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How to Install Natural Stone Tile: Cutting Techniques
Cuts are simple and straightforward with a diamond blade wet saw. But push the tile through slowly. Part of the visual charm of marble is its flaws and fracture lines, but these are also weak points where the stone can easily break, especially at the end of a cut. You may have to cut in from each end about an inch before completing cuts. Saw cuts leave slightly rough edges. Smooth these with 200-grit wet/dry sandpaper. (For granite, use a special rub stone.)Cutting the holes for the tub spout, faucet and shower head can be tricky. Some marble tiles are fragile, so fully support the tile with plywood when cutting or drilling it. And work carefully near brittle edges and corners. Keep in mind that you can have a tile store do these cuts for you if you don’t want to attempt them.
Grouting Pulls It All Together
After the tiles have set
for at least a day, the wall is ready to grout. Pull out all the spacers and
clean off any mortar on the tile faces or projecting from the grout lines. Then
coat the marble with a grout remover or tile sealer ($15) to prevent staining
and to make grout removal easier.
Mix the grout (with water only for marble) to a smooth peanut butter consistency, and let it sit for the time listed in the directions. Remix, then work it into the grout joints with a special grout float ($10). This is fairly hard work—use two hands and pack the joints full. Then scrape the edge of the float diagonally across the tile to remove excess.
Stop after about 15 minutes and clean the grout off the surface with a damp (not wet) tiling sponge ($3), rubbing it in a circular motion. Be careful not to wipe out the grout from the joints. Keep a little grout on hand to fill in air bubbles and voids. Rinse the sponge often, but don’t worry about getting the tile perfectly clean yet.
Wipe grout into the joint between the trim and drywall to create a finished-looking edge. Then clean all grout from the corners and the joint along the tub. You’ll caulk these joints later.
After an hour, polish the haze off the tile with a dry towel. Some of the grout lines may look a little sloppy—rub the edges with the towel to sharpen the lines. Then wet down the tile and grout lines once a day for the next few days to help the grout cure. Finally, apply a tile sealer ($15) according to manufacturer’s directions.
Caulk and Finish
After the grout has
dried for at least a day, fill all corners with a caulk designed for tubs and
tile. (Check tile stores for a color that matches your grout.) Taping the edges
of the caulk lines gives you cleaner, more precise caulk lines. Just
remember to remove the tape as soon as you finish smoothing. Caulk starts
skinning over within a few minutes, and if you wait too long, the tape will
smear caulk on the wall.
Caulk the joint between the tub base and floor as well. The floor under our tub had a 1/4-in. sag in the center that was too large for a good-looking caulk joint. So we covered the edge with a limestone trim piece—a standard floor threshold with one edge cut square.
Finish Details
If you wish, buy soap
dishes or towel bars and mount them with silicone at comfortable heights. Tape
them in place overnight until the silicone sets, then caulk around the
edges.
Finally, install the faucet trim and tub and shower spouts, plug in the tub, and enjoy the fruits of your labor—if you can get in before someone else does!
Tip
Don’t mix the whole container of grout at once. Start with a quarter or third
of a container, and mix more as you need it.
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