i would leave it too - looks very cool

I think it looks great, but if you're not happy I would talk to your tile installer and see what he would charge to remove this grout and re-grout with white. If it's his mistake, I'm sure he will cover the cost to redo it.

I think it looks great, but if you're not happy I would talk to your tile installer and see what he would charge to remove this grout and re-grout with white. If it's his mistake, I'm sure he will cover the cost to redo it.

it can be painted with grout paint.

Any tiling experts on Houzz this morning who can advise on the pros and cons (and viability) of re-grouting or grout paint?

I concur with the other posters that the grey looks nice but that if you are not happy, the mason should remedy. The grout should be color sealed, maybe you could use a white (rather than grey) color seal which could effectively temper the grey a bit.

I think he will not be happy, but he will redo it. The task is time consuming if he cuts it out.

If you think you are going to cringe every time you use the shower -- by all means, have him replace to your color specs.

Unless your tiles are shiny smooth, I doubt the white grout is going to change the look significantly. Softened look with white, yes.

A:) It's not that hard to remove the grout, especially since it's still green...... just time consuming. There are a number of hand tools specially designed just for this purpose as well as a number of power tools or blades that can speed up the process.
B:) If your instructions were clearly conveyed to the installer and he just screwed up and used the wrong grout, the remedy is on him. If you did not clearly convey this design choice to him, then you have some blame as well........split the cost. If you expected him to read your mind as to which grout to use, get your check book out.

Personally, I rather like the grey grout.....it gives a nice "industrial" look and feel to the shower, but if that isn't the look you were wanting and want it white than by all means change it out........the longer you wait the more the grout will cure and be harder to get out. Right now, it's a couple of hours of work with the right tools to clear out the joints.........next week, it may be a full day's work.

Three things. The white grout will show dirt and stain more easily. The grey grout will be lighter when it fully dries. And if you use the same grout on the floor it will tie both areas together. Don't paint grout, re-grout if you decide to change colors. Seal all the grout at least two times, it is what makes it durable, stain resistant, and less likely to crack, and leak.

I vote to leave it as it is. You have wide grout lines which are not traditional for subway tiles, but I like the grout lines wide like this and used the wide grout lines on my own master bath subway tile in our shower. The grey accents this feature which tough non traditional, I prefer.

Sometimes, only if you don't hate it and are undecided, and you live with a mistake/surprise a little while, it actually becomes one of the features you end up liking best. Don't ask me why, but it happens quite often. The flip side is that if you do hate it, you will always hate it. I like it though.

Best,

Paul

Looks good! The gray grout will help tie the wall tiles into the floor tiles.

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I will leave it as it is for now to see how I adjust to it. I think my heart was set on the crisp white look since the bathroom is small. Maybe overtime the grey group will look best!

I like the grey grout. White grout is very difficult to keep clean. Bleach and certain chemicals will yellow the grout.

Just have him paint it. Its way eaisier and theres no chance of him damaging your tile, plus the paint will act like a sealer to the grout.

I do like it. I had white grout in my white marble floors and ended up painting it grey because it always looked dirty. I love the contrast and even painted the walls grey with all white trim. Maybe when it's all done and you can see the total effect, it will be, as Paul pointed out, a "good" mistake. Good Luck

Live with it for awhile and if you don't like it, go to a tile store (not HD or Lowes) and order a white grout stain. Buy a small paintbrush (like for crafts) and paint the grout. It is not hard to do, just time consuming. Don't use the shower for a couple of days before so the existing grout is thoroughly dry before staining. Let it dry for a day or so and then reseal the grout. Note - if you seal the gray grout before staining, you have to remove the sealer to get the stain to take.

While the grout could be removed since it is not fully cured, the stain is easier, less messy and avoids any potential issue with scratching the tile by accident while trying to remove the grout.

Painting new grout I think is a bad idea. It is no where near as durable as true grout. Grout painting is an inexpensive solution for people who want to spruce up their home - not for brand new jobs you expect to look good for many years before needing any maintenance. Any tile professionals want to weigh in?

Trudy,
Try asking Stover Tile and Design -they are tile specialists on Houzz.com if you are thinking of painting.
Cheers,
Paul

For cleaning purposes, I agree, leave it grey. It will be a nightmare keeping the white clean. I used to really like having white grout with the white tiles, but using the grey is a fresh way to look at it. The tiles really pop with the grey grout.
Have you talked to the contractor about changing it? If you have, maybe you should wait a few days and see how you feel about it. When remodels aren't the way we envision them, it bothers us. But, sometimes a happy accident is amazing!

For cleaning purposes, I agree, leave it grey. It will be a nightmare keeping the white clean. I used to really like having white grout with the white tiles, but using the grey is a fresh way to look at it. The tiles really pop with the grey grout.
Have you talked to the contractor about changing it? If you have, maybe you should wait a few days and see how you feel about it. When remodels aren't the way we envision them, it bothers us. But, sometimes a happy accident is amazing!

I'm in agreement with many others....leave it. It adds an old world effect to the tile. It may not have been your vision, but it works. Look at waterworks.com or http://www.waterworks.com/kitchen

Grey grout does look nice , but you being the customer if your not happy then it needs to be fixed to your wants. Please do not use grout color paint i cringe when I hear people doing this just another product out there that isn't worth a darn

I see this is an old post....I have the opposite problem....this is exactly the look I wanted and my installers used a white grout.....not too happy. Yours is perfect!

If you regrout chances are you will have plenty of chipped tiles and some gray speckles in your white grout o highly doubt you will be lucky enough to get a guy that will spend 2 days on it instead of 1 and even then it may not be perfect. I would definitely stain the grout which itself is a seal. We call it a grout color seal. I actually "color seal" many tile surfaces in brand new high end homes because it is superior to a classic penetrating sealer in terms of protecting grout from staining. I find it is very durable IF the grout lines are prepared properly a good quality color seal us used and application is done properly.

What did you end up doing?

Question to Grout Works: the company I used said they could not easily stain the existing grout because the grout they used has a sealer mixed throught the grout. They said they could order a combination stain and sealer but didn't know if it would do much because of the sealer that was mixed in with the grout. I'm so annoyed because we are now settling for white grout in the shower, behind the sink all the way to the ceiling and the floor. Our floor is one inch hex, so I can understand the hesitation of painting a stain on that! So I guess I'll compromise the "old world charm" I wanted and see if it does indeed stay white as he promised!

I think it looks nice as is, so I'd leave it, but I just hate it when mistakes like that happen!

My daughters' bathroom shower (new build) was to be a herringbone subway tile with light grey grout. The tiler messed up and used white grout. The builder suggested painting the grout - said he could use the same grey as was used in the rest of the bathroom. The grey paint was a near black and made the mistakes in the herringbone layout pattern very noticeable. (Something we did not notice with the white grout.) This was not done in an inexpensive house - or by a cookie cutter builder - but by Frontier Custom Builders in Houston, TX. We decided to live with the ugly painted grout for now - but will have to have the shower re-done in order to re-sell the house. Which is not only disappointing financially, but my daughter looked forward to having her own shower and bathroom for a long time and we are almost as disappointed with the mess as she is. If I had it to do over again - I would have left it alone or had the builder re-grout; and replace the scratched tiles. We didn't make that choice because the build was already months behind schedule. However, now that we are moved in - the extra month it probably would have added to the build time seems inconsequential as every time I see that shower I see "ugly" and "$". Bottom line - if you are building a custom home with a custom builder - he has committed himself to build what you want - don't lose sight of the fact that that is why you are building in the first place - to get what you want. When they make mistakes - they should live with the repair over you living with the mistake.

Kathy generally it can still be "color sealed" to change color even with small tiles and a polymer modified grout which may not be as absorbent. However I would not use your contractor or tile guy who have no experience doing this. You can do a google search for grout color sealing with your location or you can contact me and I try to find you someone in your local area. Use the contact form on my website at
http://www.groutworksnj.com

I had chosen a cream colored grout for my subway tiles in the kitchen and it looked awful.
I got grout markers from amazon in taupe and it improved it 75%. Still wish I could totally change my backslash, though.

Hi Trudy - I found this post because our tiler messed up our grout yesterday (used the wrong color). I am so frustrated! Your grey looks good, I like it more than white. Hope you were able to learn to like it ( or change it). Best, Sarah.

Last bathroom I did the contractor had to tear it all down and start from scratch. His fault!

I am not a fan of painting the grout. It will start to come off after a few years, and maybe worse in a shower. Painting grout is a temporary fix.

Anyone know anything about staining TEC power grout? Standard gray was used by mistake instead of standard white.

My guy just grouted my grey glass tile with grey instead of the white grout I clearly specified. Ruins my whole herringbone design which the white grout was supposed to make pop. I'm so disappointed. I need to know the best solution ASAP as this was just done a few hours ago. Please help!

Karyn did you find a solution,

we have a similar issue in our tiny guest bath

Our white and grey patterned tile (decore nacare blanco from porcelanosa) was grouted with BROWN GROUT! Driving me crazy and not sure if its fixable

grouted 10 days ago and tile guy is long gone. not sure if I can bring him back

I decided to live with the y grey grout on the grey tile. My husband likes it and it's subtle. Brown grout would have me tearing it out though!

The tiler should fix the problem to your satisfaction. Thats what he is paid to do. Doesn't matter who likes what, your work order dictates what he should deliver .

I would be very upset, too. If you want the white grout you should make sure your contractor fixes the problem. You will see it every time you go in that bathroom. I get upset with people who need to be more responsible for their mistakes. They need to listen carefully and realize that they are liable to make it right.