Home Repair forum - GROUTING TUMBLED MARBLE AND FANCY EDGING

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GROUTING TUMBLED MARBLE AND FANCY EDGING

BSY69

2006-04-19, 12:21 am

I HAVE TILED MY SHOWER WITH A BEIGE TUMBLED MARBLE AND ALSO USED A BRONZE
ROPE TO OUTLINE A MEDALLION I CREATED. I WANT TO GROUT USING A DARK COLOR.
HOW DO I KEEP THE GROUT FROM GETTING INTO THE HOLES IN THE MARBLE AND THE
DESIGN ON THE ROPE?

____________________________________
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thetiler

2006-04-19, 3:21 am

Did you ask about this when you bought the stuff?
You have some serious issues there.

Rope border is challenging but can be done with
the skill of an experienced tileman. If you're a rookie,
good luck. If you must do it yourself, tape over the
rope border and do it as a stand-alone project later
after you've grouted the rest of it. You'll need a lot
of time as a novice to pick the grout out of the rope
texture, and if you only spread the grout in the rope
area, the grout won't set too fast and get away from
you.

Secondly you cannot grout the tumbled marble
without getting it into the holes. Maybe this post
is a troll and I'm falling for it, but you've got to just
smear that grout all over, and wash it off like usual.

Thirdly, you better seal that tumbled marble first
or you may have a heck of a time getting the grout
off the surface.

I'd re-think that "dark" grout color if I were you.
If you want to bring out the beauty of that tumbled
marble in the end, it's always best to match the grout
as close as possible to the marble. This makes the
grout appear in "the background" when finished,
and the beauty of the natural stone is the dominant
thing. Also, as you grout into the holes in the marble,
you'll still see the areas where the holes were, letting
the "old world" look of the tumbled marble be there,
but the holes won't stand out. If you like the holes,
just "wash out" a bit more as you sponge the grout
in the middle of the tiles to dig out the hole's some.
If you grout with a dark grout, you'll make the grid
of dark grout the dominant thing in the end, and the
holes will look awful.....the beauty of the tile will be
relegated to the background.

Grouting can make or break a job so if you don't
think you can do a GOOD job at this point, hire
an expert to finish it.

thetiler

Grumman-581

2006-04-19, 5:21 am

"BSY69" <noreply@> wrote in message
news:79bc64a27f34fe87c71c6d8ded35b4ad@homerepairlive.com...
> I HAVE TILED MY SHOWER WITH A BEIGE TUMBLED MARBLE AND ALSO USED A BRONZE
> ROPE TO OUTLINE A MEDALLION I CREATED. I WANT TO GROUT USING A DARK COLOR.
> HOW DO I KEEP THE GROUT FROM GETTING INTO THE HOLES IN THE MARBLE AND THE
> DESIGN ON THE ROPE?

Sorry, but if you're too stupid to type without having the caps lock on all
the time, you're too stupid to lay tile...

> Posted via Homerepairlive.com

Awh, gee, why does that not surprise me... Too bad this idiotic site
doesn't put a valid domain on the return email address so that the entire
domain could be killfiled...

Stormin Mormon

2006-04-19, 10:21 am

Have caps lock key repaired, please.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"BSY69" <noreply@> wrote in message
news:79bc64a27f34fe87c71c6d8ded35b4ad@homerepairlive.com...
I HAVE TILED MY SHOWER WITH A BEIGE TUMBLED MARBLE AND ALSO USED A
BRONZE
ROPE TO OUTLINE A MEDALLION I CREATED. I WANT TO GROUT USING A DARK
COLOR.
HOW DO I KEEP THE GROUT FROM GETTING INTO THE HOLES IN THE MARBLE AND
THE
DESIGN ON THE ROPE?

____________________________________
Posted via Homerepairlive.com
http://www.homerepairlive.com

noname87@hotmail.com

2006-04-19, 1:21 pm

Nice answer. It is always nice to see someone take the time to give a
detailed answer and give practical advice.

Mark and Gloria Hagwood

2006-04-19, 7:21 pm

thetiler wrote:
> Did you ask about this when you bought the stuff?
> You have some serious issues there.
>
> Rope border is challenging but can be done with
> the skill of an experienced tileman. If you're a rookie,
> good luck. If you must do it yourself, tape over the
> rope border and do it as a stand-alone project later
> after you've grouted the rest of it.

This brings up a question for you. We purchased a home one
time that had a coral-like material as tiles in the baths.
The edges were square cut like marble and not rounded over
like a ceramic. I called it coral because of the deep
reddish brown color. The surface of the "coral" had many
irregular voids, but none were filled with grout, as far as
I could see. The spacing between the 9" tiles was about
3/16"" and the person doing the work used a sanded grout.

How was that done without getting grout into those voids?
Did he use a pastry bag with masking tape?

Whatever the technique, he was darned good. There was also
rope edging and the grout was perfect there as well.

Mark

thetiler

2006-04-20, 2:21 am

When I read the original post about "tumbled marble", I
immediately assumed these were smaller tiles, maybe
4" to 6", with at least a 1/4" joint. It's hard to use a smaller
joint as tumbled marble tiles are usually very irregular.
Perhaps I should have asked how large the tiles were.
I've done dozens of tumbled marble jobs, and they are
usually small tiles, never over 6x6".

True, with a larger tile it is possible to grout only the joint
itself without "spreading the grout" over all the tiles, as I
stated. Some tradesman use a bag that squirts the grout
into the joint, like a cake decorator uses.

Therefore........if you wanted to take the time to do it this
way, assuming the tiles are larger than say 4", have fun!
My opinion though, in a shower, is to fill the holes before
the soap and body scum gets in there and makes a dirty
mess.
Personally I don't like the look of the holes, but we're all
different.

thetiler

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