Marble Flooring (Pros & Cons) – All You Need to Know About
Mar 28, 2023
Natural stones always fascinate us when used in the construction and decoration of our living and working spaces. Out of all, marble stones offer a superior appearance and augment the more natural beauty of your spaces than others.
Therefore, the contribution of marble is more than half of all-natural stone trades in the world. Let’s Know
What Is Marble as a Natural Stone?
In simple geological terms, marble is a metamorphic rock when limestone is passing through the metamorphism process due to heat and pressure in the crust of the earth, be it on land or at the submarine level. Being a kind of limestone, marble is a calcareous type of rock containing chiefly calcite (CaCO3 compound) and other miscellaneous impurities including sands, clays, iron, and other minerals.
What Are Physical Properties of Marble Stone?
Most of the marbles found in lighter color shades and while is in abundance. Thanks to some impurities, marbles get grains & veins of different colored shades including gray, green, pink, and black.
It is resulting in unique and naturally beautiful patterns and designs on the surfaces of marble slabs and tiles.
Marble accepts polishing amazingly and resulting in a waxy and glossy surface is giving a thin transparent layer on the top of the mass with veins, color patches, and patterns. It renders marbles the best material for designing sculptures.
How Is Production of Marble Stone Takes Place Commercially?
The occurrence of marble is in large deposits ranging hundreds of feet thick layers in different places of the world. Therefore, we can mine marbles on large scales and required sizes of blocks. The latest quarrying technologies have improved production a lot and also made it cheaper than ever.
The hardness of marble is at three (3) Moh’s scale. It means it is a soft natural stone and easy to cut and carve into different shapes like art objects and sculptures.
Modern stone cutting technologies have eased the burden of exporters/importers and suppliers for rapid shipping and convenience.
We can cut marble blocks into dimension stones for a variety of interior and exterior applications in the construction industry.
For instance, slabs, tiles, and stacked stones in buildings. The maximum use of marble is in flooring as slabs or tiles.
During quarrying, some rocks marbles come as rough stones of smaller sizes. These are crushing into aggregates or powders and used in different industries for various purposes like whitener, chalk, in animal feed, in the pharmaceutical industry, and so on.
Out of so many uses, today we will discuss only marble flooring with marble stone slabs and marble tiles commercially available everywhere across the globe.
Pros & Cons of Marble Floorings
It is true that marble is abundant so cheaper yet beautiful alternative among the natural stone flooring. It has many other pros, which may tempt you to use marble stones in your next project. Of course, knowledge about some cons of marble flooring can help you to make the right decision, particularly, where you should apply marbles for flooring or not. Let’s check it.
Pros of Marble Floorings or Marble Paving
Natural Aesthetics
Marble is processed by natural artisans like heat, pressure, and chemical processes over a prolonged period in the earth. Therefore, it possesses natural beauty thoroughly and improves the aesthetics of your buildings.
Uniqueness
Marble tiles or slabs are natural products so that you will have each piece unique and considerably different from others. Grains and veins in marble stones make distinct patterns and emerged as a variety of designs due to patterns and color variations.
Stylists
Marble stones are available in a variety of colors and a mix of shades. You can cut marble rocks into different sizes, shapes, and styles to create various designs like mosaic, diamond, herringbone, subway, and stack bond.
You have the freedom to show your creativity in architecture, construction, and decoration using stylish marbles.
Versatility
Marble slabs and marble tiles are easy to adopt different polishing treatments. Thus, you can achieve elegant surfaces with silky smooth touch and shimmering looks. Apart from high sophistication, marble also adopts different finishes and yield rustic surfaces with non-slip properties to use in wet areas.
Resistant to Climatic Adversity
The porosity and nature of calcite minerals make marbles cool underfoot material in hot climate regions. The sheer whiteness of marbles reflects hot sun rays and radiations like a mirror and keep it cool.
Similarly, marbles are ideal stone materials to adopt radian heat systems in cold regions during snowy days. Proper sealing and coating treatment make it waterproof for rainy days.
Natural Translucency
Marble surfaces have natural translucency, and the top translucent layer seems a transparent wrapper permits penetration of light rays at some depth.
If polished well, the glossy and plastic-like top layer make marble stones glowing when sun rays hit the surfaces at some angles. Therefore, marble is an ideal stone material to create sculpture and artistic objects for decoration and other purposes.
Cons of Marble Floorings or Marble Paving
Scratching Surfaces
Marble is a soft stone compared to granite and quartzite. Its surfaces are prone to scratches when polished, sophisticated level. High hill sandals and animal paws can damage the appearance of marble. Therefore, it is a better choice for interior flooring, not exterior paving.
Acid Sensitive
Marble is a kind of limestone and calcites in it can react with acids. So, lemon juice and vinegar-like common acidic liquids can damage it leaving permanent stains.
Delicate Material
Marble has a hardness of 3.0 Moh’s scale. It means it is a brittle material and can break or chip easily. If marble installation is not proper, it will ready to burst and break even with standard loads.
Tough Matching Replacement
Marble comes with unique designs and patterns. If you have carefully planned the layout following a design or pattern, getting a matching piece will prove a daunting task when it breaks or damages.
Not for DIY Installation
Marble is a delicate material. It demands professional proficiency and tools for installation. It requires careful planning and application of material such as sealants or coating material before and after grouting. Designing a pattern or design with marble tiles is not a job that can help anyone during installation.
Expensive Choice
Marble is a premium choice for architectural material. The rate of high-quality marble slabs or tiles are comparatively high and installation cost added in it. So, everyone cannot afford it.
Is Marble Flooring Good?
We have seen the pros and cons of marble in flooring. If we draw conclusions from it, we can sum it up in the following ways.
Marble is a calcite stone and porous in nature. It looks beautiful at first glance but expensive on buying as well as maintaining. It is because you have to apply sealant and coating treatment annually to keep its look-n-feel last for longer. Therefore, architects and contractors prefer their interior use in most cases where the chances of heavy foot traffic and damages by animals are low.
However, marble stones have great aesthetic appeal and natural beauty that none can resist. If your budget permits and you are ready for the regular maintenance, modern technologies can help you a lot. You can bring soberness and natural splashes of colors, patterns, and designs in your home and around spaces by selecting proper types of marbles stones, and designs.
In short, marble is an excellent flooring or paving material today.
Types of Marble Flooring
It is said that more than 3K types or varieties existing across the globe and known as different entities. Therefore, the best way to get locally available varieties from reliable natural stone suppliers in your vicinity. However, for the sake of information, I have listed some famous varieties/types of marbles here.
Calacatta Marble
It is the most expensive type of marble due to its rare availability in nature but also for its striking features. It has darker gray and thick veining patterns among the brighter white background. It is also available in gold hues and based on intensity and occurrence, those known as sub-types, such as Gold, Michelangelo, and Borghini.
Carrara Marble
It is the most commonly available variety of marble stones. It is a cheaper alternative than others. It has fine feathery gray veins in grayish-white background. It used to come in linear and soft veining patterns, so it quite differs from calacatta marbles, which have darker and thicker veins. It is budget-friendly and can be used in any space of your interior as well as exterior marble application.
Talathello Marble
It has a dazzling look due to varying shades of silver and beige deposits in a light gray background. Therefore, it is an excellent choice for beautifying your façade and exterior places like patios and porches.
Emperador Marble
It is a Spanish variety available in light and dark brown colors. Irregular veining patterns accompany various shades of brown with white to gray feathers. It is an excellent choice for rooms or patios with a woody or golden or brassy metallic furniture and accessories.
CremaMarfil Marble
It is another Spanish variety famous for its different beige tones with irregular veining patterns and intensities. So, itis a textures creamy beige marble stone available in different tones such as cinnamon, white, and golden beige. Many consider it a mere limestone, not a marble, but its high shining on polishing simulate as a marble type.
Levadia Black Marble
It is a Greek marble variety. It found in a completely black background with grayish-white veining in a smoke spot pattern. Due to its black color dominance, it is an ideal candidate for kitchen countertops and floors where extreme dark shade is essential.
Nero Marquina Marble
It is a Spanish marble variety in black shades. It is a high-quality black stone extracted from the Markina region of Northern Spain. It has a complete dark black background with striking white veins that bring glamorous appearance underfoot. It is an excellent choice for bathroom flooring in the internal spaces while the porch and patio also accept it due to a darker background when setting with an exterior theme.
Is Marble Floor Hard To Maintain?
We already discussed before that marble is a delicate and brittle stone material if not handled carefully during installation and afterward usages. It gets scratched easily, break or damaged quickly with some pressure or hard hits.
Marble reacts with acids and spills of lemon juices or vinegar-like acidic stuff can leave permanent damages on the surfaces. However, the latest technologies for coating and sealing the marble surfaces render it useful in most of the cases, and you have to go to periodic reapplications to maintain its original beauty.
How to Polish Marble Flooring?
Due to the availability of polishing tools and solutions in the open market, anyone can go DIY polishing of marble floors. Let’s check it step-by-step.
1. Prepare Tools & Solutions
Gather all required tools like polisher machines, sandpapers, and soft clothes. Accumulate solutions for washing, stain removing, polishing compound, and sealant solution.
2. Clean the surfaces of marble stones
Clean dirt and mild stains using a mop, cloths, or vacuum cleaner from the surfaces. Mild detergent or plain water washing is enough to clean the marbles. If stains are deep, you can apply poultice treatment on it.
3. Apply polishing compound
Apply polishing compound in proper amount by starting with little and add afterward. Apply low-speed polisher with required pressure to bring smooth surfaces across the length of marble stones. Work in small sections of your marble floor instead of the entire area at a time. Move the polisher in a circular movement and try never to miss any spot at all.
4. Apply marble sealant
After 24 hours of the application of the polishing compound, now it is time to apply marble sealant to protect surfaces. Spray marble sealant solutions evenly on the marble surfaces and try to prevent streaking. After half an hour, wipe off the residues of sealant from the surfaces. After a day of drying, your marble paving will ready to use.
Conclusion
We passed through a journey to know marble stones, their properties, usages, pros and cons, and how to polish your marble floor in a DIY manner in the current blog. It may have improved your appetite to apply marbles in your next project, and you are looking for the right supplier in your vicinity, right?
World of Stones USA is the best place to check a huge inventory of marble stones in customized ways. Visit the premise or ask for our marble catalog online and beautify your places using our free of charge consulting services with perfect guidance on each move.
