I had pretty much the exact same experience as designnov. The samples were beautiful. The marble in the order, supposedly from the exact same set of marble, wasn't quite as nice. Not so bad I quite felt like I could complain, since after all, marble is a natural product and you can't expect every tile to be exactly the same, but still. Let's put it this way, if, in fact the samples really are from the same batch or run or whatever it's called as the stuff they send, then I think they go through pretty carefully and pull the prettiest to use as samples. I agree that ordering, shipping and any other dealings with the company went just fine. So I have 2 bathroom floors that are ok and very reasonably priced, just not quite as nice as I was hoping. I will say that the quality difference is much more noticeable in the bathroom where I did big 12x12 tiles than in the bathroom where I have much smaller tiles in a herringbone pattern.

My experience: The Builder Depot can work out great if you're willing to put in a lot of time and buy a lot of extra tile (knowing it's still a good price compared to other options). There WERE significant variations in size of the 3x6 venato tiles we got (1/8" difference), and there were a lot of tiles that were yellow/brownish or otherwise not great. However, I would do it again, with a plan to 1. measure every single tile, or at the very least measure several tiles from each box and stack them to make sure there are no big/small ones, and 2. lay out the tile from all of the boxes, pick out the ones you don't like, and MIX them so the installer isn't using tile from one box at a time. It will take many hours, but the end result is worth it.

Hi Blondelle, I ordered samples of both the honed and the polished. Close up, they're really beautiful. I'm considering them for the backsplash behind my range. I'm attaching some photos I took over the weekend to get an idea how they'd work in my kitchen. Most of them are polished, but two or three are honed. It's difficult to tell the difference in my bad iphone pics. In real life, the background of the honed looks whiter. The polished is a little warmer and creamier. I prefer the polished. I haven't decided whether I'm using them. I'm also considering crackle subway and toying with the idea of patterned concrete tiles. Sorry my pics are so bad. I can take closer ups of the tiles this weekend if you think it would help.="0" alt="Photobucket">

I had HD install a granite vanity and sink and they did a fine job. It could not have been done any better. Please be sure that you really want carrara marble. I have carrara marble for the floor and vanity top in a powder room, done about 20 years ago. They are worn and scratched and will be replaced next year for other reasons. At year 19, brown/yellow stains appeared within th stone which I have since learned is some kind of oxidation or rust. Theory is there is/was some water leaking. Also, I had Vermont Danby marble counters installed in my kitchen reno, 5 years ago. There are scratches, tons of etches but not one stain. Also, little white divots. If that's your cuppa, fine. Just be aware.