Tile spacing, and grout

I am looking to tile my countertops, and my wife would like to have tiles as close as possible, (Preferably laying side by side and touching), however it is my belief that we need enough space to grout between the tiles to help with any flexing which may occur and to keep it clean between the tiles. We were told at Home Depot that we can place the tiles side side with no, or very little, grout depending how much we can work in. Now call me crazy, but I am thinking this is just another piece of bad advice that I have gotten from Home Depot and Lowes I have gotten over the years. So my question is how close can I lay 1/4 thick 12" x 12" ceramic tiles?

You probably could lay them at a 1/16. I'm not sue how it would look though. Why not buy a 18x18 or 24x24 tile, then install it with an 1/8 or 1/16 joint? It may look a little nicer since you will only have 1 joint to grout.

So, WHY do you keep going back?

Are you saying that you realize the nice young associate who was stocking paint a while ago doesn't know much about how tiles are installed?

You are right. You need to leave some space for grout to keep the counter sanitary if nothing else. You wouldn't want to eat any food prepared on a counter built as the vested associate suggests.

To keep the joints close you'd need high quality ceramic tiles or natural stone tiles which are rectified. Marble or granite tiles can usually be set close, but they have a chamfered cut for grout.

Jaz

We were told at Home Depot that we can place the tiles side side with no, or very little, grout depending how much we can work in.

The person that told you that is an idiot. That's all you can say for him/her. Just plain inexperienced and not at all knowledgeable.

Now call me crazy, but I am thinking this is just another piece of bad advice that I have gotten from Home Depot and Lowes.

You got that right!

[Edited by Bud Cline Tile on Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 8:44 pm CST]