To Grout or Not to Grout: An Argument for a Granite Tile Countertop

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This granite tile countertop built in 2009 is still going strong.

This article is for those of you questioning the choice of allowing grout in a kitchen (or any!) countertop. This is the subject of many arguments online often ending with torches and pitchforks. Before you get your keyboards fired up about cleanliness and aesthetics please hear me out. This challenging decision is much easier than choices Hamlet had to make!

When I first decided to create a granite tile countertop it was for a house with one bathroom and a high traffic kitchen for a busy growing family. Durable surface, low maintenance countertops were an absolute necessity.

Laminate could take a beating, but it would also look like it took a beating. Porcelain tile could be durable except any chipping would show a different color. It is not too easy on the eyes either. Butcher block was most definitely out due to required maintenance. I’m not a fan of the aesthetic look of man made solid surfaces. The price of solid surface countertops was also out of my price range since it is only 10-20% cheaper than granite slab. Granite or marble slab were options, but again, cost was an issue.

A granite tile countertop solves all those problems.

On top of all those reasons, I love granite. I love the look. I love the feel. Also, I love setting a hot pot on the counter without a second thought as I laugh nonchalantly with a friend over a glass of wine. This is the kind of class and durability I wanted for the family who calls this house their home.

Would fabricating a countertop out of a slab be better? Wouldn’t it be nice if the countertops did not have grout lines? Yes, but only if I had considerably more money than I did at the time. So granite tile was the final answer.

The tile countertops have held up for 10 years and are still going strong. I have since fabricated bullnose and created tile countertops for the main bathroom and half bathroom in my own house. They have held up beautifully for 8 and 9 years, respectively. The photo above is a Blue Pearl granite tile countertop I fabricated for a friend’s townhouse with a very obvious installation date in 2009. It is still in use today.

If you are leaning one way or the other, go with your gut feeling so you do not have DIY/buyer’s remorse later. For full disclosure I have also put a prefabricated slab in my own master bathroom in recent years.

If you join me in going the tile route stop back here the next few weeks for a series on how to build your own tile countertop along with an interesting twist of building countertops for a house remotely.