HELP! Marble installation gone BAD!! Pics included =/

6 years ago

Hi all.

Pictures are worth a thousand words and I have attached pictures of my recent polished Bianco Carrara Marble installation. As you can see, the colors are so extremely different, that natural variation cannot account for the differences. The thin set is all the same and white.

Obviously I've been getting the run around from the manufacturer with a spectrum of excuses but no solutions. The whites are so extremely different than the greys, that I don't think the bridge will ever look natural.

Any of y'all experienced this or have any out of the box solutions? Demo'ing and replacing is non-viable as they only have 15 pieces left!! I've been looking for any crazy ideas such as staining or sealing the whiter marble with a grey sealer but have not found anyone pulling this off well. Any advice for salvaging this floor would be appreciated!

Thanks!!

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PRO

Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

So sorry that you have this result. What ksc36 says is correct. They MAY have come from 2 different lots, but that isn't necessarily an absolute. Natural stone can come with great variation. We install lots of marble and the very first, and non-negotiable step is to remove ALL the tile from the boxes, separate it by shade, show the homeowner what you have, determine if any should NOT be used (return if possible). This requires that plenty of replacement tile is available (and then you need to repeat the process with the newly purchased). Next, as ksc36 stated, you lay out the entire floor to achieve the blend in shading that you desire, and you show the homeowner, and make any preferred adjustments. You will hear that installation of natural stone is more expensive and you are probably getting the jist of that. Now, as for your question, the answer is no. You can't treat some tiles to achieve a different shade. You can remove the undesirables and replace with new (the sooner after initial install, the better), but it sounds like they aren't available? If we had been given this tile, with no chance of obtaining more, and the customer wanted to find a way to go with it, we would have had an onsite "design discussion" and present some options. For example, IF there were enough of the white shade, it is possible to cut them and create a border at the perimeter so it looks planned (more labor $). It could also be possible to create a feature "rug" with the lighter tile, which again would be best accomplished by fabricating to a different size and/or laying them in a different orientation. The attached photo depicts the "idea". Note that this is also much more labor intensive. And yes, not all suppliers of natural stone are created equal. The lesser expensive suppliers can, not always, present an inferior product with more shade variation. But there is ALWAYS shade variation with natural stone. I might add that your installers appear to have skipped many of the steps described. Likely just pulled it out of the box and installed it. Why they would place the lighter shade in the manner they did is beyond me. Again, so sorry for your experience. I'm sure it is very frustrating.

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Comments (9)

cpartist
6 years ago
Where did the marble come from? Is this one of those Chinese specials?
User
6 years ago
Oh gosh. This can't be acceptable to the supplier. Did you keep the packaging? We had an issue, not nearly as bad as you, and I was able to show that nearly every box of tile was made in Italy except 2, which were made in China. It was a tough slog but we had some tiles removed and replaced.

But really, they should remove it and start over. If they can't get it right choose another tile that they are guaranteed to have in Stock in the same lot.

Good luck.
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User
6 years ago
You obviously have two different lot numbers or sources, possible a couple of mis-labelled boxes, and it's way more than "natural variation" would cause.

It's a vendor problem.
ksc36
6 years ago
It was a vendor problem. Once you install them it becomes your problem.
annzetta
6 years ago
Wow! You think so? Personally I am sick of that attitude. Gotcha last. I am just finished with a rental house complete remodel and a total bathroom gut and remodel with very expensive marble. I still had to go to work each day. Babysitting to make sure what I asked and explained I wanted done was not possible.
ksc36
6 years ago
I know so. If the installer simply followed the directions the tiles could have been returned/exchanged. I've sent back many materials that weren't acceptable to the homeowner. Pretty simple...

"Inspect material prior to installation; installed material cannot be accepted for return or credit • Lay out material prior to installation to properly blend and balance color • It is recommended to seal natural stone with a penetrating sealer • We recommend purchasing a minimum of 10% overage to account for design cuts, patterns and defective tiles/waste"
PRO
Cinar Interiors, Inc.
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
As stated on many tile/natural stone boxes "Shade variation is inherent in all fired and natural stone products. Actual material may vary from sample. Use constitutes acceptance."

Unfortunately it falls back on both you and the installer for not catching this prior to installation.

In the first photo it shows the entire room laid and some of the darker tiles look to be getting a little lighter in tone. Bear in mind that moisture and gasses can pass through natural stone, even when properly sealed. I have completed many installs with marble and most of the time the finished install usually looks darker. This is from the gasses from the setting materials passing through the stone. Could take a couple weeks or a few months for the gasses to pass 100%. These gasses are not harmful to you or I.
User
6 years ago
Bob, whatever happened with this?

HELP! Marble installation gone BAD!! Pics included =/

Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.

Comments (9)

cpartist

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