Help!: advice on marble installation

[buckman81]

Hi i've just got a job tiling three bathrooms in polished marble has anyone got advice on cutting curves and grouts to use as i have not worked with marble before. Cheers

[pjtiler]

1st thing is use white flexable adhesive
use an angle grinder for the curved cuts
bal flexi grout
no doubt gaz or james will jump in here

[whitebeam]

Mapei grout if you can get it

[pjtiler]

Mapei grout if you can get it

i find that a bit to sandy for a 2 mm joint my self

[whitebeam]

1st thing is use white flexable adhesive
use an angle grinder for the curved cuts
bal flexi grout
no doubt gaz or james will jump in here

Do you use one off the standard blades or the curved ones

[pjtiler]

Do you use one off the standard blades or the curved ones

[whitebeam]

Your hard work sometimes

[TilingLogistics]

i find that a bit to sandy for a 2 mm joint my self

Havbe you tried the Kerracolour PJ?

Kev

[grumpygrouter]

i find that a bit to sandy for a 2 mm joint my self

Ultracolor Plus isn't sandy PJ. I have used the silver grey colour on a Carrara marble and it was really good for that installation.

[grumpygrouter]

Hi i've just got a job tiling three bathrooms in polished marble has anyone got advice on cutting curves and grouts to use as i have not worked with marble before. Cheers

Marble is really soft stuff. If you have bedded a tile in and then need to lift it, say to correct levels, be very careful how you do it as the tiles break very easily! They also scratch very easily. I didn't need to cut curves when I laid my floor so can't comment on that with regard to marble.

[MICK the Tiler]

Invest in some suction cup lifters these will help with moving tiles around, also allow for plenty of addy. The marble I'm working with at the moment varies in thickness by 5mm as for cutting curves use an angle grinder and i use some lead solder as a flexable ruler to get the shape then I freehand score with a hand held glass cutter makes it easier to see the mark. Be careful when marking marble with pencil it can be very stubborn to remove so mark out accurately. For grout the smoother the better.

[365drills]

In addition to straight line cuts and curve if you also need to drill holes you will get best results from diamonds. As mentioned above marble is really soft and in the past we've managed to dry drill it with our core drills.

Some marble actually drilled better without water - than with.

The other point above about being careful with pencil marks is valid too. In fact we always use masking tape on marble as a barrier to penetration.

[buckman81]

who makes ultra colour sorry if i seem slow having trouble navigating the site bit of a newby

[grumpygrouter]

who makes ultra colour sorry if i seem slow having trouble navigating the site bit of a newby

Mapei.

[deanotile]

You may need to seal the marble before you start if it is a light colour then I always seal both sides before fixing.

[TilingLogistics]

You may need to seal the marble before you start if it is a light colour then I always seal both sides before fixing.

Thats interesting! Doesn't the sealer on the underside affect the adhesion properties of the adhesive then?

Kev

[deanotile]

Why is that kev?

[MICK the Tiler]

You may need to seal the marble before you start if it is a light colour then I always seal both sides before fixing.

I actually think that's a pretty good idea, I mean we seem to have no probs in priming floors and walls, effectively sealing the surface, Does that affect adhesion?

[TilingLogistics]

Why is that kev?

I thought that a certain amount of the cementitious properties in the adhesive actually adhered with certain amounts of it penetrating the biscuit to the underside of the tile. My thought process naturally led me to believe by sealing the underside of the tile with a penetrating sealer it would affect adhesion! Am I wrong?

Kev

[MICK the Tiler]

I think the word "WRONG" in the way you describe how a sealer would affect the ability of an adhesive to stick to a tile is a little early at this stage. I mean alot of you guys seal your tiles before you grout, would this affect how the grout grabs the edge of the tile? I think this technique is very interesting and would like to have more discussion on the topic, perhaps a test board with some tiles attached or some input from an adhesive rep may be the way to go, It would certaily go a long way in solving "Bleed Through" issues on translucent stone. Although it would be an extra cost that would have to be allowed for in the costings. I don't think either of you are wrong in what you say. There simply is no evidence to support or disprove either argument at this stage.

[MICK the Tiler]

Just because a surface is sealed doesn't mean an adhesive won't adhere to it. It all depends on the type of adhesive one uses when using this technique.

[deanotile]

Hi Mick I have used this method for 25 years and it was being don by my family before I was born. It is a tried and tested method as long as you use a modified adhesive there is no problems we see no problems with adhesive sticking to porcelain I have even been known to dip the marble so it is sealed on the front, back, and the edges and then you can use any colour adhesive that you want. I did a floor for a builder in there head office and had to chop one out and believe me it was stuck.

[garythetiler]

deano sealing tiles can effect how the adhesives bonds to the tile depending on which type on sealer is used ,some marbles and stone have to be sealed but with spirit based sealers rather than oil/parafin based sealers as these would form a barrier , have you heard of feb strike? this is an oil based sealer for shuttering to stop the concrete sticking to the shutter same thing would happen to tiles if you sealed with an oil based sealer so yes you can seal the backs but just be careful what you seal them with

[deanotile]

deano sealing tiles can effect how the adhesives bonds to the tile depending on which type on sealer is used ,some marbles and stone have to be sealed but with spirit based sealers rather than oil/parafin based sealers as these would form a barrier , have you heard of feb strike? this is an oil based sealer for shuttering to stop the concrete sticking to the shutter same thing would happen to tiles if you sealed with an oil based sealer so yes you can seal the backs but just be careful what you seal them with

Yep I’d agree with that.

[TilingLogistics]

Hi Mick I have used this method for 25 years and it was being don by my family before I was born. It is a tried and tested method as long as you use a modified adhesive there is no problems we see no problems with adhesive sticking to porcelain I have even been known to dip the marble so it is sealed on the front, back, and the edges and then you can use any colour adhesive that you want. I did a floor for a builder in there head office and had to chop one out and believe me it was stuck.

Dean

You are bringing a lot of different things into the equation now. I have no doubt in my mind that you have done what you have done for a long time and I am sure what worked for your family and you was fine. However, we need to remember sealers have advanced a great deal as have, modern adhesives. As for using any colour adhesive on marble when its sealed brings other problems as well as sealing issues. Are you therefore saying if you dipped Carrara marble in sealer you would then use a grey adhesive to fix it?

Kev

[TilingLogistics]

I think the word "WRONG" in the way you describe how a sealer would affect the ability of an adhesive to stick to a tile is a little early at this stage. I mean alot of you guys seal your tiles before you grout, would this affect how the grout grabs the edge of the tile? I think this technique is very interesting and would like to have more discussion on the topic, perhaps a test board with some tiles attached or some input from an adhesive rep may be the way to go, It would certaily go a long way in solving "Bleed Through" issues on translucent stone. Although it would be an extra cost that would have to be allowed for in the costings. I don't think either of you are wrong in what you say. There simply is no evidence to support or disprove either argument at this stage.

Mick,

I believe most tilers /fixers who preseal would only use a temporary sealer to aid grout haze removal I certainly would anyway.

As for "bleed through" I have just had some very interesting results if you are interested maybe I could post them or PM them to you as I believe the findings may bore some people top death. In addition if you want me to post them i will need to obtain permission from the author firstly

Kev

[deanotile]

Dean

You are bringing a lot of different things into the equation now. I have no doubt in my mind that you have done what you have done for a long time and I am sure what worked for your family and you was fine. However, we need to remember sealers have advanced a great deal as have, modern adhesives. As for using any colour adhesive on marble when its sealed brings other problems as well as sealing issues. Are you therefore saying if you dipped Carrara marble in sealer you would then use a grey adhesive to fix it?

Kev

Yes kev that is exactly what I am saying.

[pjtiler]

Yes kev that is exactly what I am saying.

seams a lot of messing about to me dean
ive always used white adhesive and before that
snowcreat & silica sand (soaking the tiles in water over night )
oh btw
we never sealed out int tholden days

[Daz]

I did a bathroom floor and walls in Antico Marble. I used grey flexi and fixed before sealing. I used Granfix grout after 1 coat of Stonefix colour enhancer then sealed again after cleaning down.

Job looked brill and customer was well pleased (£200 tip pleased actually).

[pjtiler]

I did a bathroom floor and walls in Antico Marble. I used grey flexi and fixed before sealing. I used Granfix grout after 1 coat of Stonefix colour enhancer then sealed again after cleaning down.

Job looked brill and customer was well pleased (£200 tip pleased actually).

lead us a tenner