About Our Marble Tiles and Marble Flooring:
Our marble tiles and flooring are produced from quarries all over the world, and our largest supplying countries include Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, the U.S. and China. Due to the massive scale and the changing production methods of these quarries, there is no uniform grading system that is practiced by the majority of marble producers, but marble tiles from stonetiledepot.com are supplied by the world’s best quarries.
What Should One Look for When Buying Marble Tiles?
When buying marble tiles, one should look for an even surface that is free of cracks, fossilized matter and uneven coloration. All of the marble tiles carried by stonetiledepot.com meet these quality standards, and all of our marble tiles are properly graded and quality controlled. One should also look for uniformity in color and background color. Some importers box different qualities of marble into one export shipment, and this causes tiles to break in transit making them unfit for installation. The most popular marble colors include those from Italian quarries such as Carrara White marble, Statuary White marble and Calacatta marble. Crema Marfil marble and Emperador Dark marble are also attractive choices from Spain. Georgia and Vermont marbles from the U.S. are very popular, and most U.S. marble is manufactured for exterior wall cladding and monuments. We ship our marble tiles to all major U.S. cities including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Where Can One Use Marble Tiles?
Marble tiles can be used in a variety of residential and commercial applications, such as on kitchen walls and flooring, bathroom walls and flooring, as well as for backsplashes, countertops, countertop edge trim, and entrance flooring. One can use marble tiles with a trim piece, such as a bull nose or edge piece to create an inexpensive and practical countertop (although one should check such an application with the marble installer beforehand since, in general, marble is not a suitable material for heavy duty countertops). Marble countertops provide a very soft and neutral look, and one can polish or hone such countertops, (honing is recommended since scratches do not appear as distinctly as when polished). Marble is the preferred choice of stone for commercial applications in areas where one wants to accomplish a soft uniform feel, such as for hotel flooring and hotel bathroom tiling. Certain hard marble flooring can be used even in the most demanding applications as long as proper stone flooring material is selected and applied.
What Should One Look for in Quality Marble Tiles?
Marble tile and marble flooring should have the following characteristics:
- A good uniform color selection of marble flooring material should be used. It is important to dry lay the whole shipment to achieve a uniform consistency and blend of colors throughout the entire floor prior to installation. This will prevent unattractive or unwanted pieces although less desirable pieces can also be used for cuts and in less visible areas of the application.
- Pieces should be free of visual defects such as pits (except in some stones where pitting is considered natural and must be properly filled), major cracks, and major open veins (i.e. a natural vein that is not filled).
- One should only use sound and strong tiles.
- Marble tiles must have a uniform, even surface as a result of professional finishing. Polishing constitutes the most typical finish for marble tiles although some can be honed as well. All of the tiles must have the same thickness (generally 10mm or 3/8” thick) and size. All marble tiles we carry are manufactured at first grade factories with proper processing machinery.
- Professional packing should be used so that pieces are stacked with polished face to polished face to prevent scratching. The pieces should not be laid flat. In general, all stone flooring shipments must be prepared so that the natural stone tiles and marble flooring stand up on a pallet. The shipping pallet must be of good quality, and the marble flooring must be securely strapped to the pallet in a perpendicular fashion. All of the natural stone tile and countertop pieces sold by stonetiledepot.com meet these requirements.
Care and Maintenance for Marble Tiles and Marble Flooring:
It is extremely easy to care and maintain marble flooring. Marble flooring is one of the most durable materials and requires very little maintenance. We recommend taking the following simple precautions:
1. Be sure to select the right type of natural stone for your home.
2. Be sure to follow instructions by your stone care provider. We recommend Miracle Sealants, which provides excellent help and support through its web site: www.miraclesealants.com.
3. We recommend all natural stone to be sealed immediately after installation and initial cleaning.
4. For everyday residential use, basic cleaning with warm water and cloth should be more than enough to maintain marble tiling and marble flooring. Spills should be wiped off quickly, and heavy staining can be treated by using professional cleaning products available from Miracle Sealants.
5. We recommend that a minimum grout joint is left when a marble floor is installed. Although some prefer a very tight joint, a minimum grout joint of 1/8” is recommended so that the floor has room for expansion and contraction due to conditions related to your subfloor. This is especially valid for new constructions.
6. Enjoy the investment in marble flooring for many years to come!
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