Polished marble flooring by newbie / amatuer

[darron]

OK, hi all
Names Darron.
Where do I start......???

Job: Bathroom removing bath and replacing with walk-in shower (cast stone shower tray NOT acrylic), replacing sink, pedestal, toilet pan, cistern. NO too big a job but my wife has decided that I sholud pull up the teak parquet flooring and replace it with polished marble.
Due to the apparent difficulies (I say apparent cos I haven't tried yet!) in cutting complex shapes in marble, am I better to sit the sink pedestal and the toilet pan on top of the marble?
If so, anyone got any suggestoins about fixing them in place? DoI just drill (carefully) and screw through into the boards underneath??

ANY help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Topshop]

Put your tile in then your fixtures last.

What is a toilet pan? Don't you guys in the UK use a flange to mount your toilets?

 

[Mike Mike]

As Topshop says, definitely tile first and then fit the toilet and sink afterwards. Marble isn't hard to drill if you have the right drill bits. Take a look at some of the sponsors' websites, like 365 Drills and Trade Tiler. They both have suitable drilling equipment that you need.

I LOL'd at the way you say "not too big a job". What, creating a wetroom with marble tiles is not too big a job :lol: It's a fair size job my friend to do it properly.

Do you know what you are going to tank the walls in the shower with? What about the floor, once you've pulled up that parquet flooring, what are you going to board with before you tile?

Maybe you should take a look at PHG Wetrooms site as well to see what sort of options there are for boarding and tanking.

Good luck!

 

[darron]

the walls in the shower are already tiled and are being retiled with ones that are the same shade of white - ie. not several different shades of white as are already there [I didn't put them up!!]. Ive been advised that its probablt easier to tile directly onto the old ones as I only have a few days to do the whole job and cant afford the time to strip the old tiles off, resurface the wall and let it cure?!?!
The parquet flooring has been pulled up (a lot easier than I anticipated!) and the whole floor has been covered with 9mm marine ply (as advised by local tile shop) and screwed down at 200mm centres.

One more question... can I mount the sink pedestal and toilet directly onto the marble or do I have to put in some form or barrier / cushion to prevent possible cracking of the marble??????

 

[MARBLE_TONY]

Just to add to this marble is the last thing I would put in a bathroom it will be a on going maintenance problem for you. And will eventually cost you £££

 

[Gazzer]

Ok time to be blunt here !
Step away from that job until you know what you are doing...at the moment you havent got a clue.
1,Marble is not like a standard tile it needs to be wet cut, It will need white adhesive to stop showing through.

2, Tile 1st then fit sanitary back in.

3, tile over tile is wrong IMO....you didnt fix them originally so how do you know they are secure and will take the weight of the new tiles?. I recently was asked to tile over tile...I declined but said I would remove and hope there was not too much damage ....I neednt have worried... Even though by tapping them , they sounded solid !

4, 9mm ply ?? You are having a laugh....I wouldnt fix porcelain to 9mm ply...It should be minimum 15mm WBP Ply, sealed back and edges but even then Ply in a wetroom is all wrong IMO ...imagine the humidity ?

5, you really need to sit down and ask more questions...This could come back on you and that will be an expensive mistake !

 

[Topshop]

I cannot agree more with Sir Ramic on all points.

 

[Gazzer]

I may have come over harsh but I really dont think you are ready for fixing stone of any sort. If you were doing as DIY then fine , take a swing at it but if you are charging for your service then its all wrong.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

I may have come over harsh but I really dont think you are ready for fixing stone of any sort. If you were doing as DIY then fine , take a swing at it but if you are charging for your service then its all wrong.

Saved me getting 'moderated'

 

[Gazzer]

Saved me getting 'moderated'

As if !!!!

 

[darron]

First, this is a DIY job - for my wife in my own house.
Second, this is not a wet room as such. Its a bathroom with an enclosed walk in shower cubicle replacing the bath tub.
Third, I was advised by the store that supplied the wall-tiles and marble floor-tiles (TOPPS TILES) to line the floor with 9mm marine grade ply, so, that is what I have done.
I've cut the marble (successfully) with an exaktsaw with a diamond blade. So no problems there (not much dust as the swa has a vacumm dust extraction facility).
I know that marble, being a metamorphosed limestone - (I've honestly got a degree in Geology)) is porous and prone to fractures and veins and can absorb stains etc, so I have sealed the tiles on all sides and faces with a proprietry marble sealer. Also, they have been laid with a cement specific to the stone.
Any more suggestions. I think I'm doing everything right - as stated earlier, this is a DIY job to make the bathroom usable for my wife.

 

[darron]

Oh I forgot to say, the back wall, already tiled that I was considering tiling over was originally tiled by me so I'm pretty sure its solid (I'vs tried prising one off and it didnt want to budge!!! - must have used plenty of adhesive / cement )

 

[Gazzer]

First, this is a DIY job - for my wife in my own house.
Second, this is not a wet room as such. Its a bathroom with an enclosed walk in shower cubicle replacing the bath tub.
Third, I was advised by the store that supplied the wall-tiles and marble floor-tiles (TOPPS TILES) to line the floor with 9mm marine grade ply, so, that is what I have done.
I've cut the marble (successfully) with an exaktsaw with a diamond blade. So no problems there (not much dust as the swa has a vacumm dust extraction facility).
I know that marble, being a metamorphosed limestone - (I've honestly got a degree in Geology)) is porous and prone to fractures and veins and can absorb stains etc, so I have sealed the tiles on all sides and faces with a proprietry marble sealer. Also, they have been laid with a cement specific to the stone.
Any more suggestions. I think I'm doing everything right - as stated earlier, this is a DIY job to make the bathroom usable for my wife.

Prime the ply back and sides ?.... its still too thin and Topps should know better.

 

[darron]

Well, I was only following the advise of so-called professionals !
:mad2:
So what am I to do?? The floor tiles are already cemented in place !!!:yikes::45:

 

[peteablard]

Well, I was only following the advise of so-called professionals !
:mad2:
So what am I to do?? The floor tiles are already cemented in place !!!:yikes::45:

I doubt you'll ever find one of them working in topps! BS minimum for floors is 15mm. Ifthe tiles are fixed there's not much you can do

 

[Martyn Leeds]

So it sounds like the job's all done??

Any pics of the finished bathroom?? Everyone likes pics...

 

[darron]

:mad2: HAHAHAHAHAHA Nowhere near :24:finished. Whole job's been one snag after another. Wrong thickness ply, stores all closed over the Easter hols. Wrong plumbing fittngs (relocation of toilet and sink and trying to match new metric sizes to old 1960's imperial plumbing!!!). Plus I'm having to learn new skills (?!?!?!?!) as I go along. Having a small room to work in means everythings in the way of everything else (its only a 2 bedroom house so not really anywhere to store tools / equipment / materials)
I've taken a few photos with phone-camera of before and during work so far. Will upload when I can find the cable that connects my phone to my computer!!!!
Oh, I've also discovered that tile spacers dont really work that well with tiles that have rounded corners hopefully it wont look too bad when its all grouted in. At least the floor looks nice :8:
Did I say that I was learning as I went along?

 

[darron]

Start of project
Before Armageddon
Bath removed, parquet flooring removed
New toilet installed along with sink pedestal on top of polished cappucino marble flooring (not fully grouted)
Right hand wall (plasterboard) - old tiles removed and starting to put up new ones with mosaic inserts (actually left-overs from kitchen... NOT burnt waffles!!!:smilewinkgrin🙂
Left hand wall (external wall, brick with a veneer of plaster) still has old tiles on. They are well and truly stuck so am considering just tiling over them (I've gotta go back to work asap!). They have been horizontally, vertically and diagonally deep scored with a diamond cutter so hopefully the new tile cement can grip and not let the new ones slide to the floor! - if anyone has a better idea that doesnt involve ripping old tiles off and replastering the wall I'm all ears :bigear:

 

[darron]

Wise man (not me sadly :dunce2: ) once said: Man who uses 4" tiles will be tiling forever!!!

Methinks should've used bigger tiles (but the liitle ones were a hell of a lot cheaper!!!!)

:beatdeadhorse5: Ever get the feeling a job's never gonna be finished :bigcry:

 

[Dan]

Take your time and make sure you're cleaning as you go!

 

[Oliver3]

Hi,
On the marble sublect, i've got porch to tile in polished marble, can anybody reccommend a decent sealer?
Cheers.

 

[darron]

the sealer I've used is FILA 'Polished Travertine and Marble Protector ~ Stain Protection'

500ml tin covers 20m2. Easy to apply, just brush (make sure its a real good quality soft paint brush with no loose hairs) or use a gloss roller (more even coverage). Leave it to dry (it says 12 hrs on the tin but mine was dry in less than 3 hours ~ warm room ~) then polish off with a nice clean soft cloth or use a polisher ( I cheated and used a cheap twin handle electric car polisher with a new pad - worked brilliantly!!!! :8:

MY Note apply a small amount in a inconspicuous area first to check for any possible colour change.

Good luck!!

EDIT::: You might want to use a few coats in a high traffic area and can I suggest a mat outside the door to limit the amount of grit / dirt being walked in as this may well scratch the surface of the marble??