The Counters Blog

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Good Questions: Experience With Honed Marble Floors?

I use a colored grout to try to avoid the grout-cleaning trauma that so many people with hexagon floors have? Everyone talks about how high-maintenance marble counters are — are floors even worse? Include a pic of your problem and your question gets posted first.

Tumbled Stone Backsplash Tile Ideas by backsplash.com

Tumbled tiles start life as large stones that have been pulled from the stone quarry and can be as much as 6×6 feet big. As its cut down, some pieces of the original stone will break off and they are then set aside for making tumbled tiles. Those are then placed into a large drum along with grit, crushed stones, water, and cement chunks and the drum spins. In the drum the tiles will lose corners and develop fissures or holes in the surface and when the drum stops, the remaining stone tiles are rustic looking, tumbled tiles. For most tumbled tiles you will need to use a sealant on them to prevent damaging stains from water. The most popular is marble & travertine because the tumbling process brings out the true natural beauty of it. It’s a very porous rock and definitely needs to be sealed to prevent stains and damage to it. Travertine is a stone that closely resembles limestone but it is a lot more versatile in how it can be used. It’s very durable, non-porous and more often used around pool decks to create a non-slip surface. Marble is beautiful due to its veiny appearance and it is used very often even though it needs to be sealed to prevent damage, because it is very durable and looks great whether you use it inside or outside. The whole point of tumbled tiles is the natural beauty of the stone being brought out. Try to pick a tile that will match it so that it all ties in together. To keep your tumbled stone clean, you will need to dust it often as well as use warm water on a rag to clean it. If you have a deep stain, use a mild ph-neutral soap or 1 part peroxide with 4 parts water combined with a few drops of ammonia. With tumbled stone tiles you can create any type of look you want to have. Everything inside the drum will rub and wear against the stone. When you use them in your home you will be using truly natural stones and therefore you will have a variety of different shapes and sizes that you piece together to look like it was created many years ago. There are several different types of stones that can be tumbled. They are all natural so they haven’t been treated when you purchase them. It gives your project a softer, sandblasted look and some pieces may contain fossils naturally inside the tiles. Saturnia is a type of travertine but it is unique in the fact that it sometimes contains small holes and or fossils. Quartzite may have a glittery appearance after being tumbled since it can contain flecks of quartz and mica. Much the same as you can walk around in your yard or buy a bag of decorative rocks for your flower beds and find two rocks that are similar to each other except for slight color variations that are natural with in the rock, the same is true for tumbled tiles. If you buy tumbled marble tiles, you may purchase a particular color but there will be slight variations in it that were brought out in the drum. When you choose your tumbled tile backsplash, take into consideration your countertop color, cabinet color and other colors inside your kitchen.