Grout For Marble Tile

bert0168

I am going to install some polished marble tile in a small bathroom floor.

I am wondering if I can use the same sanded grout I would normally use for ceramic. I have seen mention here of epoxy and "resin" type grout but the stuff I would prefer to use is colored, just add water powder, like Polyblend.

Am I OK to use this stuff?

kevjob

marble should be set with 1/16th or under so use non sanded so you don't scratch surface

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Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
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Tileworks

No, those sand granules will scratch and take the shine right out of your marble. Marble, set properly, should be almost butting one another, but not quite. You can use a non-sanded grout of the same color, even from Polyblend.

- Bob

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R&D Tile

What do you have for a subfloor?, if wood, I would first see if it will support stone.

bert0168

Thanks about the sanded grout, I probably would have not thought of that. I was going to go 3/16 on the joints but now will go 1/16.

I have 3/4 subfloor with 1/2 Durock cement board so I think I am OK there

One more, I assume that since the marble is so soft, I will be wet sawing all of it.

Is it possible to score and break it?

Tileworks

No, you cannot score and break natural stone, only ceramic and porcelain.

Technically, according to the Marble Institute of America, you need to double that plywood. You also want to make sure that your joists are appropriately spaced and spanned. The deflection standards for stone are double that of ceramic.

I've seen marble installed short of the requirements and live, but I have a moral obligation to inform you of the facts :-)

- Bob

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R&D Tile

Agreed, so far that floor isn't up to spec for stone and I doubt the joists system is either, but we'll wait till you get back with the joist size, spacing and length of unsupported span.

kevjob

try here for deflection: http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/deflecto.pl Have you set marble before? use medium bed.

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Kevin
Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling Denver

bert0168

Thanks for the link. I get a deflection of L/818, over what is needed for marble. It's a small bathroom floor, 5' x 8' with a 12 x 12 tile.

2 x 8
16" o.c.
8' span

No I have not set any marble before, plenty of ceramic. Any more advice before I get to it?

kevjob

do some searching here http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/index.php?

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Kevin
Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling Denver

R&D Tile

Is that the size of the room or the unsupported span of the joists, those joists only run 8' till a support?, if so, you still need two layers of wood.

You want to space them 1/32 to 1/16", the floor needs to be FLAT and you don't ANY lippage.

bert0168

No, the span in the room is only 5'. 2nd floor over a beam on one end and near an exterior wall on the other.

I have 1 layer of 3/4" with a layer of 1/2" backer which with taped and mortared seams and nailed and glued to the subfloor. (I use ring shank drywall nails because I hate the rock on screws and can never get them sunk flush)

I know 8' sounds short but it's in a townhouse. Don't ask me why they built it that way.

orson

1/2" backer doesn't really gain you anything but height on the floor for future reference. It isbasicaly meant for walls where you are spanning studs.

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kevjob

when you say glue, do you mean thinset under cbu?

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Kevin
Basement Finishing Highlands Ranch Colorado
Littleton Colorado, Basement Remodeling
Kitchen Remodeling Denver

bert0168

I wasn't aware of that as I have been using it on floors for a couple of years and no problems.

So other than a mud set, what are options for floor tile. I am not convinced thinset on wood is good as I have removed some tile floors set on plywood where the thinset never stuck

R&D Tile

Nothing wrong with CBU on a floor, think he meant you can use 1/4" instead of the 1/2".

CBUs get set in a bed of thinset and screwed down.

You also need two layers of wood before the CBU or a membrane if installing stone.

MattCoops

I'd stick with thinset under the backerboard. It's not meant to be an adhesive, but fill voids.
The screws are your means of "mechanical" fastening. And I'd definitely use screws instead of nails.
I don't think nails and glue meet manufacturers' specifications for installation of any kind of CBU anyway.

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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
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orson

Yikes!! I didn't mean to insinuate you shouldn't use cbu on the floor, just as R&D was saying, use 1/4" instead of 1/2". Sorry for the poor wording.

I actually prefer Ditra over cbu for most floors, especially if you're only minimally meeting the framing and sheathing requirements.

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Cache

I've seen many stone tile jobs done without two layers of ply. Hardie also claims that 3/4" OSB is sufficient under the 1/4" backer for stone applications. Is that not the case?

Floordude

Hardie want to sell more product. They will tell you what you want to hear, so you buy their crap.

The wood subfloor needs to be a minimum of 1-1/8" thick, before any CBU or uncoupling membrane. No if's and's or but's!

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