Hate to ask...but can you refinish cultured marble?
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
15 years ago
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Comments (11)
terezosa / terriks
15 years agoRelated Discussions
Cultured marble shower base -- good choice?
Comments (19)We had cultured marble in our last home for 13 years, and it never cracked, crazed, or otherwise fell apart. It still looked new the day we sold our house. Even with teenagers. Cultured marble vanity tops will get what I call a patina. In other words, cultured marble will scratch if you treat it harshly, but so does corian, soapstone, etc. In the shower it was never an issue. It can also be buffed out if desired. It is extremely easy to clean, no fear of leaks, and can be very pretty. It does not have to be plain white. We are almost finished building our new home and I was almost swayed by pretty tile. Then reality hit and we selected a nice cultured marble with a bit of wood tone swirled with pale gray on white. Our trim carpenter thought it was real stone. It looks beautiful with our tongue and groove cypress walls. I have opted for a freestanding style Porcher console sink because I like that look. Be very caredful whom you select to make your shower if you go this route. We tried a comapany close to where we live now and they did a horrible job that resulted in us having to tear it out and start over They were both incompetent and unethical. Be sure to check their reputation first....we didn't. There is a company in Thomasville, Georgia...do NOT use them. Fortunately, Southern Marble (who did our previous home) agreed to make the lengthy trip to install a new one for us. It is perfect. The best part is not having a cleaning nightmare. Hot water used in the shower or sink will not crack your cultured marble. Harsh cleaning chemicals and abrasive scrubbing will ruin it, but normal cosmetics and soaps will not. If hot water is causing cracking something is wrong. It will never need abrasive scrubbing....it cleans up easily with mild cleaners. The shower pan should be set in "mud". Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't need to be. It does, or it can flex and crack over time. The shower pan of a cultured marble shower does not have an applied film. The texture is cast into it, and you will not harm it if you need to take a nylon scrubbie to it from time to time. I agree with doing what you want and not what some designer dictates. You're the one living with, and having to clean this shower. We once rented a home with a tile shower while our house was being built and I would never consider having atile shower and dealing with cleaning issues. While I will rinse the shower down when I am done, if I've splattered shampoo or conditioner, I will not ever resort to squeegees, wiping it dry after each use, or any other ridiculous measures to keep a shower looking presentable. Life is too short. The shower material should look nice without having to do all of that....See Morecultured marble and granite in bath
Comments (8)I bet you will not have to replace the vanity once you replace the faucets with really nice substantial models. Replace the tub and shower trim to match. You can even change the finish on your tub and shower to match new faucets. If you have a roman faucet, pick out that trim first and then get matching lav faucets. It is perfectly acceptable to have a cultured marble vanity. Buy your faucets on line or at a plumbing supply store, not at the big box stores. Buy faucets whose model numbers match those on the manufacturers websites. Tile your floor. Put a nice coat of car wax on your cultured marble, (but not the shower pan) Step back and voila, you have a new bathroom....See MoreAchieving a "classic" (not dated) look with cultured marble
Comments (24)You'll find that Cultured marble is generally less expensive than other solid surface products and if you have a local manufacturer, it can be custom sized so there is no waste having to buy full panels. I have been doing cultured stone showers for 20 years and there is no more durable or easier to clean surface. Mainly because there is no grout and it has a permanent sealant. As far as the issue of looking dated: For vanity tops use an under mounted sink- the Kolher 'Caxton' is an industry standard with a cultured stone top. This will give the look of natural stone especially if you can get it with a dropped edge or at least 1' thick. The older integral sinks did crack around the drain-typically due to a chemical reaction to plumbers putty. But the gel coated products have improved tremendously as far as no yellowing and being very abrasion resistant. Again as far as getting a more time-less look, go with a solid white shower/tub surround or very subtle swirls. Cultured granite gives you a more typical solid surface look, but I prefer a GLOSSY surface since it is so much easier to clean than a matte finish. (Soap scum doesn't stick to it) Another timeless look in the cultured stone product line is TruStone. It's a gel-coated cultured marble that goes through a photo fusion process. It looks just like natural stone without the cost, weight, and porosity. If you have a local cultured marble manufacturer, they may be licensed to provide TruStone. Here is a link that might be useful: Trustone Products...See Morecultured marble
Comments (7)I don't know why it gets a bad rep. I guess because it CAN look cheesy and cheap. We have it in our upstairs bathrooms and I love it because it's so easy to maintain. We have a cream and white- you can barely see any color/texture. Just enough to keep it from being too flat and generic looking. It's not as 'pretty' as perfectly maintained tile but I've not seen much 'perfectly maintained' tile. I HAVE seen a lot of once-pretty tile gone bad. And it doesn't take much to get from one state to the next. We are now putting in a basement bathroom and I'm likely to go with Swanstone. It is available at a decent price through Lowe's and doesn't have that super shiny finish that cultured marble and some cultured granite has. The more satin finish I think looks better as does the granite texture- but it's personal perference for sure. If you go with the regular cultured marble, I'd recommend the cream on white type since the marble looks kind of yucky if there is more contrast between the two colors ie. medium brown swirls with a white background. I'm actually considering an off-white colored Swanstone beadboard for the tub surround for downstairs. There will be beadboard in the rest of the bathroom and doing that in the tub will enable me to do the actual tub deck and vanity top in granite without introducing too many patterns- I think. I might change my mind still! LOL! If you are able to DIY, tile is probably cheaper than a solid surface surround unless you are using really expensive tiles....See MoreUser
15 years agoclg7067
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15 years agolinnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
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