Minimum Grout Width for Tile

Minimum Recommendations

• The leading agencies in the field, such as the Tile Council for North America and the National Tile Contractors Association, have established a series of recommendations over the years based upon data from the field. Since they are recommendations, not mandatory guidelines, personal preference dictates whether or not you follow them. For every same-size tile that has a 1/16-inch variation in size from the next tile, a recommended grout joint is 3/16 inch, with an additional 3/16 inch per every 1/16-inch variation.

Polished Natural Stone

• Polished natural stones such as granite and marble come with chamfered edges. This means the top edge of all of the tiles has been angled off slightly to provide an 1/8-inch beveled edge. When installed tightly to one another, this creates the illusion of a wider grout join than what actually exists. These tiles are designed to be installed relatively close to one another with only a hairline joint, depending on the size variation in the tiles.

Raw and Honed Natural Stone

• You can run regular-size grout joints according to the industry recommendations with raw and honed natural stones such as tumbled marble, slate or honed travertine. There is significant size variation in most tumbled stones, which adds to their rustic charm, but you have to run 3/8-inch or larger grout joints in most cases to ensure that the variations between the tiles aren’t stark, but rather flowing naturally throughout the pattern.

Color Choice

• Your selection of grout color will affect the overall look and feel of your tile installation, which allows you to be flexible with grout joint width, depending on the choice of color. Light grouts against light tiles tend to hide imperfections in size, which means you can tighten your joints if you desire. Dark grouts against light tiles, on the other hand, bring out those size variations.