# Marble floor tile tips?



## buildenterprise (Dec 4, 2007)

I am getting ready to lay about 210 sf of 12 x 12 marble on a kitchen floor in an older home. It will be laid over 1/2" hardibacker on 3/4 t & g. The floor sags toward the middle of the room but has been shored up so it's pretty solid, and it's not uneven, just saggy. Several questions:
How tight should the joints be? I know it's pretty close with marble since I need to use unsanded grout, correct? Also, what size trowel should I use for the mortar? Any other tips for laying marble?
Thanks guys.


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## R&D Tile (Apr 5, 2005)

For starters, how can it be flat and saggy at the same time.:no:

Also, you NEED 2 layers of plywood before a CBU or membrane, and are you SURE the joists system meets specs for stone.

As for spacing, 1/32 to 1/6" is what I would want.

Trowel size depends on how flat the floor is and if isn't dead on, you'll be backbuttering as you go to avoid lippage, stone is a lot harder to set then plain old ceramic, a whole other ballgame.


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## Bud Cline (Feb 12, 2006)

Can not simply start by adding tilebacker to existing t&g.


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## buildenterprise (Dec 4, 2007)

R&D Tile said:


> For starters, how can it be flat and saggy at the same time.:no:
> 
> Also, you NEED 2 layers of plywood before a CBU or membrane, and are you SURE the joists system meets specs for stone.
> 
> ...



The floor is not uneven as in bumpy, but it IS out of level toward the center of the room. That make more sense? 
They don't want the cabs removed so what happens at the toekick if I need to add another layer of subfloor in addition to the CBU? Should I remove the existing plank subfloor to the toekick to allow for the extra height?


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## Bill_Vincent (Apr 6, 2005)

buildenterprise said:


> hey don't want the cabs removed so what happens at the toekick if I need to add another layer of subfloor in addition to the CBU?


I'll tell you what happens if you dont.


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## thom (Nov 3, 2006)

Sounds to me like 

The customer wants to pay for a half ass job.

When it's done, and a problem, the customer will want your full ass.

You need to get rid of the bowl. You need to repair the floor framing before you install the floor. Adding tile backer then tile will make it worse, and unfixable without removing the tile and backerboard.


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## buildenterprise (Dec 4, 2007)

> When it's done, and a problem, the customer will want your full ass.


How did you know they were gay?:laughing:


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

thom said:


> The customer wants to pay for a half ass job.
> 
> When it's done, and a problem, the customer will want your full ass.


Protecting your ass....nothing gay about that :no:


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## R&D Tile (Apr 5, 2005)

Plain and simple, if I can't do the job the right way and my way, it's the H.....y.:whistling


Walk away, not worth it.:no:


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## PrecisionFloors (Jan 24, 2006)

> Marble floor tile tips?


Yep.
















Get a pro to do it. 
Stone, especially marble is not the floor you wanna learn on the fly. If you have no experience, I would bet a dollar to a soggy donut it will turn out bad. No offense to you or your abilities, but there are many things better left to those that know what they're doing. This is one of them.


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## Ceramictec (Feb 14, 2008)

I would say do a mud bed and set the tile. but you say they wont remove cabs.
an extra layer of ply wont take out the rolls.
Mud will. 
I would tell them the way it has to be done or your looking for trouble doing the job, you'll have a real hard time setting the marble flat.


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## Floordude (Aug 30, 2007)

To even be asking, your in way over your head!!!

Time to back out, before you lose more then you make.


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