The bathroom: grouting pebbles

We finally got around to grouting the bathroom. I'll argue that Thanksgiving travel and Christmas brunch got in the way. My dad'll argue that we lolly-gagged on buying the grout and set him off schedule.

The grout we had to use for the pebbles (and can use for the marble) is an apoxy called Laticrete. That was what was recommended and it's a sanded grout that works well with the uneveness of the pebbles and the joints, but it has to be cleaned well in 2 different steps otherwise it will harden on the pebbles, and it's difficult to buff off.

My dad layed the grout, and then I followed up with the 2-part cleaning. All I can say is that if you ever do this and pay for labor, expect to pay a lot. It's pretty labor intensive and our bathroom shower floor is not even 3x4. I can't imagine doing this to an entire floor or shower. Here's some photos of the process:

These are the pebbles after they were installed.

Here's the grout being applied -- the grout goes over all the pebbles
and has to get worked into all the odd joints.

Here's in the middle of my first "cleaning" application. This was such a pain.
The sponge has to be constantly cleaned otherwise you smear grout everywhere.

And here's the final product. You can see that my dad also laid the tile over the lip
of the shower. It's starting to look more and more like a finished room.