Epoxy grout with calacatta marble tile?
piscesgirl
11 years ago
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bill_vincent
11 years agopiscesgirl
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Tiling shower, various questions re niches, bench, epoxy grout
Comments (0)We are currently at the point of putting up durock in our new shower. We will be painting redgard on top of the durock. We are using a Kohler cast iron pan and have built in a bench at the far end. We are DIYing it and neither of us have done a bathroom before so we are trying to do all our due diligence so our bathroom doesn't look like crap in the end! I have a bunch of questions I'm hoping some of you would be willing to help with. First, let me explain our design choices so you have an idea of the look we're going for. We're doing a white subway tile in the shower (Interceramic cheap stuff from Lowes). We bought the 2x6 bull nose pieces to run around the sides in the opposite direction as the subway tile. Chrome thermostatic rain shower. Frameless glass shower doors. The floor will be marble with a basketweave tile rug in the center. The vanity is white with carrera marble top. So here goes my questions: 1. Durock, fuzzy or smooth out? I've read that the fuzzy side should go out when using thinset, however I'm unclear on whether or not we should use the fuzzy side considering a layer of redgard will be painted over prior to tile. 2. Niches. We are adding two niches. One larger one, probably around a foot tall, and one narrow one directly below it for razors, etc. The back will be basketweave marble, the sides will be white subway tile we're using on the rest of the shower. We've read floor elfs tutorial on building a niche (THANK YOU) so I think we understand the construction. My question is for the "shelf" part. I'd really like to use a solid base however our budget is busted for getting something fabricated. Would it be possible to use a 3/8" marble tile and somehow polish the outer edge so its not raw ourselves? Which leads to my next question. 3. The bench. We have a bench we've constructed out of 2x4's and plywood. Again, I would really love to have a solid surface instead of tile but having something fabricated is not in our budget. I was considering using 2 18x18 marble tiles which should fit perfectly but would this look strange? Also, same problem of needing to polish the raw edge of the tile. Also, is marble just bad news for a top in the shower which will probably be coming in contact with shampoo, soap, shaving cream etc? I'm concerned about etching and looking like garbage. Any other suggestions on material we could use that'd be in keeping with the rest of our "look"? 4. Grout. I've discovered that I really love the look of white grout with white subway tile. However, I can't stand devoting a lot of time to keeping the shower clean. And I really can't stand dirty grout but I also hate to scrub it. We have a hand shower so we can do a quick rinse after showing to get rid of soap, shampoo residue but the odds of us wiping the entire shower down after each use are slim. Will a white epoxy grout on the walls just be a huge hassle with keeping it clean? Is it worth the premium vs just sealing a regular grout? And, lastly, any direction to a good tile tutorial would be appreciated. We want to make sure we don't have funky looking cuts or awkward looking tiles. If you've made it this far, thank you!! This endeavor has turned out to be a ton more work and research than I expected and this site has been an invaluable resource!...See MoreCalacatta Oro marble tiles in bath...
Comments (26)For your countertops I suggest a contrasting color. I like something dark such as green marble like Verde Antique or soapstone as a contrast. Maybe green marble is too busy and a calming soapstone with few veins will complement all the movement of your beautiful marble. We did our master bath with honed Imperial Danby marble floors with green verde antique accents and they look great together. I used medium gray grout on the floor - TEC silverado on my Calacatta floor in the guest bath and TEC dove gray on the Danby floor. Both are nice but the silverado is less likely to show dirt as it ages. I'll post a photo (as soon as I learn how to)....See MorePorcelain Calacatta Marble Tile Pattern
Comments (5)My daughter used 12x24 porcelain Carrara tiles on her walls and 24x24 on the floors. She opted for a stacked pattern on both. Her tiler did a great job of matching up the veins in the tiles so that they appear to flow effortlessly across the walls and floor. I have seen quite a few bathroom pictures with marble/marble look tiles were no effort was made to match the veins. IMO they look rather frenzied and haphazard. I may be wrong but it seems to me that it might be easier to make the veins match up with a stacked pattern. You might want to try laying out some of your tiles on a floor. Do both patterns and see which looks best. Here is a slightly out of focus shot of my daughter's tile This post was edited by badgergal on Mon, Nov 10, 14 at 18:54...See MoreLaticrete SpectraLock Pro grout with Calacatta marble?
Comments (2)chitowngrl the best "tile" forum inside gardenweb is the bathroom forum. Post there. Since stone is a natural material, its reaction to this grout cannot be predicted over the internet. Starting with the smallest box of grout, try it out. Years ago I posted on a tile forum about Freezering most of the mixed grout and using it gradually. I was a pioneer in this. I have found it only works when it works. There are many factors in this equation. Too many to add here now. It IS possible to split the contents of a box and mix only half a box. This puts you at risk of getting more than half the hardener in one of the two batches, and less than half in the other batch. Measure carefully. If the less-hard batch gets put into the freezer, it will last long. Vice versa, if the more-hard batch goes into the freezer, it will not work well at all. It will harden in the freezer. -- Epoxy grout is good for DIY because they have the time to read instructions and do things right. Professionals experienced in Portland cement type grouts have a hard time with it because it requires them to unlearn some deep habits and to pay attention to "new" aspects of grouting.... so you are best continuing as a DIY. -- Without seeing it, I'll venture a guess my strategy for that wall would be to begin grouting the wall with a Portland cement type grout in the same color. I would not fill the grout lines fully. Then I would go back over it all with the epoxy product you mentioned above. This is because epoxy grout is good on vertical surfaces when it only has to fill shallow gaps. Epoxy grout is a little bit like molasses. Even when it starts hardening up, it can still slump. My thinking is that epoxy grout can slump, in many of the spaces where you want it not to slump. This does not result in the flat grout surface you want; it can look very unprofessional. Slump means like cake batter or peanut butter sliding down and getting thicker protruding at a point where it's blocked, and obviously also being thinner in other places, which leaves the stone protruding. I cannot say what to do specifically. I'm not an expert at the highest level. I have used epoxy grout a lot, in many renovation projects. I have used epoxy grout to cover over other grout too. You can confirm that this is possible. Call or email the manufacturer. Somewhere you will read that this grout is good (guaranteed) when it fills shallow spaces like e.g. 1/8th inch. Pre-grouting with old fashioned grout is a fine step to do, it's not overkill, it's something a DIY can do. Mixing thinset or Portland cement type grout to partially fill the grout lines may sound like a chore, but it isn't when you encourage yourself by reminding your self it's the only way to get the result you want. -- If you want to consider alternatives, read up on "Grout Boost" for Portland cement type grout. It is great for kitchen backsplashes. Grout is one of the most detailed subjects imaginable. Ignore the comment emknc made....See Morebill_vincent
11 years agoThanks bill. So you don't think I will have an issue with the "picture frame" effect?
You may for a while, until the epoxy resins completely cure and dry out. No way around that with natural stone. That still doesn't stop those who wish to do this kind of installation.
Is there an epoxy glaze remover you suggest?
Hands down, Petra 7 is tops for removing epoxy haze, but I've yet to see any place where it's available to the general public. Stoine Tech makes an epoxy glaze remover that's almost as good, and IS available to the public, and will not harm polished stone.
Lastly, will we be ok to go with a 1/16" grout line with epoxy grout?
I won't say epoxy in general, but Spectralock will be fine.
Now....
Epoxy grout with marble is pretty useless and expensive overkill.
Useless, no. Overkill, I'll agree with. But that hasn't stopped those who've really wanted to use it.
I don't know of a product that will remove the haze and still leave the marble undamaged.
I just gave two, one of which is available to the public, and usually pretty easy to find.
I'm sure somewhere someone has created a grout haze remover that isn't acid based, but I'll bet from just my basic knowledge of chemistry it mostly involves elbow grease rather than chemical action.
My son and I, 2 months ago, cleaned about 2000 feet with the Stone Tech product in about 4 hours on this following installation:
davidro1
11 years agopbx2_gw
11 years agosserra85
11 years agophiwwy
11 years agopbx2_gw
11 years agoMrsD
9 years ago
PROCreative Ceramic & Marble/ Bill Vincent
9 years ago
PROBy Any Design Ltd.
9 years agoUser
9 years agoRachel
8 years ago
PROCabot & Rowe
8 years ago
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