Getting A Seamless Look With Carrerra Marble Tiles
Hi Tom
We are having our bathroom tiled with Carrera marble. We have requested our builder to fit the marble as tight as possible so that it has a ’seamless’ finish rather than with visible grout lines between tiles. The marble supplier told us that this is possible and recommends cutting playing cards to act as spacers between tiles. However, our builder does not believe that you can fit marble without a wider grout line. Please could advise on how to achieve the ’seamless’ finish and what grout should be used?
Thanks and regards,
Mariam.
Hello Mariam,
You can put the tiles tight together but you will most likely have to grind down the interior floor afterward because it is almost impossible to avoid slight lippage between the tiles. Marble tile are not cut perfectly so even a normal 1/32″ variance will feel like a lip when tiles are butted together. For this reason, I strongly do not recommend butting the tiles together.
I really don’t feel that your supplier knows what he is taking about and using a playing card is just silly. You should install them with 1/16″ joints and use non-sanded grout. For white marble, I strongly recommend using epoxy grout because white ‘cement-based’ grout is impossible to keep clean.
Your white marble has veins so there is no hope for getting a ’seamless’ look. Once the joints stop and start between the tiles, it will not appear seamless. If you have a good installer, then 1/16″ grout joints will look even better them butted joints because the joint makes for a nice ‘planned’ transitional pattern in the floor or wall.
Best wishes,
Tom Cordova
June 3rd, 2011 at 11:50 pm
About a year ago, we did a renovation to our home which included a master bathroom. We used white carrera marble in the entire bathroom.
A few months ago we noticed one tile started to have a discoloration with an odd shape.It has black borders and inside it has the color of rust. Thankfully it is in an inconspicious spot, in the second row of tiles from the bottom and near the threshold.
I had a reputable “stone doctor” take a look. He felt that the cause may have been from a non-galvanized screw used behind the tile. The moisture has caused the rust to penetrate through the stone. He recommended re-sealing the entire shower, which we just completed.
I wanted to replace this tile but the recommendation is to leave it alone.
I am so upset as this is a brand new bathroom. I would appreciate any comments on the cause of this. Thanks so much ! Suzanne