Between polished marble, honed marble and honed/filled travertine which would be best to have on shower walls with regard to maintanence and water spotting or staining/dulling of the stones finish? Is the polished finish going to be more slippery when wet, and on the floors in the shower, will smaller, tumbled tiles vs small polished (looking at 5/8's, 1x1's, 2x2's, and 4x4's? I am looking forward to getting your expert advice. I have neard and read so many different views that I am rather confused. Thanks, diane

 

Dear Diane:

The absolute best stone to have in a shower is a contractor who knows how to install natural stones shower stalls. Unfortunately, there are too many of them that don't. And even the “bestest” of all stones will turn into a heap of sad junk in the hands of some “Michelangelo”.

That duly said, hone-finished marble and hone-finished (and filled) travertine are equivalent.

And yes, to tackle any possible slippery issue, smaller tiles are the way to go on the floor of the stall. 3” x 3” or 4” x 4” are fine. But if you prefer the look of smaller tiles, there's nothing wrong with them.

Now remember, it's never too early to think about the proper maintenance of your stone. The issue of what you'll be doing day in and day out to your stone is – as it should be intuitive – vastly more important than its sealing (if and when possible and/or advisable) and it's all too often neglected. As you can tell by reading many of this site's postings, you're not likely to get good information about routine care from your dealer or installer. Don't become another statistic! By logging into the Helpful Hints section of our website at:   http://www.mbstone.com/HH_promo/helpful_hints.htm , you will be able to get the short version of our maintenance guidelines at no charge. The full version of it – a 7-page document considered by many as an industry benchmark – is available in pay-per-download format in our Educational Literature section at:   http://www.mbstone.com/literature/literature.htm . In there you will find priceless tips on the proper installation of natural stone shower stalls, too!  

And remember, every single penny of the cost of the literature will be used to support this site and its cause: your cause.

While you are in the “Helpful Hints” section, do spend some time reading all of the interesting FREE articles you'll find in there!

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Thank you  

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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