Cultured marble & butt joint tile installations

[mprezioso875]

Cultured marble and butt joint tile installations

We are considering slabs of cultured marble (or granite) for our shower stall.
Does anyone have any comment on its durability, longevity, ease of maintenance?

Also, we have been told that tile installations can be done with a “butt” joint that has nearly no grout between the tiles, is this a recommended process?

Thanks,

Mike

[John Bridge]

Welcome aboard, Mike.

I don't like cultured marble for several reasons: It's plastic on its surface. It yellows over time. Cultured marble showers are put together with caulking. That's it. I've never heard of cultured granite, but it's got to be the same thing.

Put plainly, there is nother better than a well installed ceramic tile shower.

[doitright]

Hi Mike, Welcome

What John B. said, plus they scratch if anybody ever uses any type of abrasive (Soft Scrub, Scotch Brite Pads, etc.)

As far as butt joint tile. Some tile has built in spacer nubs. Butted together you are still left with a 1/16" joint (which is a good minimum).

Recommendation - Tile it! If you have any concerns about using ceramic tile, ask away!

[mprezioso875]

Our concerns with tile is maintaining the grout. Is there a low maintenance grout that you would recommend? I read an article on this site referencing "Spectralok grout" - what is this?

thanks,

mike

[John Bridge]

From what I've heard, Spectralock is good stuff. It's tough to do on a wall, though. Have you had any experience in grouting?

One of the guys who has used quite a bit of it is Rob Zschoche. Click on his name and you can email him or send him a private message telling him where this thread is.

[doitright]

Hey Mike

I knew we'd get to the root of this!

So your problem with using tile is the age old grout issue. 1st today with a well constructed wall, you would use cement backer board or Schluter Kerdi system (or similiar). One of those two products under the tile will resolve most grout issue scenarios.

Next would be a thinset installation of tile vs. glue out of a bucket.

Staying then with a traditional cementitious grout (now polymer modified), and followed up with sealing the grout joints, good caulk at the perimeters, and the proper maintenance chemicals and/or procedures; you would end up with a non grout issue, without the need to use epoxy grout.

You would be much happier in the long run, should you decide to use ceramic tile. Plus, the selections available today are phenomenal!