What is Marble?

Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, CaCO₃). The word 'marble' is colloquially used to refer to many other stones that are capable of taking a high  polish.

How to cut marble tiles:-

Marble tiles are best cut with a diamond wheel cutting machine  Please See Here.

Marble Adhesive:-

The adhesive you use is as much dependant on what the marble is to be fixed too as much as the stone itself.

As a general rule of thumb if the marble you are fitting is white, light or anything other than a very dark colour it’s important to use a white cement based adhesive suitable for natural products. This avoids the possibility of the stone staining from any dyes or colours in the adhesive. If it happens to be a black marble then a dark grey adhesive is more suitable.

A solid bed trowel should be used in any situation where you consider the stone will be translucent. Providing a full coverage on the back of the stone will not stop discoloration but will discolour the tile as whole if it does happen, therefore reducing the possibility of seeing a row of lines from a serrated trowel if the adhesive happens to discolour the stone very slightly.

Fixing Marble tiles:-

For wall tiling please see here

If you are tiling onto a wooden floor please click here for instructions

Marble Finishing:-

You’ve fitted your marble and now it’s time to grout. The first thing you must do is seal the stone thoroughly with a quality sealant, we generally recommend Lithofin Stain Stop MN. This should be done 24 hrs after the stone has been fitted, this delay allows for a large percentage of the moisture in the adhesive to evaporate and not be trapped in by the impregnating sealer.

Allow this to dry for at least an hour and mix your grout. Always test the grout on an off cut of marble before you go ahead and start grouting your newly tiled wall. This is very important as many grouts (particularly dark or coloured) can contain pigments that react adversely with the marble itself.

Once you’re satisfied that the grout is acceptable, grout your finished tiling and carefully wash and polish the residue as normal.

24 hrs later once the grout has dried, the completed tiles and grout all require another one or two coats of sealant.

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