Bill - can't a tile person do it this way? Can they be set almost touching, grouted WITHOUT filling the pits in the marble?? If the marble is sealed, how would it then be a breeding ground for bacteria? You CAN NOT set tumbled marble that close without culling through alot of stone to get the proper sized ones you want. I'm about to do a wall hanging project where I bought literally three times the entire square footage for just this reason-- to be able to cull through and get the stone I want for it. That's 45 square feet for a 15 square foot project at 7.00 a foot. Tumbled marble varies so much in size that to set it tight like that would end up in misalignment of the tiles pretty quickly, and then the whole thing would end up looking like hell. appears to be mostly contractor types with will intentioned advise but laced with poor opinions of kitchen designers. Actually I'M the one with a poor opinion of MOST kitchen designers. Many of them don't think things through. So long as they can create a piece of eye candy that THEY like, they're happy. Now, NOT ALL of them are like this. I know of several good KD's. But I've also heard more than my share of horror stories about them. I feel that contractors objectives on a backsplash job may be to get in and get out as quickly as possible, and to do at least a good enough to not get called back for rework. If you'd gone through my gallery AT ALL, you'd never make that statement. They may not want to do a project with grouted joints but leaving the aesthetically desirable voids of tumbled travertine/marble unfilled because it would be hard to do and take too long. That's simply ludicrous. If someone's willing to pay for my time, I'm willing to do what they ask, no matter HOW crazy I think it is, so long as it's not detrimental to the installation. There's a project I've posted many times here and at John Bridge's forum of a roman tub, deck, and circular floor that I did years ago-- total about 150 square feet, and it tooke me three work weeks to install because of the way the homeowner wanted it installed. So don't tell me I'm not willing to put in the time. Concerning some earlier questions, the tile are spaced at about 1/16" +/- You've got two courses of the same sized stone together. Try doing an entire backsplash with that small a joint!! and are set in white mastic. This one speaks for itself.

We had a honed marble backsplash installed in our new kitchen (5-1/2" square installed on diagonal). There were a lot of problems with the installer; he had to come back and redo some of his work...twice...due to crooked 45 degree angles and chipped tiles. The backsplash looked very pretty with the under cabinet lighting on, however, when the lights were out and daylight came in from the windows, you could see smudges and streaks all over the surface, which I believed was smeared grout. I tried cleaning it to no avail. The installer had sealed the tile immediately after installing...I think he should have made sure it was clean before he did that. We had a stone contractor here to try and clean it up. He spent three hours lightly scraping the backsplash with a razor blade (which produced a lot of powder on the countertops that I assumed was sealant and grout residue). Then he resealed. This improved the appearance, but did not take care of the problem totally. Is there some kind of product that will unseal the sealant so we can clean it again and then reseal/enchance? Also, the color of the tiles are bland (ranging from whiteish to light taupe). Is there a sealer/enchancer that will deepen the colors? The "repair" was done about a year ago and we haven't done anything since. Thank you all.

Found this on a FAQ About Using Stone in Your Home: TRAVERTINE Â Travertine is marble, except it is filled with "holes." To understand what causes the holes, think of it this wayÂwherever a river or stream was prior to the marble being quarried is where you will find travertine. Because of the holes, people can be scared off because travertine is generally thought to be more porous and not suitable for residential use. This is not the case, as all of those holes become filled in with grout during installation, giving it a very unique look. The same travertine can be used in two separate areas but appear another way just by using two different grout colors! Travertine can be purchased with the holes pre-filled, but in my experience with it, I don't recommend it. In general, the epoxy fill that is used has a color to it that does not look natural to the stone and it has a tendency to come out after a short amount of time in high traffic areas. Expect to pay anywhere from $5.00 Â $15.00 per square foot. Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the link

I used a product made by Stone Specific. It is a stone enhancer and sealer. I applied it with a sponge, waited and then wiped with a clean rag. I have stone mosaic on my backsplash, and they still look brand new. Good luck.