Marble Carrara Tile bathroom Part 5 Installing the shower floor

[@raulh.3847]

Sal, I'm a weekend warrior and just wanted to let you know that your videos have been such a helpful resource for me. I've learned so much from your channel and you've answered so many tile questions. Thanks!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks, I do what i can.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Glad to hear that.

[@giuseppesantagata3921]

when I saw this video I thought that only a passionate, virtuous and generous man could work in this way, an Italian I apologize for being a proud for this

[@catlady8324]

Giuseppe santagata I’ve known many Italians who are excellent craftsmen. If that’s racist or sexist to say, I don’t give a dam! 🇮🇹

[@dianek3351]

Informative video. Thanks. 😀 Got a similar tile for my master bath. Not installed yet. Is this tile that easy to stain, let's say you get hair dye on them. Read some comments elsewhere that you can seal marble. Have you done so & recommended this?

[@movietime111]

Do you cut the small tiles for filling in edges with wet saw or can you use nips etc? Also, do you have some play with floor tile distance from wall since wall tile will cover 3/8" of floor tile edge or do you keep it tight to wall anyway?

[@DONALD1951]

Ok…how can you clean the mildew off the grout lines…I built my house and installed a similar floor in the shower… big mistake imo… I would have installed porcelain which can handle bleach products

[@camilleplatt6869]

is this the carrara lifeproof tile?

[@TravelingInk]

I'm a bit confused. I was given some Carrara marble tiles - similar to the ones in this video only square instead of hexagon. I was planning on installing it for a bathroom floor and have heard marble is often used for kitchens and bathroom. But then I heard you have to clean it every day and that water can stain it...which doesn't seem practical for a bathroom. Can anyone give some practical advice to how much maintenance is involved with this type of flooring? I am installing it in an Air BnB so I won't likely have access to clean it every day (nor would that be practical). Is it ill-advised to use it if it can't be cleaned and patted dry every day? I love the look, but it seems like a lot of work.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Not a good idea in a rental unit, marble is soft easy to stain and damage and needs to be taken care of if you want it to hold up. Better to use a porcelain tile which is very tough and durable.

[@annshr9917]

Are there any difference in installing marble vs ceramic tiles? Any tips on what I should watch? Thanks again.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Yes quite a few, double layer of plywood plus underlayment, usually ditra, minimum deflection of L/720, are two very impotent elements.

[@rivello123]

Sal, I installed a herringbone marble mosaic tile in my shower pan. Right at the drain is a a small raised area. Most water drain becaus regular shower pan slope is good but water is left over in a small pool right at drain, it a lot but some. I was considering using wet tile diamond polishing pads to grind down the high point and polish to match the surrounding tile , what would you Do in this situation ?

[@SalDiBlasi]

If the tiles are flush with the drain grate grinding then polishing the tiles won’t do much good since the drain is also higher than the low point, water will still puddle. If that is the case, you need to remove the tiles at the drain and lower the drain. This may or may not be possible, depends on the type of drain. If you can lower the drain, I would then grind the back of the tiles to make them a bit thinner and install as usual. If it is a small bump in height in the tile before the drain, and the drain is low enough, you can try to grind and polish, but it might be difficult to make it blend with the surrounding tile. You could always remove the tiles, grind the back and reinstall. Not knowing what kind of system you have and how it was installed makes it difficult to suggest a fix. Other options are available, but it all depends on the type of install. Keep in mind removing tile can compromise the waterproofing if you have a a sealed system, and you could create a bigger problem than you already have.

[@annshr9917]

Sal, what ready-made thin set mortar do you use to adhere the marble to the floor or wall? Also what ready- made grout is best for marble? Thanks.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Don't bother with ready made thinset, it is all garbage. Mapei Flexcolor CQ, and Bostik Dimensions are good advanced grouts.

[@jenndoll99]

Hi Sal,I accidentally deleted my other comment!Could you tell me the size of the Carrera hex you used here? Thanks!

[@benjaminrodriguez9968]

Is it ok for the polish material to be in the shower floor pan? Is it slippery?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Small tile, lots of grout lines for traction.

[@benjaminrodriguez9968]

Thank you

[@dgjrllrivera0610]

Installed same flooring in our shower, love the look of it

[@richardstromquist1]

How has the floor held up? I'm looking at doing the same thing but not sure the marble is the way to go?

[@monikabennett]

Thank you for sharing! This was great.

[@melanywhitney]

Sal, a workman laid a new shower floor on top of my old one., and he didn't lay it with checking the pitch! So it takes 4 days to fully drain. Now the ya re coming back to pick it up and will redo the pich, but want to grout SAME DAY AS LAYING...Is that OK? Bad to rip up tile from existing or will they ruin the first floor?

[@yokells5808]

Hi I absolutely love your work how do you keep the tiles flush with the drainage pipe

[@6958921]

You have to pre slope the shower before the tile

[@coreylawler4034]

Sal! I like some of your videos!!! Couple questions... 1. Why aren't you setting the shower floor, grouting it, then doing the walls in this video? That marble is flat, right? 2. Why are you pushing schluter shower systems so much?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Sometimes I do things in a different order, I don't remember the reason for this job, it was 4 years ago, however the shower floor tile may have not been available when I started the job or some other reason. I don't push any system, Schluter shower systems are what is Known as a "Sealed System" which incorporates a bonding flange to make the system possible. Laticrete makes one, so does USG and a few others. These systems are far superior and much more reliable than a Vinyl liner, copper pan, hot mop, divot method or any other older system. I decided that I want to give my customers better more modern and advanced materials and construction methods to insure a long lasting trouble free installation. When all schluter products are used, Schluter will give a lifetime warranty, what more can you ask for.

[@coreylawler4034]

@@SalDiBlasi Where could I email you a detailed question involving ditra in a very specific application? Love for you to take a look when you got a sec!

[@MrCt333]

Sal I have a couple of questions for you if you have time. 1. What is the subfloor requirements for marble tile? Currently on engineered truss (I think) 2nd floor, joist are 24" on center with 3/4" osb. Someone told me I need to add another 3/4" tongue and groove plywood on top of that. 2. If I do have to add another 3/4" board my bathroom floor will be a good deal higher than my master bedroom so how do I bridge that gap? 3. When I pull up the old tiles what will I need to do to the flooring to prepare it for the 2nd layer of flooring and Ditra? Thanks again for the help.

[@SalDiBlasi]

+Chris Troxtell Deflection for natural stone is L/720, twice that of ceramic tile. You need to know the type of joists, size of the joists, and unsupported span enter those numbers here www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/deflecto.pl see what you get, thumbs up or thumbs down. Marble must have two layers of plywood, and then the tile underlayment, like Ditra. You will have to install a threshold at the door to transition to the adjoining floor. Pull up the old tile scrape, grind, sand off all the old residue, determine whether the plywood is in good enough condition and then proceed to the next step

[@marbylee339]

I am replacing flooring in a 2nd story bath with 1x1 hex Carrara marble sheets. I don't know the type or size of the joists, so I'm concerned about deflection. Is there any way to determine this without removing the subfloor that is already there?

[@marbylee339]

Also, I am planning to install Ditra first, thanks!

[@mmbuilders3478]

Sal, Have you ever had an issue with mosaic tile floor feeling wavy under your feet? Especially when installed on a larger floor. Any idea why this might happen? Any tips to avoid it? We had this problem and had to pay for the entire bathroom floor to be polished level.

[@SalDiBlasi]

MMBuilders not sure i understand what you mean by wavy, but if the tiles are not beat in by useing a rubber float or beater block, you can get tiles that stick up a little.

[@timelyobjective]

thanks for the informative and thorough vids! any tips on cutting the tiny hex on the wet saw? did you build a jig to sandwich them and prevent them from sliding under the blade and cracking ?

[@SalDiBlasi]

If you have a good quality tray type wet saw, you will not have a problem cutting these tiles, you might have to do as you suggest with a lesser saw.

[@timelyobjective]

it all worked out. thanks for getting back to me!

[@sivancohen2750]

amazing!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks!

[@floored3145]

Hey Sal, can you make a video describing how you measure your layouts to start tiling (walls and floors, not shower floors). Looked through your channel and didnt see any like that. It can get tricky when you have to include the grout size in the measuring.

[@SalDiBlasi]

I will see what I can do.

[@dkettleson]

Sal, I am installing this marble tile on bathroom floor with the 6x8 skirting. Do you set the trim right on top or do you wedge it to open a grout line.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Leave a small grout line.

[@mad2251]

nice job

[@AtlanticAcadian]

Sal GREAT VIDEOS!!!!!! I got a question for you. When your using river stone or pebbles that are not shaved or flat but rounded on all their tops do you do the same technique where you have the last row of tiles not installed on the lower part of the wall and have the last wall tile on top of the floor tile. I can see how this works for a flat stone or pebble but not sure on a rounded pebble. Whats the proper layout? Shower is all Schulter and Kerdi products with off set drain and Schluter pan and curb.

[@SalDiBlasi]

For the river rock i usually install all the wall tile down to the shower floor and then cut the river rock at the wall so that i have a nice clean line and not a lot of grout. You can see one here kzbin.info/www/bejne/oH_bYnybiMmeY6s at about 6:19

[@AtlanticAcadian]

***** Thank you Sal

[@eightfigs3508]

Did you make the shower pan? Did you use a waterproofing membrane(thick plastic sheet) or a liquid waterproofing membrane? For the area that you haven't tiled, after you grout it, did you use a waterproof caulk at the seams? Just trying to ask the right questions so that I won't get jipped by the contractor... Thank you

[@SalDiBlasi]

If you don't trust the contractor you are hiring, the it might be a good idea to find one you trust.

[@chicofun4779]

Great video, what thinset did you use? I'm using the same tiles marble carrara square 2 by 2 inch tiles. thanks

[@SalDiBlasi]

It was probably Ultraflex 2 By Mapei

[@jonathandoud1]

Sal, what kind of grout are you using for this marble floor? What kind of finish does this marble floor tile have on it?

[@SalDiBlasi]

This was 4 years ago, so Hard to remember, but I think the floor tile was honed , don't remember the grout.

[@jonathandoud1]

Sorry - should have looked at the date. I can barely remember what I did yesterday. But what I meant with my grout question was what "type" of grout. Did you put down sanded or non-sanded?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Depends on the width of the grout line, 1/8" or smaller use unsanded, 1/8" or wider use sanded, so with the 1/8 you can do either.

[@jonathandoud1]

Sal DiBlasi even with marble??

[@SalDiBlasi]

The grout width determines sanded or unsanded, unsanded will not fill a wide griout line and will look very bad. Read this, www.tcnatile.com/faqs/46-unsanded-grout.html

[@silvano199]

HI Sal canadian tile guy here like your work ethics keep it up

[@89gtconvertible]

Hi Sal, I actually have the exact same tile you are laying here. Question- how do you cut the individual pieces of tile around the drain accurately? What did u use to cut it?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Wet Saw

[@joe198032]

what is the green ? Similar to red guard ?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Mapei Aquadefense.

[@mosesmunoz696]

Hey there sal, on the grout phase, do you use unsanded grout for marble even though it's in a shower?

[@SalDiBlasi]

+MOSES M type of grout is determined by the width of the grout line. In this case they were 1/16" so unsanded. Of coarse there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration

[@mosesmunoz696]

Sal DiBlasi have you used laticrete grouts? 1500 and permacolor? I was told that their sanded grout can get down to a 1/16 grout joint, I don't know the facts to it and I haven't tried it yet. I just looked at the data sheet and said it can be used for 1/16 grout joints, but I'd like to hear your opinion on it? Thanks again for the reply sal.

[@salferranti7871]

Hi Sal, is there any proper way to install tile over a hardwood floor without tearing it out.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Your best option is to tear it out

[@maceo2012]

I agree. That's best. In our case, they added sub floor over the existing hardwood. And when we changed the floor, we added cement board over the sun floor and new tile. Let me tell you... the difference in height between the dining and kitchen is crazy! Like an inch plus. I really regret it. Just start fresh. You'll love it more.

[@jameshblack]

Would black grout be wrong with white floor tiles

[@SalDiBlasi]

Black grout with marble tile can be a very big problem depending on the kind of grout. Anything with a dye can stain the marble and create a picture frame on the edges. A grout that uses the aggregate as the source of color will be fine, so be very careful what you choose as your grout if you want black.

[@jakpezelj5787]

Do not grout these black.

[@nicolasosteguin5440]

Awesome! What brand of water proof mixture do you use? I'll upload video of mine, just bought property and my bathroom is still plywood.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Mapei Aquadefense.

[@nicolasosteguin5440]

Thanks a lot you are a true artist.

[@donk9132]

Nice work Sal !!

[@MrCt333]

Hey Sal, did you publish part 6 of this video showing the last row of tiles and grouting? I see the video is included with the time lapse but I can't find it in normal speed. Do you seal your marble before grouting?

[@SalDiBlasi]

+Chris Troxtell I guess i never did part 6, I thought i finished this series, but i may have forgotten do the last part. I will get to it as soon as i have time. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@CeramictecTampaTileContractor]

another good video Sal. been doing this for years and its the best way!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks Brian, you definitely know what is good and what is not.

[@haideraltamimi6982]

USA good job

[@scottberry3287]

People don’t cut around drain till tile is in u might won’t to move floor a little than cut around drain

[@noureddine309]

wowww simply amazing :)

[@catlady8324]

A+++++

[@drrmagneto4176]

i thought marble is bad for bathrooms

[@TravelingInk]

Same. I was given some Carrara marble tiles - similar to the ones in this video only square instead of hexagon. I was planning on installing it for a bathroom floor, but then I heard you have to clean it every day and that water can stain it...which doesn't seem practical for a bathroom.

[@chrisjohn8601]

You used Mapei Type 1 for mortar. This can't be used in wet areas. Also max tile size for floor with Type 1 is 6x6.

[@SalDiBlasi]

The bucket is a mastic bucket, what is in it is white thinset. Never never use mastic in a wet area. at 8:17 I say that it is thinset.

[@chrisjohn8601]

@@SalDiBlasi oh I see. My bad.

[@SalDiBlasi]

no problem probably should have not used that old bucket.

[@drewrosa5403]

Why can't you just cut a circle with the grinder then u dont need to put all the tiny pieces in ?

[@SalDiBlasi]

You're not serious, that has to be a joke.

[@drewrosa5403]

No joke m8 can b done easy as

[@Redbeeeerd]

He's obviously has never dumped a grinder into a matted tile as small and soft as marble and expected a perfect result

[@drewrosa5403]

I am a tiler and i do it all the time I'll make a vid to prove it haha Probs use different blades in other countries or something like that

[@SalDiBlasi]

@@Redbeeeerd Exactly