We are remodeling our bathroom and have chosen to use 3x6" honed marble tiles for the walls. We have chosen a basket weave mosaic for the bathroom floor and shower floor. Which would be best for the floors: honed marble or polished marble? We are wanting to use a dark gray grout on the floors. Is there a chance that the grout color will be absorbed into white tiles in the basket weave? If so, is there any way to prevent the color absorption?

 

Dear J. Crawford:

 

“ Which would be best for the floors: honed marble or polished marble? ”

 

It all depends what's “best” is by your standards. Maintenance wise, hone-finished is slightly on the plus side.

 

“ Is there a chance that the grout color will be absorbed into white tiles in the basket weave? ”

 

Yes.

 

“ If so, is there any way to prevent the color absorption? ”

 

Yes: use dark gray caulk as grouting material. Run a little test first, anyway.

 

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 – which in your case it is not, especially inside the shower stall) 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 .  

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Ciao and good luck,

Maurizio Bertoli

 

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