Flooring Tile - Messy Grout Job - redoing Tiles - Grout thickness ?

Previously, I messed up my grout job on a porcelain installation on the floor ( I did 1/4 inch gout line), and had to take out the entire tiles .

Now, I am planning to re-do the tiles with a thinner grout line..And I may pick a ceramic tile too (Maybe 12 X 12).. How thin the grout line could be in this case ?

I dont want to mess up the grout joint this time around......Please advise..


TIA, sun1974

With 12x12 tiles, 1/8" to 3/16" spacing looks very good. What happenned the first time though that caused a total tear out? Maybe We can offer some pointers that will prevent the same issues.

I used porcelain tiles and used 1/4" spaces for the grout line.
When I picked the grout, that was in contrasting color from the tile.
(The tile was Baige and Grout was Grey). When I did the grout, I did not clean the stuff up fully, and caused some grout to stay on the tile surface.
The tile had a stone look also (Venetian Stone Beige Color Porceialn Tile from Lowes = 2.38$ / sft)...I spend a lot of time in cleaning up the stuff, but could never get the look.........
So, I would re-do the tile, this time with a ceramic tile (Non-Stone type) and go for the thinnest possible grout line, so that I wont mess up again.....And of course, a non-contrasting color.........

Sighs........sun1974

Don't fret. You can use what ever tile you want. A glazed tile, ceramic or procelain is pretty easy to clean up. First you need to make sure you get as much grout off the tile with your grout float as you do it. Next, make sure you start the clean up about 20 minutes later. Use two buckets, one for the first rinse, keep the sponge compressed and use the second bucket as an extra rinse for clean water. Use as little water as possible. If you get a white scrubbing pad or a plastic scraper, you will be able to easily get any grout out of any ridges on the face of the tile without scratching. Make sure your sponge is well wrung out. You don't need much water to clean it up and you certainly don't wnat to be introducing extra water to your grout.