Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128setters who will argue it’s all in the technique, but I have seen it myself in many cases, regardless of the amount of pressure used on the grout float. The grout instructions themselves will even offer a word of caution against the scratching. I always, without exception, test the grout on a sample piece of tile, the first day of install. This will tell me if the grout is compatible with my tile, and allow time to make another selection if needed. If I can see noticeable scratching or scuffs from the aggregate, I will switch to an unsanded grout with an additive for stain resistance, and adjust the size of my grout joints if needed. I would never want to spend a week on a beautiful tile install, only to ruin it all with small scratches all over the customer’s shower because I didn’t test the grout. Phil Green, P.G.C. Construction, Remodeling and Design in Gilberts, Ill. – When I was being taught, the grout portion of the job was placed on me. Remember back then most of our installs were 4” x 4” ceramic walls with WHITE unsand- ed grout. It was not too hard to get this part done well.... But nowadays, with the great advanced grout avail- able, I would suggest that both mechanic and “helper” alike go to every grouting demo, workshop HOT TOPICS –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 106 TileLetter | February 2017