Marble issues

[W Riley]

I am getting wet marble basketweave tile on a mud pan shower floor around the edges and around the drain. Sealed all the tile and siliconed edges where the wall tile meets the floor tiles. Siliconed around the drain as well. Any recommendations to dry out tile? Tile store recommended a tile enhancer which will darken all the tiles? This is not an option as per the customer. Is a mud pan without a waterproof membrane, not a good substrante for natural stone?

[rmckee84]

Natural stone in a wet area is the issue unfortunately. Sealing it Will slow down the evaporation process. It's likely that this will continue for the life of the shower. Shading variation once moisture is introduced is a fairly common issue and is the main reason many installers are steering their customers away from natural stone in showers.
I assume the weep holes were protected and are clear?

[cx]

Welcome, Bill.

Originally Posted by Bill

Is a mud pan without a waterproof membrane, not a good substrante for natural stone?

Surely you didn't really build that shower receptor without any waterproofing. Is it a traditional mud/liner/mud construction, perhaps?

[W Riley]

Thanks for the feedback. The weepholes are fine. It seems the choice in natural stone on a shower floor is the issue.

[speed51133]

So how did you waterproof the mud pan?

[W Riley]

The mud pan is was the preslope then membrane, then dry pack, but i did not hydroban or redguard the drypack.

[tatumjonj]

As you should not have.

[jadnashua]

If you do a forum search, you'll find lots of people have had issues with marble on the pan of a shower. Some of it works, some of it doesn't. ALl of it is subject to etching from the water and stuff used in the shower that can affect the finish. It's best to avoid it, or accept the issue.

An enhancing sealer may or may not work on already sealed tile.

[W Riley]

Thanks for the feedback. The more I read the more I believe I did nothing wrong with the install except let the owner choose the wrong material in the shower.

Thanks again

[W Riley]

This wall and floor was installed over 8 months ago. We had a wet looking tile issue two months after the install. However now I got a message from the owner with a rusty look coming from the wall with the niche. This has permeated the floor tile as well. Their are no supply lines in this wall and the water from the shower head does not directly hit this area. I cannot figure out where this water is coming from. Maybe an exterior water source is all I can figure.

[cx]

I've combined you with your original thread on this shower problem, Bill. Best to keep all the questions on one thread so folks can see what you're working on and what's been previously asked and answered.

For water slowly bleeding out of a shower wall I would first suspect that the wall tiles were set using something like a five-spot method. Would that be the case here?

[makethatkerdistick]

What CX said, plus a rusty nail somewhere to corrode away in a water-filled space around the lower wall portion? While some marble can "rust" due to its iron content, it doesn't look like this is the case here. What fasteners did you use to attach the liner to the wall? Are they approximately where the rust starts to appear?

This is not an easy fix. I'd think it'd require the removal of some wall tile and floor tile. How did you waterproof the walls? If you have mud pan and vapor barrier behind the wall backerboard, you can remove the tile without compromising the shower's construction. If you have a topical waterproofing agent on the wall, that would complicate things.

[Tiger Mountain Tile Inc]

Rusty fastener was my first thought. How high are the lowest fasteners? Did you use a liquid waterproofer over the walls?

[Tiger Mountain Tile Inc]

Might be a good idea to remove the phone number in the photo.

[Davy]

In the past, I've noticed rust on the back side of marble right out of the box. Sometimes it's just a light orange tint. I never could explain why it was there and assumed it somehow picked it up during the cutting and polishing stage. Also, I had a rusty spot show up on a marble fireplace mantel years ago only a couple days after I installed it. I have no idea how it got there. No one had time to sit there with an orange drink or anything else. But, anything like this can bleed to the surface. It doesn't always do it but it's not uncommon.

Out of curiosity, I would check the back sides of any left over tiles then replace the rusty tiles paying close attention to what's behind them.