Marble Tile

bruno002

ok so i am redoing my bathroom, i want to put 12x12 marble tiles on the shower wall, my question is i dont want big joints i want them as small as possible, now what would i use to grout that i dont think nonsanded grout will work that good i just dont know, i am just a mason and you cant put bick in a shower.




thanks





http://BuCustomMasonry.com

thom

10 years ago I did my own house with marble on the walls and ceiling of one bath. The tiles have a beveled edge that is not polished. I butted the tiles tight then grouted with unsanded. Hasn't chipped out yet.

Mike Finley

Use 1/16" spacers (or better yet - wedges), grout with a non-sanded grout, if you want to reduce the visual effect of the grout lines, the color of your grout should match the color of the marble. Keep in mind marble is a crappy material for a shower, but hey, people want hard wood in a kitchen too.

You have to have grout lines, at least that is what I have always been told.

bruno002

why do you say that marble is crappy for a shower?
and by the way i have hardwood in my kitchen

thom

Marble is soft and stains easily. Soap scum will adhere and build up and look crappy. Keep it clean and polished. Put a sealer on it right away and reseal based on use.

I did mine at the bath and shower by an indoor pool. It doesn't get much use because we have the ones by the bedrooms that the family uses. It does look real dramatic, and it's real visible to guests. I used the frameless glass for the shower enclosure so you see the whole bathroom. Did some inlay and design with the marble, ceiling is a diagonal checkerboard.

MattCoops

travertine is the new marble

don't like marble anywhere except for doorway thresholds and around fireplace

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Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Teetorbilt

Matt, I hope that you are using something better than the old grey crap. That is SOOOOOO out.

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MattCoops

I try to keep away from marble

it stains, it breaks, its brittle, it makes my cut man swear a lot

we've been selling a lot of granite jobs lately
and some slate
and of course travertine is quite popular in bath remodels

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

turner flooring

Go to professional flooring supply. They have a new sealer that comes in a spray can. Guarenteed for 22 yrs. No stains. The only sealer i have ever used that is worth every dollar. Marble is a good look but without the sealer it's very pourous(stains bad)..Seal it with something great. Or get ready for disappointment..

MrFloors

Use a high-end solid body porcelain tile like Graniti. Use mastic to hang the tiles, then unsanded grout. Enjoy.

Mike Finley

All good except the mastic. Do yourself a favor and lose the word mastic from your vocabulary when it comes to wet areas and floors.

Eric K

I would lose the word completely unless you have days to kill to wait for that crap to dry. We did a design center display and the company had a tile guy already scheduled before they had me... He was putting tile on a wall that I built. As he was setting his last wall tile with mastic, his helper was mixing up the grout for it! I bet I could go there today almost a year later and peel off that tile with ease.

R&D Tile

NEVER use any sealer that comes in an aerosol can, NEVER!

R&D Tile

Never use Mastic with any type of stone, NEVER!

Mastic can be used with ceramic tile 8" and smaller in dry areas only.

Mike Finley

I was waiting for that one.

Isn't that the stuff that is killing people or something?

MrFloors

R&D,

Not to be a wise guy, but porcelain ain't stone. And a product like DalTile's DS-50 Mastic is great for 12x12 wall tile or less.

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Brian's Carpet & Commercial Flooring
West Palm Beach, FL 33407
561-242-9500

Mike Finley

You could do it on a wall, but not in a wet area wall. Let's just say you could do it, you can do anything you want, but you shouldn't do it.

R&D Tile

Maybe some brands might work, some are crap, I'll stick with thinset for any tile over 8 to 10" in size, next time you use it, just remove a tile 48 hrs. later and see if it's dry underneath, if so fine.

The only Mastic I use is Durabond and sometimes mapei's brand.

Yes, I think I know porcelain isn't a stone, it's ceramic.

andybuildz

Hey RD,,,whats shakin bro?
I disagree with some of these guys about marble in a shower area.
I did several 12x12's in my own houses...Green marble to be exact...walls ceiling and floors with fantastic results!!! Looked absolutly stunning and stayed that way with zero issues. I had em' all butt tight together and used a non sanded grout. All the tiles I used thinset...ceiling tiles as well.
Question for you...You think mapei thinset is THAT much better than Versabond? I know its better but how bad IS Versabond ...I have some bags I was gonna use for my Kerdi/tumbled marble. Think I should go out of my way and get some mapei or am I cool with the VB?
PS...gonna go check out Old Cntry Tile tomorrow...going right by there i "think".
oh yeh..while I have you here...did I already ask you this??? John says its cool to use VB on 1/8" luan in his E-Kerdi-book...lotta people seem to disagree ...I put together a scrap piece tonight to be sure he's right. I can't imagine he's not!! Whattya think?
swcond pic is just framing first pic has luan over the framing...radius is too tight to use 1/4" rock...even wetted...I tried.
I forget if I already asked yo uthis so if I did...sorry.
Thanks dude
andy

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Teetorbilt

I really wanted marble in the bath and I literally have tons of the stuff. I guess that I'll have to prove 'everybody else' wrong again!

__________________
You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein