Marble Tabletop

henrygregory

I would be really grateful of any knowledge in this area as I am struggling to find any forums online which could help. I quite like marble. I have several pieces of furniture with it. It can have a lovely pattern to it but obviously, it is quite random in terms of what you can get as each piece will differ.

I recently ordered a marble topped cofffee table. The experience has been painful having ordered it in December 2023 and only getting it yesterday. There have been various problems from the supplier and lots of inferior bases being sent out. The base is metal and the marble top slots inside.
I took receipt of the marble top yesterday. It looks lovely, a very nice pattern, quite a few scratches on the top which I assume are from when it was mined and moved as it was very well protected.

Unlike all of the other marble items I have, this isn't flat. It looks flat to the eye, but when you run your hand over the top of it, it is quite lumpy to the touch. Wherever there is darker patterns, there are lumps. If you look at the top in day light, unlike all of the other marble pieces I have, the reflection of things (the window frame in my photo examples) is warped and wavy. These warps match with the bumps and lumps in the surface. 

Is this normal? Should I ask for a replacement? I am happy with the pattern, just not used to having a piece that is so lumpy and not sure if this is just a bad quality example, or just a result of the way it was mined. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as this was not cheap and I have been waiting for it for such a long time, I ended up paying off the finance payments for it before it had even arrived. 

mexican_dave

Is this the biggest piece of marble in your house? I ask as I know nothing about marble, but if it's a really big piece it might be trying to flex under its own weight, then the veins of different minerals (colours) take effect and distort it again. Just a thought, after all it is a natural material, maybe you are expecting too much? As I say I know nothing about marble.

henrygregory

mexican_dave said:

Is this the biggest piece of marble in your house? I ask as I know nothing about marble, but if it's a really big piece it might be trying to flex under its own weight, then the veins of different minerals (colours) take effect and distort it again. Just a thought, after all it is a natural material, maybe you are expecting too much? As I say I know nothing about marble.

Thank you for your post. It is the biggest, however there is a very thick board under it to keep it in place and stable and it looked like this right out of the box. It arrived on its side and very well packaged. I have done a bit of research and it seems it may not have been polished off very well and that might be why. 

Every cut of marble is different. I need to make the decision, do I live with it, or as the company for a replacement knowing it will look totally different. If I put a cup coaster on it, the coaster is wobbling due to the lumps and bumps.

daveyjp

There is always the possibility the top has been put on upside down.

henrygregory

daveyjp said:

There is always the possibility the top has been put on upside down.

I wish that was the case, the bottom is recessed in and that is how it fits onto the base, it can't go the other way round and the bottom has a very thick piece of wood holding everything in place.