Hmmm, well maybe it is a bad idea then. Are we going to be ok with a honed marble slab on our bench seat? And the honed marble shelves in our niche? Tub surround and vanity top?

Those are all fine. None of them are sitting at the bottom of the shower where water will collect---- SO LONG as those horizontal surfaces in the shower are all pitched appropriately.

Maybe you can use this faux carrara porcelain mosaic tile on the shower floor to mix with your real carrara.

Here is a link that might be useful: Faux Carrara Mosaic

blondelle - We looked at that tile before, but I didnt realize it came in a mosaic. Might just work! Thanks :)

Bill,

Curious what the issue is please? We have polished Calacatta mosaic mini bricks on our shower floor and have had no problems. The small brick and lots of grout takes care of the slipperiness factor. None whatsoever. We used Kerdi, and everything appears to be fine. Been over two years now. Sure the marble looks wet for half an hour (darker in color) then fades to the usual when dry. We did do Kerdi, as you know. Is there some problem I should be on the alert for?

Thanks,
Ivette

Ivette-- If you noticed up above, I did say with Kerdi, it wouldn't be as much of a problem, due to the fact that it doesn't take as much for the water to evaporate from underneath the stone as it would with a conventional shower pan.

Hi! I'm thinking of using the honed carrara hex in my shower as well. Mosiac King, what type of grout did you use? I'm looking all over, and finding conflicting reports about whether I should use sanded or non-sanded, epoxy or non-epoxy. Also, what type of sealer did you use? And for a regular home shower (vs. a commercial environment like your spa)...can I just use a regular tile-ready shower pan? Or do I really need to specify a Schluter system? Thanks in advance!

Thanks Bill! I did see that you mentioned Kerdi but it was the "might get away with it" part that left me with some residual concern. Glad we're good! Planning to do the cararra hex on the basement bathroom floor/shower floor eventually.

Ivette

P.S. Cassidy, our mini bricks came with a very small grout line so we used unsanded. It's holding up perfectly well. Also, we used the Miracle 511 sealer. Great stuff.

ALthough I'll agree with most of that post, there are a couple of things I don't. First, there IS a big difference between the "high dollar" sealers and Home Depot's Best (Tile Lab). The better sealers will last alot longer.

Same thing with the difference between water based and solvent based. The solvent based sealers penetrate much deeper, and as such, last alot longer.

One last question-- who makes an unsanded epoxy?

Lastly, I don't know what you're calling "tile sealers". The only tile sealers I've ever seen ARE penetrating sealers, also used for sealing stone, and in fact ORIGINALLY meant for sealing stone.

In our shower they have installed a heavy thick plastic liner that all slopes to the center. There is no cement board or sheetrock installed yet on the walls. I guess they are going to float some morter or concrete on the floor? Yes? Do we really need the kerdi system. Can they still do it? Is it overkill? Or is it just a fail safe for the diy'er.there is a curb buit into the pan also if that info helps. If needed I'm sure we have a pic. Just want to make sure its right.

If you're going to go with Kerdi, that has to be decided before any work begins, because right now, not only would you end up wasting the liner that's in there now, but also the drain. There's no liner needed because the Kerdi membrane goes right over the top of everything, and it attaches to a special drain that's part of the system. A normal drain can NOT be used with Kerdi.