the grout after closing but before use. Flex grout is an alternative that does not require sealant—discuss this option with your design specialist. Either way, it is the homeowner's responsibility to maintain all caulked areas.

Care Tips: See Ceramic Tile Use & Care and Caulking Use & Care for cleaning, sealing, and maintenance.

Warranty Coverage: See Ceramic Tile Standards for coverage periods and exclusions.