Grouting Next To Wood Floor

The normal process is sand all the old finish off stain if desired and then a fairly thin filler is dumped out of a bucket that color matches the wood as closely as possible and is troweled over the entire floor with a flat trowel.

Grouting next to wood floor.

In our house where tile meets wood the tile installer inserted a thin metal strip between the tile and wood. Since hardwood floors don t have much of a joint you don t want your tile to either. The grout is only filling the voids between tiles. Unfortunately it s too late for this but at least you ll know for next time.

The next example involved a prefinished hand scraped floor glued down on concrete. A grout that stands out against the tile might detract from that continuous feel you re going for. When you put a hard compound like grout next to a living item like wood which is subject to shrinkage you may end up with some cracks but it will last for a while. Finally the hardwood was installed by scribing each individual board against the tile.

I let the mortar set overnight and grouted the next day. It will help to make accurate straight cuts on the wood floor. As the wood moves that grout will start chipping away. I grouted right up to the hardwood.

Tiles are glued to the surface before the grout is applied. It depends what you are doing. There is no transition piece that covers the joint and the top of the wood is flush with the top of the tile. Of particular interest is the feature board that was used to separate the tile and the hardwood floor.

Make sure to keep the grout line in mind when you mark around your guide tile. I think there is grout on the tile side of the metal strip and the wood has very narrow space between it and the metal strip. Lay the tile beside the hardwood leaving a small grout joint between the two surfaces. Grout is the better choice for wet areas.

This is largely because of the way grout binds with backer board. In a couple years or when it bugs me enough i ll use a sanded caulk that is color matched to the grout to fill the voids. An oscillating tool is a must have for a project like this. Ask a daltile representative to help you select a grout color that will blend the floor into perfect harmony.