# Marble floor problem



## wino (12 Jan 2010)

Hi, 

I have a big problem in that the Travertine marble floor we put down in the hall, kitchen and downstairs toilet is litererally disintegrating under our feet, particularly bad in the toilet and at the sink, possibly a combination of heavy usage and perhaps water spills?. We are getting no joy from the supplier who is telling us that this type of marble has air pockets which are normally sealed at the factory, but obviously we would never have bought this marble type which cost the guts of 10K for this area if we knew it was going to end up like this. Are there any marble experts out there that I could get advice or get an inspection on, any advice would be appreciated. 

Wino


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## donee (12 Jan 2010)

After the tiles were put down , did the tiler not come back and seal them for you AFAIK their supposed to!


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## wino (12 Jan 2010)

Yeh, 

they came back and sealed the floor and all seemed fine for about four months. The problem started pretty soon after this. After getting a few tilers in for their opinion, it seems that this can be done again and sealed professionally but it will only be a matter of time before the floor starts to fall apart again. There doesn't seem to be a specfic marble expert out there to advise me. Was it sealed incorrectly, is it a faulty marble type, should it have been used for this floor area etc, do I have any grounds to get the supplier to help out??. These are the questions I'm looking for answers on.


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## Ann1 (13 Jan 2010)

We have marble in our hallway and use these products for cleaning and maintenance. http://www.lithofin-uk.co.uk/Wexa.html
Also I found this link which has an explanation of the different types of Travertine available and the grouting of the 'honed unfilled type'. Hope it helps.
http://www.alistairmackintosh.co.uk/
I have no affiliation with these companies.


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## wino (14 Jan 2010)

Hi ANN 1, 

thank you for that. Reading from your suggested website it would appear that I may have bought a "second choice" type of Travertine. There seems very little I can do, except to fill it on a regualr basis but this has proved very difficult in trying to match the colour. I am considering going legal and am asking the question-should I have been sold this product which is clearly unsuitable for this area?.
Are there any experts that could possibly take a look at the floor for me?


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## onq (14 Jan 2010)

ANN 1,

I don't know that there is a first choice and second choice in this material.
That may be only marketing speak and all travertine may have a problem if not well-supported.

We have experience of beautiful looking travertine-type "marbles" which didn't just have visually beautiful veins but had actual fault lines develop in them in use.
Travertine "seats" on timber substrates have cracked and the standard type of tile bedding doesn't seem to give sufficient support in floors.
I don't know why this knowledge apparently hasn't percolated through to the industry yet.

Perhaps there is a lack of feedback  because the price seems right versus real marble [that'sa guess] and it does look so good.

I'm afraid that sealing and resealing may do little good unless the tiles are fully bedded in grout or fully supported by a screed.

I'm sorry I cannot be more positive but perhaps others here may have a resolution which I will also read avidly.

ONQ.


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## Linds66 (9 Feb 2010)

Hi Onq
I am in a legal battle re this very problem at the moment - I am trying to prove that they are unsuitable for purpose. I am using my house hold insurance legal protection to make a claim against the tile company


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## onq (9 Feb 2010)

We're always interested in advancing our knowledge of legal issues relating to building Linds66, both online in AAM and in private practice.
We haven't directly come across this kind of claim for a tile before - usually its something to do with non-slip properties in a shopping centre after a kid drops ice-cream on the tiles and someone slips on it.
We'd be very interested in learning about the issues - how they are presented and how they are defended.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]


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## BlueMoon (14 Feb 2010)

I second ONQ's observation- that the travertine needs to be well supported.

Travertine tiles are by their nature quite brittle and crumbly, especially if left in the cold and rain for any period of time. Your problem could be the tile, but without proper support, the tile can easily develop fault lines with heavy traffic and disintegrate.
By support, i mean that the adhesive underneath needs to be applied correctly by the installer (tiler) so that no big cavities are present underneath the tile. Porcelain and Ceramic tiles can live with less adhesive underneath, but not travertine, especially thin slabs. 
If you want to see evidence of this happening on a large scale, just pop along to a certain large Dublin shopping mall (named after a river) and you will see that parts of the floor there are suffering the same fate. Many tiles have been replaced since it was built and they're still not 100%.
Maybe that is your problem. Maybe not..


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## onq (15 Feb 2010)

Hi BlueMoon,

I havent been out there in an age, but I must call out to see it soon.

I'd also note that sandstone can easily break in transit especially if you're silly enough to use straw packing.

I've seen stuff imported from England and it was so brittel you could break corners of it off with your hand - no karate chops, just a good twist.

Staw only works if there is a sufficient depth of it, otherwise with only one of two stalks, they can bunch up and actually aid in breaking the slabs.

These were 600 x 600 x 50 mm slabs and no I didn't specify them or their packaging, I was minding a project for a colleague while he went on holidays.

1 in 5 to 1 in 4 slabs were damaged in transit and I rejected a lot of other slabs because I could see strains in the stone that would lead to cracking once laid.

FWIW

ONQ

[broken link removed]


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## BlueMoon (15 Feb 2010)

Straw? Haha! Thats a bit medieval to say the least.

 As a tiler it's very frustrating to receive damaged goods due to poor packaging and transport. I've seen travertine slabs in uncovered pallets arrive on site on another previous commercial job. They were unloaded and left out in below zero weather with rain for a few days. We turned up and of coarse the top layer were unfit for installation. 
50mm thick sandstone would have cost a pretty penny. You did the right thing to reject them by the sounds of it.


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