Marble Flooring in Kitchens | Pros and Cons of Marble Flooring

Marbles flooring have been one of the most admired flooring materials from several ages, generations and types of marble. There have been several marble floor ideas, used specially during renovating houses as wall tiles, floor tiles, as well as countertop slabs. It is not affected by water much as in comparison with other materials and it is very durable and easy to care for. Thus, It is very convenient for giving the kitchen and bathroom room a shiny appearance easily. 

It arrives at our homes after completing a long journey from its simple irregular limestone shape to a beautiful marble. It takes almost millions of years for it’s metamorphosis in nature through intense heat and pressure in order to produce a dense variegated stone which can be polished to a high shine. Nowadays it is mined throughout the world for different purposes. It has a very elegant shine which simply creates the feeling of a spacious room when it is installed in one. A we know that qualities come with its own cost and as beautiful as the marble is it is also very costly to have them. 

As the candles illuminate light around but darkness stays at its base, similar to that there are some pros and cons of marble flooring too. list of them are: 

A. Pros of Marble Flooring in Kitchen are described below:- 

1. Durable and multicoloured along with different varieties :- 

The best thing about the marble flooring is that they last for a very long time. They just don’t easily weather away like other materials do, nor does its beautiful shine go away. Not just that they have varieties of designs and colours too which makes them useful during decorative works. No two marble floors can be the same in design and color which makes them unique in every piece. Even though we know that some love to have similar color and designs or texture everywhere so through some artificial ways it is tried to make similar stones too. These shiny rocks give off a luxurious shine to anyone’s house who has used it for their house. 

With varieties of mining locations, there are varieties of marbles available for different work along with different colors and patterns. Those veins may be heavy or delicate and barely noticeable. There are three main categories with their identifying appearances:- 

1. Carrara:- One of the most abundantly found white marble tiles during ancient Greece and Rome is Carrara. Almost like centuries ago They were appearing in huge pillars and elaborate statues. Nowadays, Carrara marble flooring tiles are found in limited hues, within light to warm white range with surface features medium to light gray veining.

2. Calacatta:- With similar appearance to Carrara but yet with little dark gray color is Calacatta. It looked closer to pure white in color while featuring darker gray veining, creating a contrasting look.

3. Breccia:- If anyone is fond of colorful things and loves a colorful lifestyle then they can use the Breccia tiles for flooring. They are found in different colors ranging from deeper shades, including deep browns, warm golds, reds and tans. There is a warmth sensation when touched.  The dark gray and black veining in Breccia marble seems to show in ornate swirls, and it includes perfectly round boundary lines that represent bubbles trapped beneath the surface.

2. Polishable shine 

Marbles are polishable. Thus their tiles can be polished to get a shiny surface and extremely smooth. This outlets the natural colors in marble, making the kitchen floors more vibrant and noticeable. If someone wants to keep a long lasting shine of tiles and avoid staining and other moisture related damages then polishing it in intervals of years might do the needed trick. When lights pass through translucent objects like the marble tiles they give off the beautiful illuminance.

3. Eco-friendly

Those who love to keep the environment around them neat and clean can’t ignore the marble’s recycling properties. Even though the marbles are non-biodegradable, it doesn’t create any pollutants to pollute the environment. 

 

B. Cons of Marble Flooring are enlightened below:- 

1. As costly as decorative it is

Marble flooring can be the best flooring idea for anyone to have in their kitchen and bathrooms. Since it is as neat as it looks, it creates the feeling of perfect hygiene. But it can’t be afforded by everyone. It is very costly as a simple individual 12”x 12” marble can easily cost upto $6 or $7 which can even cost higher if it is one of the non-standard, designer mosaics or larger tiles and slabs. 

It also requires a good amount of labor that goes into quarrying and finishing marble tiles. The minimum cost of tiles start around $6 per square foot and maximum cost of tiles can run upto $10 to $40 per square foot, as per taking the density and veining patterns into consideration. Not just that as big or large the tiles get the more expensive they get. Let’s not forget about the most recommended tiles Ceramic and porcelain tiles which go on the run at just $1 to $3 per square foot.

Any professional installation may add an additional $3 to $7 per square foot, on the basis of the going rate for labor in the owner’s area and the additional work sometimes becomes very needed. The facts which can add to anyone’s installation costs may include:

I. Disassembling the existing floor.

II. installation of different specialized and decorative tile borders. 

III. Beefing up the subfloors which can be very troublesome as the tiles are not going to light to lift up .

2. Easily damageable shine

Of course the marble flooring is durable for a very long duration and can be recycled too but that problematic fact is that it can get the marks of scratches easily too. Since it is relatively softer than granite, it is most likely that they can be damaged due to heavy footing. Marbles are also very porous and slightly alkaline in composition due to which they are easily stainable to the stains of acidic substances like fruit juices, vegetable soups, etc. 

3. Repairment and protective steps

Working on a scratched or stained marble tile to make it look as new as possible is very challenging in it’s own way which can't be done for some cases so it's best to be precautious and follow some protective measures in advance. By sealing and polishing the tiles may help a lot in maintaining the shiny appearance for a very long time. The acidic materials available around the kitchen room and anywhere in the house will be laid over the invisible layer created by the seals. But even after that you may sometimes have to hire professionals for re-applying the surface-barrier sealing chemicals every 8 to 12 months for the constant natural luster and sheen of marble flooring. 

4. Hard to maintain:- 

Marble floored areas are very long lasting and attractive if kept on maintained however it is hard to give proper care by ownself. If someone desires to renovate their houses from different intervals of time then the best way would be that he just install a new floor just above the previous one for changing the look of the house but that can be very expensive as well as very burdensome too. 

5. Need to be very careful for different points

Generally marbles instantly become cold which might be a bit of uncomforting issue during the cold seasons and in the cold regions. But to solve that issue one can simply install a radiant heating system. With this issue solved there is also one more problem with the marble tiles that they can easily be destroyed by heavy weighing objects for which the house owner must think it through about the weights of the house holding objects too. In the end, it's very expensive to manage everything with simple thinking. 

6. The slippery shiny element of tile when it’s wet 

As shiny as we can make the tiles after polishing it can be also slippery too. Also when the tiles are left wet, there is always the risk of accidents due to the slippery surface. For which house has to use some non-slippery products to reduce the risk. Products like SlipDoctors Polish Grip Floor Treatment can be the best choice to make for solving the slippery problems.

 C. Is marble flooring always shiny? 

To answer that let’s first think about the suitability of different colors to different rooms. Similar to that marbles can be arranged into different forms too. So, it’s a no. Marble tiles can be arranged to either a high gloss or a matte look, taking in consideration some points on what’s best suited for the location.

i. Polished Marble: In Marble flooring who like the high-glossy appearance, for them polished marble should be the best option. These are obtained by grinding the surface with a stone-polishing machine. Polishing makes the marble’s veining  give off  a radiant luxurious look. 

ii. Honed Marble: Lightly polished marbles when it seems to have a flat smooth surface without letting it to produce any amount of shine then honed marble is obtained. It offers a soft matted durable surface.

Flooring with tiles like ceramic and porcelain tiles, those who are knowledgeable enough in the basic tile-laying practices can prevent unnecessary expenditures on the installation by doing it themself. It would be for the best if those who don't know anything about tile installation call professionals because as delicate and as heavy the tiles can be they won’t be easily handled. Just in case if anyone like to DIY the project then they should keep the following tips in mind:

i. Maintain the subfloor perfectly flat, without dips or bumps which may interfere with the tiles. To ease this work, an individual can use a self-leveling compound to fill in dips and smooth the surface out.

ii. Installation of Marble tiles should be over cement board underlayment in order to resist moisture damage. Regular plywood subfloors won’t be any good suggestion for it.

iii. For an ultra smooth look, either butting tightly marble tiles together or  installing them with gaps between the tiles for filling the joints with grout may do the trick required for it. The grout should be unsanded one in order to avoid scratches to the marble. Use marble flooring tips from a2zmarmat and implement in your home too.