Major issue with our master bath shower marble floor tiles

3 years ago

We recently closed and moved into a new home and we had built our dream master bathroom with marble floor tiles and a wall of marble tiles. We were super excited to start using it but as soon as we started taking showers we had the marble around the shower head and around the drain discolor (like it is holding water) and over the next couple of weeks the discoloration just kept on getting bigger and bigger. And a couple of the marble tiles on the wall also seemed like it soaked wter.

We brought the builder in who suggested we keep it dry for a few days and put a fan on it - so we didn't shower for 2 weeks and ran a fan on it for several days. However, there was zero change. They opened the drain up and the mud by the drain is still wet after 2-weeks and then opened up the weep holes and it's been sitting there for a few days now but again no change.

My understanding of marble was that they are porous and will absorb water but will evaporate as well. Also, the builder isn't sure if they sealed the tiles - they don't think it is sealed.

Any ideas on what's happening here? See pics below.

1 - Tiles the day of closing

2 - Tiles starting to discolor a few days of using it

3 - Tiles after using for a couple of weeks

4 - Tiles after trying to dry it for 2 weeks using a fan and what not

5 - Wall tiles (see the two tiles below that have become dark after I assume absorbing water as well)

6 - Drain is opened and mud is wet after two weeks of trying

7 - Opened up weep holes to see if it would try the marble out; hasn't worked

Thank you so much for your help!

Featured Answer

PRO

Creative Tile Eastern CT

3 years ago

In progress photo's would help greatly.

Most likely a preslope beneath the liner was not done and the water is pooling in the liner. This will not get better and sealer will have no affect. Actually the sealer could make it worse. As for the wall. Inquire as to what wall board was used. Due to the pool of water in the liner my guess would be a fiber cement board was used similar to Hardie Board and buried in the saturated mud base. A gap filled with sealant is required between the mud floor and wall board to prevent wicking. Fiber / cement boards absorb water and require waterproofing on the surface. The dark gray area around the drain would be normal with a marble installation as it is the low spot. Without proper preslope and open weep holes to the drain it will take much longer to dry.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Bruce in Northern Virginia
3 years ago
Do you have pictures of how they waterproofed the shower before tile was installed.

The waterproof membrane (redgard, etc.) should be installed so that all water that penetrates the tile will hit the waterproofing and then travel down to the drain. The only layer on top of the waterproofing should be the thinset and then the tile. If you look at this video at about the 2:00 minute point they show Redgard would be applied in a shower. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kt2MnrJPKo

It looks like you have a cement bed without any waterproofing over it, so the cement is absorbing and holding the moisture.

Bruce
Related Discussions
18 sq ft marble tile for master bath floor, lay on diagonal?
Q
Comments (24)
Threeapples, I live in Philadelphia but found the tile online at a granite and marble slab wholesaler in Jamesburg, NJ (EGM). The company had a section on the website called closeouts, or something to that effect, with various lots of remnant tiles including photographs and lot size. I went up to see it and told them that I saw online that they had some remnant tile. They looked puzzled, and I told them where I saw it on their web site. The impression I got was that they don't ordinarily sell that product direct to customers and that section of their web site has since been removed from public view. Regardless, they were very helpful in going through their electronic inventory to find a size of calacataa gold in a honed finish that would work for my application--a remodel of a bathroom in a 186-year-old house. They had it shipped from their Brooklyn location so that I could see it in person, and I then bought 200 square feet of it and packed it into a rented SUV and drove it back to Philadelphia.
...See More
Help with Master bath flooring, shower and accents
Q
Comments (4)
Susie thanks for you suggestion. The marble will transition to the porcelain tile at the doorway. We have taken a piece of the marble to various flooring stores and a few folks have told us not go with the subdued tile in same color range as the marble. We need to go totally different and make it stand out. One designer pulled a very busy tile with totally different colors that seemed to clash. We were not at all interested in this look; however, what we thought we wanted we have now been confused due to the feedback. Is it a design no - no to go with marble look tile same or similar to real marble we have in the home, but with accent pieces to make tub surround and shower stand out? We were going to install furniture style vanities and famed mirrors with. Thanks again for the feedback and suggestions
...See More
honed or polished marble floor in master bath?
Q
Comments (4)
I have honed basket weave Calacutta marble in my master bath and polished dog bone marble tile in the guest bath. They are completely grippy based on the small size of the tiles and the grout. Large tiles are quite slippery unless they have a high COF. I opted for the honed in the master bath they are essentially pre-etched so any etching that occurs wouldn't be as noticeable. I also wanted a "softer" look so I opted for the honed. My guest bath really has very light use. The polished marble is really lovely in that context as it gleams versus the low level softness of the honed.
...See More
master bath tile floor help needed!
Q
Comments (3)
No wood-look tile! Whatever you do, please do NOT put down fake wood against real wood. It cheapens BOTH products and makes things look awkward. Can you continue the shower tile onto the floor? Is it rated for flooring? If so, then it is possible to use a decorative tile at the base of the tub (I would match the colour to the cabinet) and then start the flooring with the 'shower tile'. I can't see the shower tile, but I'm assuming it is close to the original floor tile. If you absolutely cannot find something that is a decent COLOUR/texture match, then I would sacrifice the cabinet (or paint it...) and put down a darker floor that is the match to the diamond accents in the tub surround. In fact it might be possible to 'invert' the colour scheme (dark main tile with lighter 'diamond' accent). If you do that, you do NOT want a dark cabinet on a dark floor. Sacrificing the cabinet (possibly the counter top as well...but that's another concern) is the cheapest way to get this done. Just keep it in mind - a different (lighter) cabinet colour will offer you more options for your flooring. It could save your sanity.
...See More
PRO
Mint tile Minneapolis
3 years ago
agree w ctec, wicking.up walls, preslope error and unprotected improper weep detail, how did the shower pan liner drain when the flood test was inspected?
PRO
Avanti Tile & Stone / Stonetech
3 years ago
I agree with all of the above. After fighting issues with marble in a shower, I no longer will install it. The material is SO moisture sensitive that even a properly built shower can, and often does have issues. As said above, the waterproofing is the prime suspect. If this were done with Kerdi, Wedi, Hydroban or a similar surface-applied-membrane, the issue MAY not exist. The water is penetrating the upper mud bed and lurking there...allowing it to wick up and penetrate the marble. With the aforementioned "Water in-Water out" systems, the mud bed never sees any water and there is generally no issue.

The "Good News?" There is a fix. The "Bad News?" It would entail gutting the shower and having it done right. I know that's not what you want to hear, but it's either do it now or live with it. Problem is that if you choose the latter, there is always the chance that the moisture might ultimately compromise and rot out the studs, etc.

Choose wisely, Grasshopper.....
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
3 years ago
"The material is SO moisture sensitive that even a properly built shower can, and often does have issues."

The hard facts. No one is to blame. It is simply the material selection.

Keep this on mind if you choose to have your shower rebuilt. Consider other material.
carol stugard
3 years ago
It happened to me with a mud bed shower, like yours, except my tile guy waterproofed the whole surface of the mudbed with hydroban (a sort of rubber paint on layer) all the way to the drain. Water got trapped between the tile on top of the hydroban waterproofing layer and would never dry out, like yours, and it spread gradually up from the drain. If he had left a 1/4 inch space at the drain, water would have had a chance to escape. The drain weep holes were open. The thread describing it is here:

https://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=129219&goto=newpost%3Cbr

A mudbed without the additional painted on waterproofing would allow the tile to dry out between uses, but your marble would look wet every day. Many people are OK with that. I would have been OK with that. And there a dozens of ways to do marble improperly at this same website (incorrect preslope is also common). Many hours of reading about it here.

We had to rip out the floor and start over. I was able to save the wall tiles with careful demo, new flood test for liner integrity. Its really bad luck.
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@Carol, It sounds like your installer used a liner below the mud and a topical bonded system which creates another problem all together. One or the other. Not both.

"If he had left a 1/4 inch space at the drain, water would have had a chance to escape"

If it were only Hydraban and a 1/4" gap was left at the drain it would dry very quickly as the water would go through the ceiling below:)

For anyone following. It makes NO difference to which waterproofing method is applied. Discoloration of marble on a shower floor / wet area can happen and there is no one to blame.

Major issue with our master bath shower marble floor tiles

Creative Tile Eastern CT

Comments (7)

Bruce in Northern Virginia

Related Discussions

Mint tile Minneapolis

Avanti Tile & Stone / Stonetech

Creative Tile Eastern CT

carol stugard

Creative Tile Eastern CT

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US