Help in laying marble floor tiles

alictait

Hi there,

I have just purchased 24sqm of Marble floor tiles (solid marble) to lay in my kitchen and dining room. They are the white/grey coloured ones and are 30.5cm x 30.5cm each. I got them from B&Q for an absolute bargain price of £6 a .465sqm box (52 boxes), they were reduced to clear and were reduced just as we went in the store !!! we got them all !!! - we also got the extra 15% that they have on until the 2nd of Jan.

Anyway, The guy in B&Q said that you have to use a special adhesive to lay marble tiles as supposedly they are opaque and any coloured adhesive will show through them when sunlight hits them ??? - anyone any experience of this.

Also has anyone any experience of laying them and how difficult it is to cut them.

I will be laying them on top of a 15mm plywood base.

I also have never laid floor tiles before so any advice on how to do so would be appreciated, - I do however class myself as a very proficient diy'er, having just completed the total refit of my kitchen - including plumbing.

Finally - has anyone any suggestions on what to use for grout, is there a special type for a marble floor ???

Thanks in advance

Alistair

quatro

Hi - I would really get all the expert advice you can before starting work. Maybe go into a specialist tile shop and pick their brains, and don't try and cut costs.
Buy a good quality 'diamond wheel' tile cutter that will be able to cut the thickness of your tile.

In a shop here there is a display board where some marble has been attached using the wrong adhesive! It has soaked through the marble [which is porous] and looks awful....
I have put small marble wall tiles in my kitchen successfully - they look great.
Good Luck and it sounds like you have a bargain!

meadowcat

Sounds really nice, but could you stretch a bit and get a professional to lay them? Tiling can be tricky and it's the real finishing touch.

We put a new bathroom and kitchen in DD's house this year. Bathroom suite cost £220 and kitchen cost under £600. I have a very talented DS3 who is only 16, but did all the fitting, plumbing, joinery and electrical work, but wouldn't touch the tiling. As we saved so much with the fitting, she was able to get a professional tiler and it really makes a difference.

I have seen a badly tiled kitchen - walls and floor - and it just screams botched job. It can take away from the whole kitchen.

Don't mean to say you can't do it, but as you say you have never done it before and to start with such beautiful, but perhaps tricky tiles, it would be a shame if it went pear-shaped. Hope I haven't offended.

alictait

No offence taken at all, I think I will get a quote - especially when I have priced adhesive for the job alone at £80.

I am sorely tempted to do it myself however, or rather with the help of my father in law who has laid several tiles before and is an extreme perfectionist. I have laid 15mm ply on the floor so it is a perfectly flat surface and I would imagine a dream for any tiler to lay on.

Anyway, I think the main concern that I had was the adhesive to use - no point in scrimping on that as I have now heard of two incidents where the wrong kind was used to the detriment of the job.

Thanks for the advice given, however more will be appreciated.

alictait

Incidentally quattro - what did you use to mount the wall tiles in your kitchen - any particular special adhesive - also did you leave gaps in the tiles or butt them against each other ?

Thanks again

Ali

stevie_show

£80 for adhesive cheep at twice the price, don’t botch it get a pro in you have saved enough on the tiles, it only takes one out of place. Don’t just ring one from the paper get recommendations go to tile shops see who they use /recommend go to as many as you can see if the same name crops up, look at his work if he is any good previous customers will be happy to show you (to do him a favour) .
It’s really not worth making a mess you will regret it for years.
Good luck .

quatro

alictait - for the wall tiles [varying shades of off white/beige/stone with dark marbling through them] I used good quality wall tile adhesive, which dries white.
I used the wider tile spacers as it suited the tiles and grouted with a special ivory self mix type grout [Granfix make].
Best of luck with the installation.

P.S. The price I was quoted for a 14 sq.mtre slate floor in a house I hope to move into soon [done slate floor myself before but now can't be bothered!] - was £25 per sq mtre, that includes all materials like adhesive, grout and stone seal in with the labour. I think that's reasonable really.

tomstickland

I've laid floor tiles onto a concrete base. It was pretty easy TBH. I used a small spirit level to get each tile level and a much larger spirit level to make sure that the whole floor was level. Angle grinder and stone cutting discs to trim the edges. 5 spots of adhesive under each tile and then tapped with mallet to level. As to marble though, I've no idea about the translucent part.