Guide
Choosing bathroom tile and grout in South Florida
Tile is the decision people spend the longest on and ask the fewest questions about. A few are worth asking before you pick a color.
Porcelain, ceramic or natural stone
The word on the box has a definition behind it. ANSI A137.1, the American national standard for ceramic tile, separates porcelain from everything else by how much water the tile takes on: 0.5 percent or less, measured under ASTM C373. Tile above that line is ceramic.
In a room that stays damp, that one number is most of the argument. Porcelain drinks almost nothing, which is why it keeps showing up on shower floors. Ceramic is fine on a dry wall and a poor idea underfoot.
Natural stone is a different agreement with yourself. Marble reads beautifully in a bathroom, and it is calcareous, so acids dull or etch it. The Natural Stone Institute is clear that sealing makes stone more stain resistant rather than stain proof.
If you want stone anyway, put it where it takes the least abuse.
The number that matters on a wet floor
Floor tile carries a slip figure and it is worth asking for by name. ANSI A137.1 sets a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.42 or higher for tile recommended for a level interior space intended to be walked on when wet. The measurement itself comes from ANSI A326.3.
Two things get misread about it. It is a floor and not a promise, since no floor tile is slip proof and 0.42 does not make a tile right for every room. And it describes a level floor measured wet, so a shower pan sloping to a drain sits outside the condition described.
That is why shower floors usually end up in smaller tile or a textured finish. More joints break up the surface. Buy for bare feet on a wet floor.
Grout is a material decision, not a color decision
You will be asked about grout color. Ask about grout type too, because the families sit under separate standards.
Cement grouts come in two grades. ANSI A118.6 covers standard cement grouts. ANSI A118.7 covers high performance cement grouts, which carry a polymer. Epoxy grout has its own standard, ANSI A118.3, for chemical resistant, water cleanable tile setting and grouting epoxy.
Epoxy holds up better against stains and chemicals and asks more of whoever places it. Cement grout is easier to work, and more of your upkeep ends up living in it.
Color changes the room more than people expect. Grout matched to the tile makes a wall read as one surface. Grout that contrasts draws the grid, and then every line has to be straight to survive being looked at.
What sealing does and what it does not
The Natural Stone Institute says the products the industry sells as sealers are impregnators. They do not seal. They soak in and act as a repellent, and they stay breathable so moisture inside the stone can get out. Sealing makes stone more stain resistant. It does not make stone stain proof.
The same page has the most useful habit in a stone bathroom: a squeegee after each shower to keep soap scum down, and no acidic cleaners, since lemon and vinegar dull or etch stone.
Porcelain does not need sealing. Cement grout often does, on the grout maker's schedule.
Air is the other half of a bathroom lasting. The Florida Mechanical Code sets local exhaust for bathrooms and toilet rooms at 50 cfm intermittent or 20 cfm continuous.
EPA advises keeping indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50 percent, and running the fan when you shower. A room that never dries out will find the weakest joint in your tile.
Large tile asks more of the surface behind it
Big tile is not a free choice. A flat tile cannot follow a wavy wall, so the wall has to come to the tile.
ANSI A108.02 puts a number on it. Where a tile has at least one edge 15 inches or longer, the surface underneath can vary no more than 1/8 inch in 10 feet, and no more than 1/16 inch in 24 inches, measured from the high points.
What sits behind the tile matters as much. ANSI A108.5 asks for average contact of at least 80 percent, rising to 95 percent in showers and other wet installations.
Which is why a large tile job often starts with getting the wall or the floor flat. Skip it and you get lippage, one tile edge standing proud of the next, in raking light for as long as the tile is there.
Tile is part of how we do bathroom remodeling, and the same thinking applies when a bathroom is one room inside a full home renovation.
What tile does to a small bathroom
Most bathrooms in South Florida are small, and tile is what makes them read larger or tighter.
Fewer joints make a wall read as a single plane, so larger tile with matched grout tends to open a small room up. The same room in small tile with dark grout reads busy, which is sometimes right in a powder room nobody spends an hour in.
Running one tile from the floor up the shower wall gives the eye a single surface instead of a break at the curb.
Big tile in a small room has a catch: nowhere to hide a cut. A tile 24 inches across has to land somewhere, and in a room 60 inches wide it lands right in your sightline. Ask to see the layout drawn first.
Finish matters too. A polished face bounces what little light a small bathroom gets and shows every drip. A matte face hides water spots and eats light. If the walls are also getting paper, look at wallpaper and the tile together.
Bring these when we come out
We price a bathroom after we see it. Christhian, the owner, comes out, looks at the room and asks what you want changed. These make that conversation shorter.
- A photo of the bathroom as it is now, and photos of the one you have in mind.
- The tile you are considering, by name and size. A sample in hand beats a screenshot.
- Tub or shower, and if that is changing.
- Your condo or HOA renovation rules, if the building has them.
- Anything you already bought.
See finished bathrooms for how these choices land in a real room, or check the cities we work in before you book.
What slip number should I look for on a bathroom floor?
ANSI A137.1 asks for a dynamic coefficient of friction of 0.42 or higher on tile recommended for a level interior floor meant to be walked on wet. Treat it as a floor rather than a promise, since no floor tile is slip proof.
Do I have to seal the grout?
Cement grout usually wants sealing and epoxy grout does not, but the grout maker sets the schedule. Keep the sheet that comes with it.
Can I use marble in a shower?
People do. Marble is calcareous, so acids dull or etch it, and sealing makes it more stain resistant rather than stain proof. Go in knowing the upkeep is yours.
Does a bathroom remodel need a permit?
That depends on the scope and the city. Florida's code requires an application to the building official before altering a building, or altering or replacing an electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system it regulates. We go through your scope at the visit.
Let us look at your space.
Book a visit. We'll come look at the job with you and then put together your estimate.