Start in the least conspicuous spot in the room. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-Building-Products-Polyblend-381-Bright-White-10-lb-Non-Sanded-Grout-PBG38110/100553533, [] diy marble subway tile backsplash tips tricks and what not to do Marble Subway Tile Kitchen Backsplash Size: 750 X 571 | Source: https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com [], [] Download Image More @ https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com [], [] diy marble subway tile backsplash tips tricks and what not Best Grout For Kitchen Backsplash Size: 750 X 500 | Source: https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com [], [] The Craft Patch BlogHeeft een tutorial voor ons over het betegelen van een backsplash met marmeren metrotegel. Plan out how youre going to lay out your tile, where youre going to start, and what the other end will look like when you get there. Since part of our window trim sticks out, we would have had to cut a very small piece out of our tile to make it fit. If youre on the fence DO IT! This has been an amazing reference for my attempted marble tiled wall. D.Polyblend Tile Caulk in Platinum. It seems that this topic has been debated. Youll get crisp lines every time! Thanks. The backsplash was a bit of a splurge. We decided that our feature wall was the most important spot visually, so we started with full tiles there and lucky for us, the corner worked out well. Thank you for all of the details! Marble tiles can make your bathroom look fancy and modern. In most cases, it isnt a great idea to seal marble tiles in the shower, because in wet environments, the sealer may actually trap water in the tiles and cause the stone to degrade. We used it around the window, between the tile and the cabinets and along the seam between tile and countertop. Its been a while, but I believe we left a space and filled it with caulk after. The next tricky part of the backsplash prep work was how to tile around our window trim. The other choice we had to make was the spacing vertically. 9. E.Polyblend Non-Sanded Grout in Plantinum. I realize you completed your backsplash project sometime ago, but Id appreciate any hints you can give me. Yeah, dont think you can just tile over that bump without it showing. https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/the-best-paint-for-kitchen-cabinets/, Thank you for sharing this blog. This is a great article with awesome tips! If someone has over a 1/16th, they should still use unsanded, or an excel grout, as the regular sanded grout will scratch the marble. Wow! Tile (40 sqft) $240Pencil Tile Trim (7 pieces) $42Grout $14Sealer $16Thinset $14Caulk $8Spacers $6Outlet Extenders $7TOTAL: $347. I dont know how you would be able to get clean enough cuts otherwise. This worked perfectly and I would definitely recommend this method for tiling around window trim. I would definitely pick the same grout color again. Honed marble tile is more likely to absorb water than polished marble. I believe the logic is that color from grout used can leech into the marble tile and cause discoloration. Web Development by Rank Fuse Digital Marketing. 511 Impregnator Sealer. We used this dark gray mortar and although it was fine, it would have been easier if it had more closely matched our tile. The grout went a long way to hide any imperfections or slightly chipped tile edges. Degradation of the stone would cause a lot of problems and require you to replace the tiles in your shower. I am so thrilled with how it turned out. Yes, we used the same sized spacers between the subway tile and the pencil tile. Nice looking project! 6. You totally cant tell that two crazy kids just kept Googling things to figure out how to make it happen. Phone:(913) 894-0288 I love to hear that people are reading and using my tutorials! SDS Specs:Material Safety Data Sheets New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. The first instance is when you have put white marble in your shower. Thanks so much for your inspiration and wonderful tutorial. That was a trick I picked up somewhere in Internetland and I think it made a huge difference. F.Marble pencil tile. You can see in the photo below how the water was seeping into the tile and darkening it: Heres another photo that shows a dry tile leaning up against all the dark tile. You want the edge to be perfectly straight, so we made pencil marks on the wall with our level, then added painters tape, then used the tape as our guide. A community dedicated to helping people with advice on personal home improvement projects. Calacatta and Carrera are famous for this problem - especially in showers for some reason.Hold it up to the light and put your hand behind it. If you use the wrong thinset with Marble tile, the colors will seep into the stone. It goes away once the tile dries, which took two days for us. But it finished off our edges so nicely that it was worth it to me to spend the extra money. Sometimes the wins are in the details. We had to replace drywall and do a lot of patching and sanding. To get perfect grout lines, use painters tape on either side of the space you want to fill with caulk. Can I ask what your countertop material is? [] Is this your first time tiling? 4. Its really easy to miss spots and you dont want any holes in your grout job. Hope that helps! I didnt imagine that going well, so we used our handy oscillating tool to cut into the back of the wood trim the same thickness as the tile. If you can see the shadow of your hand through the tile, you gotta seal the back first. The outlet extenders bring switches and plugs out to the correct depth so theyll look right once the tile is surrounding them. Has anyone had any experience either way? Good article, i read it as a refresher. Thanks, I wrote a separate post all about how we painted our cabinets. But there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to sealing marble shower tiles. Always use white thinset with Marble. That worked well for us. I truly enjoyed the process and now it looks wonderful. really appreciate your help. But my heart was set on marble and it was WORTH. We also bought this at Lowes. We also wanted non-sanded grout because it doesnt scratch the tile and since marble is so soft, it was definitley the right choice for us. . Squirt the caulk in, smooth it out with your finger, then peel the tape away while the caulk is still wet. Pinterest Tested: I Tested These Life Hacks. I think youll find this useful if youre considering DIY-ing your own backsplash. thecraftpatch []. However, just because you generally wouldnt want to seal marble tiles in moist areas, that doesnt mean that there arent exceptions to this rule. Marble darkens considerably when wet. Ive never cut marble (or any tile, for that matter) so Im nervous about this part since I have read about marble being soft/breaking easily. Questions can be directed to 913-894-0288. Also be careful what you clean it with. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 8. Just do a small section so you dont feel that panicky time crunch feeling. Thanks SO MUCH in advance! My light fixtures will but against the circular cut and Im nervous the cuts will be jagged. We chose to have a small piece tucked up under the cabinets. Dont forget to add spacers between the bottom pencil tile and the countertop and between each pencil tile going up. 3. The molding is ordered and on its way so hopefully we can finish that up soon. I am so glad I found this product and didnt use regular white caulk. This is probably the single most important thing you can do to ensure that your tile goes on smoothly with no funky corners sticking up. See how the outlet extender has a face plate around it? A few weekends ago, we installed our kitchen backsplash ourselves. Then seal it again after installing(and after the grout has had a few days to cure. However the box is saying to pre seal the polished marble prior to putting up. Did you paint the cabinets yourself, use oil or latex and spray or brush? Use mortar/thinset thats similar in color to your tile. Neither of us have done any tiling work before, so we were a little nervous about it. So far it seems to be doing its job and Im happy with my choice. []. I see that you used spacers at the top and bottom of the pencil tiles between cabinets and counter tops, but what about the side of the pencil tile where the subway tile meets it? Yours turned out great. I was overwhelmed with the options in the tile aisle. Im not sure if the link brought me directly to what you had purchased. You dont want a bunch of skinny weird pieces in the corner. Just started today. Question how did you handle spacing around the corner? It wasso grayand not the light, pretty backsplash I had envisioned. White marble, including Carrara and Calcutta marbles, often contain small deposits of iron. The little bits that squirt out between the tile wipe off even after theyre dry, but just in case you miss any, its better if it matches more closely. UPDATE: Its been about two years since we installed this marble subway tile backsplash and I can honestly say it is my favorite thing in our entire house. There are so many choices to make and products to choose from! It took two adults working non-stop for about 25 hours to install the tile and grout it. Thats what the unfinished space above our tile feature wall is for. We thought it would be less noticeable than a small piece near the countertop. Did you use them there? Sometimes you have to seal the BACK of some white marble before installation or the setting materials will show through unevenly. And although there was a learning curve and it was a time-intensive project, we would definitely DIY it again some day. After looking at a lot of different photos online, I decided that a light gray grout looked best with marble tile. Every time. Grout. How did you make the cuts in the marble time for the anchors? When exposed to water, the iron deposits can oxidize and lead to a rust stain. And that doesnt include the prep before hand. https://www.lowes.com/pd/Anatolia-Tile-8-Pack-Venatino-Polished-3-in-x-6-in-Polished-Subway-Wall-Tile/3477505 Its a polished marble from Lowes. We used it here: 7. If you are looking for Rock Doctor products, they can be found online on Amazon or in Lowes, The Home Depot, and Menards stores. The final result is just so stunning and will look amazing with any kitchen theme. The only tip Id give with grout is to look over your work from every possible angle. While iron oxidization typically a problem on floors after a flood or plumbing leak due to continuous water exposure over an extended period of time, it seems like it shouldnt be a problem for tiles in a shower. Dont freak out! Rust stains are very difficult to remove from marble. Marmer is klassiek maar toch modern en is een van onze favorieten voor keuken- en badtegels. Ill admit, I completely freaked out. After tons of research, these are the products we used: A. We started right at our feature wall area and since this was our first time tiling, we definitely got better as we went along. I just installed marble tile. Tile Layout Planning. After completing our first tiling job, Ive got a lot of tips, tricks and answered questions to share with you. Weve just launched on an almost identical project and your post is going to be a great help. Unlike in your kitchen, dining room, or on your floors, you arent likely to use anything in your shower that will stain the marble tiles. It takes minutes. I am wrapping the cut tile on the inside corner but wanted to know about the spacing? However, I cant find the Polyblend Unsanded Caulk in Platinum and Im wondering where you purchased yours? [] The Craft Patch Blog has a tutorial for us on how to tile a backsplash with marble subway tile. Then the tile just slid right behind the molding. So you didn't seal prior to installing? Would you choose dark again? We ended up cutting off all the the parts of the plate that were flat with the wall. I prefer to apply the thinset to each tile individually, like youre buttering a piece of bread. I'm finding online that honed marble should and it does not make a difference for polished marble. Maybe you could go back and look through the boxes on the shelf? Flooraid Multi-Surface Liquid Floor Cleaner, 7 Ways Youre Accidentally Ruining Your Countertops. Yes, seal it before installing. Did you find the marble tiles were difficult to cut/many pieces broke? 2. I love the dark and would choose them again! []. It takes our kitchen to the next level, for sure. However, do marble shower tiles need the same TLC? Plus, the frequently running water in your shower is likely to remove anything that could possibly stain the tiles. Hi Maria, thank you for taking the time to write this note. No, we didn't have to pick out the darker ones, but since it's natural stone, you might have just gotten some boxes with more dark ones in there. You really cant see that small row of tile under the cabinets unless you bend down and look. They even shared with us mistakes they made, so you can avoid them! 1. PENNY. We had a few tiles break, but it really wasnt too bad. The water-based formula of Rock Doctor Granite & Stone Sealer doesnt contain any harmful chemicals that could damage your marble tile. Ive watched so many videos on circular cuts but mostly all are on ceramic tiles in which they start with a wet saw and finish with nippers (which I dont know if they work on marble). If you have white marble floors, benches, or shelves in your shower, they are going to be at a greater risk for rust stains than the walls of your shower. Thank you so much! https://rockdoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/rockdrlogo300x211-2020.png, https://rockdoctor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/marble-shower-tiles.jpg. We applied a coat to the tile before grouting to act as a grout release and prevent any discoloring from the grout. C.Mapei Porcelain Tile Mortar Polymer Enriched Thin-Set Mortar. Did you have any issues doing so or do you have any additional tricks you could share on that part? Thats just actual tiling time. It will help keep grout, grout haze and water from clinging or staining. Hi Leyla, Whenever you have to tile around something like a light, you want to plan so that the tile goes UNDER and the light sits on top and hangs over enough to cover all the rough edges. How did you get precise circular cuts with the wet saw? Its kind of a long post, but thats because its packed with helpful information! We found it was much easier to install the pencil tile first, let it dry, then install the subway tile next to it. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You can see it in the picture of the corner above. I used your tutorial as my bible for my backsplash project. It was so helpful in our marble tile backlash project which is looking amazing! See that huge color difference? This serves two purposes. We did the opposite. Marble is classic yet modern, and is one of our favorites for kitchen and bath tiling. If these tiles were in other parts of your home, there is no doubt that your contractor would recommend sealing them to protect them from damage. Rock Doctor is a federally registered trademark of Apex Products, LLC Obviously weve still got work to do painting cabinets and window trim and adding crown molding. I was amazed at how much better the tile looked once it was grouted. Work in small sections. What type of marble is this?! We also installed metal floating shelf brackets before tiling. If youre a beginner, you should definitely take a look at this plan and which will take you through the whole process from the prep work to the amazing end product! Press J to jump to the feed. So either buy a different style of outlet extender, or do the same as us and cut pieces off to make it work. When I bought some boxes, I noticed that there was a big variation between the tiles a lot of darker tiles mixed in with some whites. I think the logic is marble is basic and the ph of cleaners can mark it up. If you are new here, please review posting/commenting guidelines below. I used the same tiles as you, as I have beautiful, new Venatino countertops and the combination is gorgeous. However, if water builds up behind the tiles, you could start to notice rust stains. It matched the grout perfectly. What size spacers did you use? We could have used plain white subway tile and saved about a $100. I love the way this turned out! Going to do the same tile in my bathroom over the counter. I saw that your backsplash is pretty evenly colored did you have to pick out the tiles? Marble will absorb color and stains easily. which was the best price I could find. Okay, now on to the actual tiling process. Then seal it annually thereafter with a quality sealer. This is one of those places where wemade a mistakelearned something. If you have honed marble tile in your shower, which isnt recommended, you should definitely keep it sealed. Do I Need to Seal the Marble Tiles in My Shower? 2022 APEX Products. This photo shows how far we got on the first day after 8 hours of labor: If we were to do it again, I bet we could shave some time off since we know what were doing now. We tried tiling over one and it made the tile look horrible and uneven. I installed, sealed, then grouted with graphite pearl grout. If the marble gets stained by the grout or water during installation, you'll have wasted all that time and money and you'll be back here asking how to get stains out of your brand new marble. Hope that helps! So far, so good! I wish we would have started on the wall behind the oven and waited until we got the hang of tiling before doing the more visible area. Question on the cuts around the light fixture. What you seen now your tile is called ghosting. There are a lot of different sealers out there, but after doing an insane amount of research, I chose this one to use with marble. Our counters are laminate. Also, if the marble has a mesh backing, its highly recommended to use epoxy thinset. Its the standard 36 subway tile and was $5.98/sqft. We borrowed the tile saw, trowels, and sponges and other tile tools from a friend, so that saved us a ton of money! Just one bottle of Rock Doctor Granite & Stone Sealer can cover up to 100 square feet of stone, and you only need to reseal your shower tiles every 12 months. This is our corner: See how we used a short piece on the left side, then a longer piece next to it on the right side so that visually the design wraps around? White was too harsh and anything darker made it look too busy and kind of dirty (just my personal opinion). Mapei Porcelain Tile Mortar Polymer Enriched Thin-Set Mortar, how we installed floating shelves over the tile backsplash, Happy Hands Fingerless Mitts Free Pattern, The Best Flowers for Window Boxes and How To Install A Window Box, How to Install a Backsplash The Budget Decorator, https://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-Building-Products-Polyblend-381-Bright-White-10-lb-Non-Sanded-Grout-PBG38110/100553533, Modern Marble Subway Tile Kitchen Backsplash | Small Kitchen Design, Best Best Grout For Kitchen Backsplash | Small Kitchen Design, Marble Subway Tile Backsplash Pictures | kepoins.com, Een backsplash installeren De Budget Decorator - Pintagram Online, https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/the-best-paint-for-kitchen-cabinets/, https://www.lowes.com/pd/Anatolia-Tile-8-Pack-Venatino-Polished-3-in-x-6-in-Polished-Subway-Wall-Tile/3477505, https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/how-to-diy-laminate-countertops/, 40 Unique Kitchen Backsplash Ideas on a Budget. I looked online and at several local stores before settling on this tile from Lowes. B.Marble Subway Tile. I am glad I bought it from a local store because it really helped my confidence to see it in person and I ended up with several extra boxes that I can now easily return. Should I Fix the Chip in My Granite Countertop? Ze hebben zelfs fouten die ze hebben gemaakt met ons gedeeld, dus je kunt ze vermijden! Thanks! I was able to find a link on Home Depots website to the caulk. Struggling to figure out the right tool/but/blade to use or find for this. Marble is a lovely natural material but is unforgiving in high stress environments. Hello Jennifer. EVERY. Reclining Chairs That Are Actually Stylish, Bathroom Remodel Plumbing Fixtures: What You Need To Know, Free Printable Summer Barbecue Utensil Pouches, Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough Holiday Wreath, The Best Family-Friendly Shows You Can Stream for FREE. Heres more info: https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/how-to-diy-laminate-countertops/. The first step is prepping your walls. There are a few different circumstances that will require you to seal marble shower tiles. When it comes to sealing marble shower tiles, Rock Doctor has the solution for you. It worked great, I just wish I had bought a lighter color. This is a big job and it takes longer than I would have guessed. Additionally, you typically need to seal marble to prevent staining, and you are very unlikely to stain the marble tiles in your shower with just regular bath products. If you are installing floor tile or if your grout lines are larger than 1/8th inch, youll need to use sanded grout. Your recommendation to use sanded grout with 1/8th inch grout is also not least correct. -Bree & Rich (livingmyhomelife.com). I've also picked the same tiles from Lowes to use as our backsplash. Thank you! Thank you for such a thorough tutorial! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! This step took us a long, long time because when we removed our old backsplash, the walls got torn up. Ive done tile before, but its been a while and Im so glad I read this. Im looking at honed black granite and would love some feedback on upkeep. 5. Rock Doctor Granite & Stone Sealer is made to be used on all kinds of natural stone surfaces, including marble. This sealer will help create a barrier between the surface of the stone and anything that it comes into contact with like water or the shampoo and conditioner that you use. Since the tile is thick, you dont want your outlets to look sunken into the wall. We did 1/16th inch spaces between tiles (the smallest sized spacers they sell) so we chose non-sanded grout. You will also need to install outlet extenders on all switches and plugs that will be within the backsplash area. Some Worked, Some Didnt! Then we applied another coat at the very end of the project to seal the tile and grout and protect from stains. Youre going to love it! It absorbed water from grout but once evaporated was fine. CA Ingredient DisclosureSoap in Seconds Ingredient Disclosure, Home | Products | FAQ | Store Locator | Contact Us. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. I just checked the link and it goes to the correct product. Im really happy with the grout color. A lot of the debate surrounding the sealing of marble shower tiles fails to consider all scenarios. It was kind of expensive $6 per piece! Dont smear thinset all over the place and then try to race the clock. Pencil Tile Installation. We are getting ready to tackle this backsplash project and your post has been so helpful. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You have entered an incorrect email address! I wrote up a separate post detailing how we installed floating shelves over the tile backsplash, so if youre planning to add floating shelves, definitely give it a read. We wanted them to be screwed into the studs, so it made sense to do this before tile got in the way. Did you butt the tile from one wall up to the tile on the side wall or did you leave a space and then caulk/grout the space? Rock Doctor is here to answer that question for you! Fortunately, marble tile isnt generally submerged in water in a shower, so water rarely saturates the tile and instead dries quickly on the surface. One tip for tiling in a corner is to wrap the design around the corner. We just have sealing and grout left. follow the instructions to seal beforehand (and after).