This is our tile (Maiolica White Lux tile) in a better lit room.

I would go with Bleached Wood. Looking at samples using different “planes” without grout always causes issues. So pick middle color which I think is Bleached Wood. HOWEVER, make sure if this is “sanded” grout it is right for this tile. Might scratch it. Definitely don’t go bright white. The way the wall tile is setting on the floor tile is a question for me. Maybe a tile expert can weigh in on that from a waterproofing point of view.

Flo, so glad you responded. Bleached Wood is the bottom right sample in my original photo. Is that the one you mean?

We noticed that some of the penny tiles are loose. We can just pick them up. Is that normal before they're grouted?

Does anyone know if Prism grout will scratch the glass tiles? I was told it wouldn't.

No they should be attached to a mesh backing that is set into the thinset to secure to floor material. This has to cure usually for 24 hours min before grouting. Sanded grout is generally good for flooring and grout joints greater than about 1/8”. But, since it has fine sand in it, it can scratch some tiles. What are your tiles made of? For your wall tiles with thin grout lines you should use unsanded grout. Your contractor should know these things. You can research this further on line if you want more details. Tiling showers is one of the most challenging projects in a house. Mainly due to making sure you have a fully waterproof system.

I suspect that the color of the grout may be the least of the problem. I’m not a pro, but I agree with Flo that that tile job looks worrisome. To me the thing that stands out the most is that the photo of the grouting of the floor tile makes it appear that the floor is very uneven. The grout closer to the wall is covering much more of the penny tile than the grout closer to the camera - so much so that it looks like the floor where it adjoins the wall is lower than the floor further out. You should have a very slight slope AWAY from the wall, not toward it, and it should be gradual enough that the same amount of tile is shown above the grout everywhere. Also, looking back at the picture where the wall tile looked a bit pink, it doesn’t look like there is a seam under the tile where the wall meets the floor. See in this photo how where the wall and floor meet the area has been taped and mudded (these are probably not the correct terms for tiling but I’m sure you know what I’m saying)? I don’t see that in your shower. Do you have pictures from before the tile went in?

The shower floor tile was just laid but has not been grouted. It appears to be sloped toward the drain. Here are pictures of the shower floor before and after tile install. Some of the tiles can be picked up because they are not secured into the floor. Is that normal? These are glass tiles, but I was told by the supplier, my contractor, and the tile installer that Prism grout will not scratch them. Honestly, I just want to take these out. Can we do that or would it damage the waterproofing? If we wait until Monday to ask the contractor, it might be too late. The tiler won't be back until Tuesday.

More pics. There was no mesh backing on these tiles. Just the orangy-brown paper you see in the photos. This is a curbless shower. The glass tiles are in the back of our large niche as well.

Oh boy now I see the problems. Glass tiles for floor of shower are the worst choice. It will be like ice rink in there. Also, there is special white thinset that glass tiles get put into with paper backing facing out. Later the paper backing comes off for grouting. That’s probably why they look darker. This is not being done right and waterproofing techniques don’t appear proper either so I would be concerned. I am not an expert on waterproofing but I have seen many projects like this and this doesn’t look right. I am going to touch base with Beth H and get her over here to review and provide her expertise.

Is this mesh-mounted glass tile? If so, it might not be appropriate for a wet installation. From the Lunada Bay Tile website: "mesh mounted glass is NOT intended for use in submerged applications."

The installation guide on their site includes grout recommendations as well if you want to have a look. I linked to their Origami mosaic. Their website shows a lot of bathroom installations but when you read the installation guide on the actual tile, it says it's not for a submerged area. Not all their tiles would be recommended for shower floors.

Back to the grout: in your initial picture, on my screen, the bottom right option looks the most harmonious to me. The top right is too cool and the left option looks too dark. Agree that testing is the surest way to know.

Tartanmeup, they were not mesh-backed. They were paper-backed as Flo describes. I actually called the Lunada Bay company before I purchased these to make sure they could be used for the shower floor and they assured me they could be. I just hate how they look and want to tear them out.

Flo, you described the tile exactly right. I feel sick to my stomach about this. I hope Beth will weigh in as you suggested. I'm wondering if my husband and I can tear these out before the thinset hardens. And now I'm concerned about the waterproofing. :(

I would definitely check that tile from Lunada Bay. I don't believe it's actually glass and I do think they should tell you on the packing slip if it is intended for wet areas. A lot of Lunada Bay can go in pools so while they are fine for wet areas they may not be suitable for shower floors. Also, grout is very different these days. Mapei makes an Ultracolor plus FA that works for both walls and floor so the grout joint is irrelevant. I would not be so concerned about the penny coming off the mesh. That can happen. From your picture it looks like your installer used Kerdi which is part of the Schluter system and that's one of the best water proofing systems on the market. It's all orange board correct?? If he used Kerdi you should be good.

Yeah.. Your penny round is not from their new glass collection. It's from the marbelized collection. If memory serves this can go on a shower floor but I would double check. You can call the store where you purchased it or go straight to Lunada Bay. They are pretty good about answering. You can always let me know and I can find out as well.

EDIT:

Here is a picture from the Lunada Bay Gallery for the Agate 1x1. Agate is under their glass collection. Different from yours but fairly similar in how it's made. Here is the link https://lunadabaytile.wordpress.com/2014/08/25/coastal-cool-in-manhattan-beach/#jp-carousel-71

Lisa, the Lunada Bay tile is glass and Lunada Bay told me we could use it on the shower floor. The tile did not come on mesh. It was paper-backed. Yes, they used the Schluter system waterproofing.

I was thinking about the pebbles with the mesh backing. So if they told you they were good for the shower floor you should be ok on that end unless you don't like how it feels or the way it looks. Your water proofing system is great. I have first hand experience with Kerdi. Grout is a very large piece of the puzzle. Sanded is best for the floor but it can scratch glass. I mentioned the Mapei Ultracolor plus. That is very fine and can be used in lieu of sanded and unsanded. They also make one I believe called CQ. I used that on my glass shower floor Island Stone pebble. In addition to scratches you can also get a haze from grout but your installer should be able to assist you with that.

Hallet & Co., we like Bleached Wood for the shower walls. If we have to keep the shower floor, should we try that with the shower floor tile?

I too am interested in what Beth thinks. Is the photo of the grouted tile actually from your shower floor? That was the one that made the tile look uneven, and I assumed it was a grouted area in the shower because of the wall tile. But maybe it’s a mock-up?

lwfromny, the tile has not been grouted yet. We placed a sample board with the tile and grout near the shower wall to get an idea. I'm hoping I'll hear from Beth today. These were just laid yesterday so maybe the thinset isn't hardened yet and we'll be able to take out the tiles and start over.

Here's the tile in the natural light. It looks a little lighter than it did last night.

Here's the Snow White grout sample in powder form next to the wall tile. It looks yellowish. If we have to keep this tile, we'll try a sample of Bleached Wood on it tomorrow.

Pic of Snow White sample

I don't understand your concerns. The installed tile looks like the sample board. The tile installation itself looks very good. The waterproofing looks good and proper. It is normal for some tile pieces underneath the paper to not adhere, but the installer should have taken care of those when the paper was removed. If you're asking for specific color advice on the internet, it is a futile exercise. Everyone's monitor portrays color differently, and combined with the inaccuracy of color in the photo itself, no one can really tell what the color really is. With that being said, I would choose a color that best matches the middle tone of your tiles.

Yes the loose tile will need to be reset before grouting- grout has almost no adhesive properties. That’s fairly common with small tiles. I would use the bleached wood everywhere.

Hallett & Co., thank you. Do the pictures look like this was waterproofed correctly?

There is absolutely no way to tell if the contractor did the installation correctly by your picture.

Tile in the natural light in your second to last picture looks beautiful on my screen! The Snow White grout sample in your second pic looks too bright and white.

Lisa, I posted multiple pictures of the shower floor waterproofing process earlier in this thread. I've seen the pros weigh in on whether or not a shower has been waterproofed correctly given these types of photos, so I'm hoping they will be able to give me their feedback.

tartanmeup, thank you. I don't LOVE them, but I feel better about them today than last night. We're going to try the Bleached Wood to see if that looks better than the Snow White.

My wonderful contractor called me this morning after he read my email last night with my expressions of hate for this floor tile. He had already called the tiler who said he will be prepared to tear these out on Tuesday, if we wish, and would make sure the waterproofing is repaired or redone as necessary. Since I'm feeling better about the tile today than last night, we'll probably keep these tiles and just try to find the right grout. I'll post pics later today with the Bleached Wood sample. In the meantime, I'm still hoping to get some feedback from the pros about whether or not they think the floor has been waterproofed correctly. Thank you to everyone who has weighed in!

I messaged Beth but they sometimes travel on weekends so hopefully she will see my message. I trust her judgment completely.

Drsaj-that sounds great that your contractor is listening to you. Fingers crossed.

Flo, thank you very much for trying to help me. I appreciate it more than you know.

I would just be very leery trusting the word of a stranger on the internet. Just because they have Pro next to their name doesn’t mean they are credible. Plus I’m not sure anyone can tell you with certainty just from looking at pictures.

Lisa, you're right. I wouldn't trust just any pro, but I've been on Houzz for a while now and know which ones to trust. Thank you for your input, though. That's good advice for the majority.

Your schluter seems to be very carefully applied and I see they used kerdifix on the holes from their guide board so I think your tile guy is far above average

Hallett & Co., you're one of the pro's I trust so thank you for that input. We've used this contractor before and trusted him to choose an "above average" tiler so I was surprised and feeling disheartened that maybe there was something wrong with the job the tiler did. I'm feeling better about this all the time. Thank you!!!

Hi, so I had to read through everything. I think the floor looks beautiful (and looks like it was laid well), so not understanding why you want to rip it up?

I dislike the snow white grout. I'd go w/the bleached wood grout color. (or even the Warm Gray. I used that in my shower) (Unsanded,,,with glass it must be unsanded)

once it's all grouted, it will be fine to walk on.

Since you've already verified w/Lunada that's it's good to go on the floor, we'll let that one go.

I would try and seal the tops of the tiles first. it will keep grout from getting in the tiny fissures. I know it's a big task, but it's worth it. do not let the sealer drip down the sides or the grout won't adhere.

I did this shower myself w/similar glass tile. I sealed all of those glass faces first before grouting (they were paper front as well) even w/the sealing, some of the very tiny fissures still sucked up some of the grout. You don't want it completely take over the face of the tile, so try and seal them. 511 or AquaMix is fine

make sure there is no grout in the joint between floor/wall, or the vertical corners. needs to be 100% (it must say, 100%) Silicone Caulk in a matching color to your grout color

Beth, thank you for making the time to read everything and give your input. You are another pro that I trust immensely!

I'm feeling better about the tile today in natural light so we're not going to rip it up. Whew! The drain, however, looks a little crooked, but I think I can live with that.

I dislike the Snow White grout also and am leaning toward Bleached Wood (or maybe even Bone?); however, I'm a little concerned about the tiles being scratched with the grout. I've been told by my contractor AND the tiler that the Custom Prism grout will NOT scratch the glass floor tile. Are you familiar with Prism? Is what they're telling me correct? Maybe we should have the tiler do a sample board with the tile and grout before he does the floor just to reassure us.

never used prism.

Prism® grout is a blend of specialty cements, recycled aggregates and chemicals. Shouldnot be installed when ambient or surface temperature is lower than 50°F (10°C) or higher than 100°F (38°C). Some ceramic, glass, metal, marble or stone tiles can be scratched or damaged by the lightweight aggregate filler.

Based on this^, I would use a diff grout.

**Did you read the advice about sealing the face of the glass? I can't stress this enough.**

I've used Custom sanded and unsanded, and Mapei Flexcolor CQ. that's what's in my shower. it was fine for marble, so it would be fine for glass too. It's a urethane based grout, not the epoxy, so it's a bit easier to install, although clean up needs to be done w/two people, and quickly. This grout does have a stain resistance.

Mapei Keracolor U Unsanded grout is also recommended for glass tiles.

Adding MAPEI Grout Maximizer to Keracolor U will help to reduce the porosity of the grout and help to keep the grout clean.

laticrete also has some good grout for glass

Beth, I'll look into these other brands of grout you recommended for sure. Which colors do you think would be closest to Custom's Bleached Wood and Bone in the Mapei line?

I see that you edited your previous comment to include the part about sealing the glass tiles first. Ugh - wish I didn't choose a glass tile now. But I will definitely take your advice and pick up a sealer. I might apply it myself tomorrow, tile by tile, so I know that it's done without dripping. The only vertical place the tiles are set are on the back wall of the niche. But I guess I'd need to do the same for the shower floor, tile by tile. Could I just use a rag and wipe it on the face of each tile?

Thanks Beth. So grateful you took time to come over and help drsaj. You are the “Go To” tiling expert and we appreciate your time, knowledge and experience very much!

Btw, Bone might have too much color. Check out Biscuit too.

thanks Flo!

drsaj, yes, just use a rag, wipe it over the faces, wait about a minute and buff it off. don't let it just sit on there and dry. put on some music, bring a glass of wine, and just zen out sealing! lol. I once sealed every single pebble for a bathroom floor and walls covered in the pebble rock mosaics!

It will be worth it. Don't stress too much. once done it's going to look great.

you'll have to look at these grout samples in person at the store. take some spare tile you. Flo mentioned Biscuit. it may be a good contender.

don't forget the Silicone caulk for the change of plane joints. remember, no grout between floor and wall! you also want to use the silicone in the niche joints too. extra protection against cracking and water.

Beth.. I used the Flexcolor CQ on my shower floor... I liked it better because it didn't need to be mixed so the color was more consistent. Mapei was weeding out their Keracolor and was pushing Ultracolor FA .. at least in our area. The one issue with the Ultracolor was timing. Once it was mixed there was a time limit to when the installer could use it.

Lisa, I too used the CQ in my shower. clean up is a bit touchier than other grouts. I told my tile guys how to do it (they had never used this grout). they used two guys in the shower on clean up, but only one guy on the marble floor. I tried to explain to him how it needed to be done. he didn't listen to me. took me 2 hours to clean up all the residue on that marble tile. If that grout isn't wiped up quickly enough, it dries and literally sticks to the tile. I think I had to use goo gone or something to get it off. Tilers HAVE to watch the video Mapei puts out on how to grout w/this product.

We had hands on demonstrations with the Mapei folks and the Schluter guys. The grout to watch is Bostik. Never ever use that with pebbles! I used the Dimensions with Island Stone glass pebbles and we found out through the small print on the Bostik site NOT to use it. Even the Bostik rep didn't know! Ended up tearing out my whole floor and doing it over with the CQ. Thankfully our Mapei rep stepped up and sent it to me free ;)

@drsaj What type/brand of grout did you end up using on your Lunada Bay glass penny tile? We are installing it in a niche and backsplash (decided against floor since I've heard so many horror stories about installation issues with glass penny rounds). Ours i Tozin in deep green and blues and I was planning on white grout as that is what I've seen in my inspiration photos. (See attached.) What color did you end up with?

You should definitely go with the contrasting grey