I'm ready to grout the bathroom floor but do I extend the grout to the wall base or leave a gap for expansion like they do for other flooring? Sorry- it's my first time doing a floor and I can't find the answer anywhere. Thanks!
The tile should not butt directly up against the walls, but the edges should be grouted and sealed. Congratulations on attempting this for the very first time! A couple of bits of advice, though. The HGTV shows apparently do all the hard work during the commercials. And don't trust that the tiles are perfectly square and equally sized; even using spacers, step back occasionally and do an eyeball check that your pattern looks good. Minor adjustments are almost always needed.
Here is a pretty good tutorial, though they make a much bigger deal of getting the edges equally sized than I would.
Ya Hooo That's the answer I needed! THANKS!!! Yup I agree.. laying the tile was a bit trickier than most of the shows led me to believe. But I've done a pretty good job and the grout issue was the only one hanging me up. THANKS!!!!!!!!!!
You should leave a grout space around the perimeter of the floor. So there is a grout width between tile and wall. Fill this in with a color matched caulk, rather than grout. Caulk is flexible, making it able to withstand expansion and contraction without cracking. If you use grout here, or any place where there is a change of plane, your grout will eventually crack over time. Use caulk. You can even get it sanded to match your sanded grout. Custom makes a great grout and has color-matched caulks in both sanded and non-sanded.
And don't trust that the tiles are perfectly square and equally sized; even using spacers, step back occasionally and do an eyeball check that your pattern looks good. Minor adjustments are almost always needed.
