Summary: Granite tile and marble flooring are
excellent floor materials. They are natural stone products, very
durable and stain resistant. Other options for floors include slate and
terrazzo. All except for terrazzo are installed like ceramic tile.
DEAR TIM: I'm giving serious consideration to
using granite and/or marble as a flooring material in an upcoming
building project. Will they both perform equally? How about stain
resistance, durability, and care? Are there any natural stone product
alternatives that you might recommend? A.C.
DEAR A.C.: I must compliment you on your taste
and choice of building materials. Both granite and marble are wonderful
flooring materials. These materials have seen explosive growth during
the past 5-10 years. Marble sales have increased approximately 400
percent during the past five years.
Believe it or not, during the past ten years,
hard stone products have experienced an incredible 2,000 percent growth
in sales. There is no doubt that homeowners have discovered the
advantages that commercial builders have known for quite some time.
Aside from flooring, homeowners are using marble and granite as
countertops, back splashes, tub platforms and surrounds, and fireplace
surrounds and hearths.
Both marble and granite are natural stone
products. Recalling my college days, as a geology undergraduate, marble
is a metamorphic rock. Limestone, when subjected to various high
temperatures and pressures within the earth, recrystallizes into
marble. For years, much of the fine marble used in building was
quarried in Italy. However, fine marble is now quarried in Mexico,
China, Spain, and the former Soviet Union.
Granite is a fine to coarse grained rock which
often contains quartz, feldspar, and mica crystals. It can form as a
result of igneous (volcanic) or metamorphic geologic activity. The
presence of quartz in granite gives it incredible durability and
hardness characteristics. Granite is almost always more durable than
marble.
Because granite and marble are natural
products, they exhibit a wide range of stain resistance. Marble is more
porous than granite. Certain marbles can stain quite readily. Common
household liquids such as orange juice, nail polish remover, shampoo,
and even water can cause serious stains in certain marbles. Granite, on
the other hand, is very stain resistant. Professional installers
recommend the use of neutral pH breathable sealers for both marble and
granite, once they have been installed. These sealers need to be
reapplied on a regular basis, depending upon how much use or foot
traffic that the marble or granite is exposed to.
If you choose to use marble for an entrance
foyer, it might have to be professionally cleaned and resealed every 12
- 18 months. Marble used in bathrooms and kitchens should be cleaned
and resealed every 9 - 12 months.
There are several alternative natural stone
products that might interest you as well. Slate and terrazzo make
beautiful and durable floors. Terrazzo is very unique. It is made by
mixing different colored marble chips with colored cement and / or
epoxy. This mixture is honed and polished to a mirror like surface. By
using a variety of different colored marble chips, you can create
virtually any colored floor or pattern. Terrazzo requires virtually the
same care as natural marble flooring.
Slate is a unique flooring material. It is
available in shades of green, brown, red, and mottled green. It is very
durable, and when sealed it is virtually stain proof.
All of the stone products, except for
terrazzo, are installed similar to ceramic tile. They are available in
different sizes, commonly 12 x 12 inch squares. Slate often is
available in random sizes that fit together in a pattern. The thickness
of the materials varies, depending upon what you choose. However, most
flooring pieces are either 1/4, 3/8, or 1/2 inch thick. Visit your
local stone products center and see the wide variety of products that
are available. I'm sure that you will not waste your time.
