hearth pad tile question

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rdrcr56

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Sep 8, 2006
216
I am buildind a hearth pad for a hearthstone homestead, my question is when I lay the tile do I have to leave an 1/8 in. gap and grout or can I just butt the tiles together. The tile I am useing has a chipped and worn edge look and I was thinking if it was grouted the grout would fill in the chipped edges and make for really ragged looking lines.
 
rdrcr56 said:
I am buildind a hearth pad for a hearthstone homestead, my question is when I lay the tile do I have to leave an 1/8 in. gap and grout or can I just butt the tiles together. The tile I am useing has a chipped and worn edge look and I was thinking if it was grouted the grout would fill in the chipped edges and make for really ragged looking lines.

do it however you like , just be sure you have enough fire protection as outline in the owners manual
 
im no tile guy, but i think butted tile would look strange. When you wipe it down with a wet spounge, it should clean up nicely on the edges. Did you end up going with micore? your BIL would be a great resource on tile techniques, at least it would seem. Its getting close down there to burn season. Wounderfull september.
 
I ended up with 3/4 in. ply, micor, and durock. Two sheets micor and two sheets durock on the plywood so if we ever move I can take the whole works with us and the new owners can turn the space into an entertainment center.
 
rdrcr56 said:
I am buildind a hearth pad for a hearthstone homestead, my question is when I lay the tile do I have to leave an 1/8 in. gap and grout or can I just butt the tiles together. The tile I am useing has a chipped and worn edge look and I was thinking if it was grouted the grout would fill in the chipped edges and make for really ragged looking lines.
What ever you like is probably best. What size tile are you using? the smaller the tile the smaller the grout line should be, It's just a question of aesthetics and personal preference.
I just put granite tiles in place of my old laminate counter-top and used 1/16" spacers. the tile are 12 x 12 and are beveled 1/32" so the grout line is about 1/8" if your tiles have a bevel in it this will add to the grout line width. Remember though if you dont have any gap between tiles the grout may chip away easier since it is only attached to the finished surface and not the porous edges.

I'm about to re-tile the shower and am also going to use a rough jagged tile and am unsure of the spacing that I'll use but as a test I'll take a couple of the 4 x 4 tiles slap some liquid nails on them and stick them to a piece of plywood and then the next day spread lightweight joint compound on them and 10-20 minutes later wipe them off with a wet rag and see if its the right spacing I'm looking for and adjust for it later. better to find out now than after nearly 500 tiles are bonded to my wall.
Again personal preference and in my case what the boss says (my wife) :coolsmirk:
 
Um, boss says its ok to use "rough jagged tile" in the shower????

GVA, I don't know how abrasive your wife is, but a few slips in a shower tiled with rough jagged stuff, and I bet the tile isn't going to be the one with the edges cut off.

Just curious how rough and jagged this stuff actually is.

Joshua
 
The bevel/chipped edge ranges between 1/2 to 1/4 in. I was thinking of butting them together with no grout at all?
 
As a rule floor tile 1/4 "
Wall tiles 1/8"
Be sure to seal any floor tile grout lines.
I find the jagged edges smooth out after the grout in in there,
 
joshuaviktor said:
Um, boss says its ok to use "rough jagged tile" in the shower????

GVA, I don't know how abrasive your wife is, but a few slips in a shower tiled with rough jagged stuff, and I bet the tile isn't going to be the one with the edges cut off.

Just curious how rough and jagged this stuff actually is.

Joshua
Just read the post and its not as jagged as rdrcr56 is talking about, jeeze that's jagged!!!!
the jagged stuff i'm talking about is more like tumbled stone ie: it's not smooth but kinda textured, but I know that the tumbled edges make the grout lines look huge.
 
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