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Carrara Marble: Polished Floors with Honed Walls?

4 years ago

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me if this is a bad idea? I'm thinking about this tile for my bathroom floor, including the shower floor: http://www.sohostudiocorp.com/majestic/majestic-white-carrara-light-gray-black-majwhtcrltg

I know that some people advise against using polished marble on floor tiles because of the risk of slipping, but I think in this case the diamond design and multiple grout lines should provide quite a lot of underfoot grip. And for that same reason, I think this design would eliminate the need to do a smaller mosaic for the shower floor tile.

This would be juxtaposed against floor to ceiling 6 x 12 tiles for the shower walls in honed Carrara from another manufacturer: http://www.stonepartnership.com/Our%20Products/Marbles/images/Bianco%20Carrara.htm

I know some people prefer polished for wall tile due to maintenance issues - but can anyone tell me exactly why that's the case?

All fixtures are to be polished chrome. And depending on availability, I'm trying to get a slab of honed Carrara for the vanity top too, in an attempt to bring a bit of harmony between the shower and vanity areas.

Cheers

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Comments (4)

Helen
4 years ago
You are correct as there is no difference in slipperiness between honed and polish marble as it is the numerous grout lines which provide traction. I have polished marble dog bone tile in one bathroom and honed marble basket weave in another tile.

I chose honed marble in my master bath because I wanted a slightly softer look and also since the master would be getting more use, any etching is less obvious in honed marble.

As to whether the specific tiles look good together, I think you need to provide more information.
User
4 years ago
Does the polished meet the COF standard of 5 to be used in a bathroom?
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jeanninepc99, thanks for the pic. I've seen it before and I love what you did to your bathroom...it's beautiful. Can you share with me where you purchased your tiles, especially the basketweave floor? Are the white mosaic pieces 1 1/8" x 2"? I'm looking for the wider version.
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cpartist
4 years ago
Realize that polished marble will at some point etch. No getting away from it. If you're not ok with it etching, then find a honed tile which will also etch but will be less noticeable.

Marble is what I like to call a living finish. If you can't deal with it changing, getting etched and maybe stained, stay away and get the fake stuff.
Helen
4 years ago
If tiles are small there is enough grout to provide traction.

Large marble tiles are not safe in a bathroom. I rented a place when I was remodeling and the bathroom and shower floors had 12" x 12" marble tiles. Those were as slippery as ice and a real hazard. My small tile marble floors have lots of grip and are not slippery at all.

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