# Porcelain vs. Marble Tile



## BlueRidgeGreen (Apr 21, 2012)

I get a bunch of porcelain from Morris. They seem ok. $ is good, but otherwise, no stone so far. If you do use them, don't take an eye off their delivery driver. That kid wrecked something EVERY SINGLE TIME he delivered to a custom we were building. Tree, scaffold, exposed/trenched drain line......he's a menace.

Good luck.


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## SMLWinds (Dec 19, 2012)

Thanks for the lead. I just sent Pete an email as well. His website does seem to indicate he is a good guy for tile questions.

I'm just having such a tough time determining if there are differences between a $9 tile and a $16 tile (and even the $6 and $20 tiles at times, which are both at the extremes of the prices I've seen). As I said, I don't mind paying $16 or so for a better product but certainly don't want to pay $16 for something that is no better or even inferior to the $9 or $10 tiles I see. It is just so hard to compare since there is natural variation in every tile anyway, so as a novice I have an especially hard time comparing the two although that Stone Partnership Inc honed tile did jump out as me as being nice.


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## SMLWinds (Dec 19, 2012)

Thanks again! Morris has had better prices than Best Tile but again, I have no idea if I'm comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges.

Is the Morris white carrara lower because it is lower quality or because they have better deals??? I don't know!

One professional, experienced tile guy told me that "white carrara marble is white carrara marble so it doesn't matter where you get it." I believed it at first, but now that I see you can get "white carrara" anywhere from $6 to $20 per tile I really doubt that is true. Especially given what I have been told about the range of hardness of marble.

And, yes, I'll keep an eye on the Morris Tile delivery guy...thanks!


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## Sprung831 (Apr 4, 2012)

White carrara is NOT white carrara. There can be a huge variance from country to country, quarry to quarry, store to store, and stone to stone. Anything from density, veining, calcium voids, caliber, thickness, squareness, beveled edges...and so on and so on. The less expensive the stone, the more work it is for the installer, and that's just a fact. I've had experiences with "GREAT DEAL" stones, and they are always fun.


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## SMLWinds (Dec 19, 2012)

I understand and agree with you! The question is how do you pick the best stone without saying to buy the most expensive. Certainly you want a more expensive stone relatively so the $6 options are out. But right now I have 2 stores telling me their "higher end" marble is $10 and $16. I am tempted to just buy the $16 but obviously don't want to do that if the $10 is just as good and the price difference is related to mark up from the store and supplier. I hate it when I can't double check and confirm things salespeople tell me but that is how it seems here...


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## Sprung831 (Apr 4, 2012)

You need to see samples from the actual crate you will be getting the material from. Compare multiple pcs from the crate to check squareness, thickness, etc.


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## astor (Dec 19, 2008)

The bath with guitars seems yellowing:sad:, maybe the photo. The porcelain from Jarvis is sharp white,excellent work, but I can see the pattern.
I know my supplier has an excellent real white Carrara marble. MarMe
He might be in the high end for the pricing-due the due small area you looking for, but I never have any returns due the low quality or any reason. Ask a sample...
He has also porcelain Calacatta page 27..


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## BlueRidgeGreen (Apr 21, 2012)

astor said:


> The bath with guitars seems yellowing:sad:, maybe the photo. The porcelain from Jarvis is sharp white,excellent work, but I can see the pattern.
> I know my supplier has an excellent real white Carrara marble. MarMe
> He might be in the high end for the pricing-due the due small area you looking for, but I never have any returns due the low quality or any reason. Ask a sample...
> He has also porcelain Calacatta page 27..


 Guitar Bath is Crema...started beige. Looks same as the day installed.


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## SMLWinds (Dec 19, 2012)

So in an effort to gain more info on the products we are considering I called Stone Partnership, which is the wholesaler for the carrara marble we want at the tile store...I think I know more about marble than they do. The lady told me that there's was more expensive because it is from Italy. I asked if it was harder or more durable and she said she'd have to ask her boss. She did and he said "no." He said (and I quote) "marble is marble...it is the same stone so there are no differences." Obviously I don't completely agree based on what I've been told. I asked specifically if for double the price their marble from Italy had any durability advantage over the $6/square other places and she said "no," the only advantages were in the aesthetics, how closely the tiles match, how it is sealed, and how they fabricate with beveled edges.

This frustrated me enough I started to reconsider our choice (again). We like a natural stone look but don't like the scratching problem with marble. Thus, we are considering granite. Why don't you hear more about granite? What are the downsides? I know it is hard, cold, and possibly slippery, but so is marble. Any issues with considering granite so we can have a better appearance but not have to deal with the marble issues?


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## Sprung831 (Apr 4, 2012)

SMLWinds said:


> "no," the only advantages were in the aesthetics, how closely the tiles match, how it is sealed, and how they fabricate with beveled edges.


These are some of the things I said in an earlier post. My question is on the "how it is sealed" part. I have NEVER known a manufacturer/fabricator to seal their stone. That is always done by the installer or the customer.

A lot of it does go back to when I mentioned where it comes from. Freight cost is a large part when it comes to importing stone, and the overall price of the piece. Although I will say, if you can find a quality Spanish, Turkish, or Mexican stone, it is ALWAYS less expensive than the Italian counterpart.


Granite is a good option. If it's too cold, just heat it!


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## HS345 (Jan 20, 2008)

jarvis design said:


> I like natural stone over look a likes as well. I did however find a pretty nice fake from Dal tile!


Yep, that's Navelli Carrera Star. I've worked with it a couple of times, nice stuff. But not much variation in the veining. BUT.....who's gonna notice besides us? :whistling


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## BlueRidgeGreen (Apr 21, 2012)

HS345 said:


> Yep, that's  BUT.....who's gonna notice besides us? :whistling




Totally! Except when you get that one piece with the obvious/strange vein that you have to lay 12 times and try to disguise.


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## SMLWinds (Dec 19, 2012)

Guys-I'm getting ready to lay subfloor. I am decided on honed white carrara so need 1/720. 

To refresh, joists are 2x10s on 16" centers. I am currently down to the T&G heart pine floor. I am planning to put subfloor over that and use ditra (that's what several people the guy helping me have recommended). The manual for Ditra says the second layer should be 11/32", 3/8" nom. Can I get away with 3/8" or even 1/2"? Or, do I need 3/4"? I want the floor to be solid, but the less I can use the better because I'm trying to minimize the amount I raise the floor. 

Also, when I put down the subfloor I was told by someone to nail to the joists and screw it down intentionally missing the joists. Why do you miss the joists? What screws and nails do you guys recommend? 

Thanks!


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## GO Remodeling (Apr 5, 2005)

reread the posts from Angus. Your floor doesn't meet the industry standard for deflection.


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