| POLISHED MARBLE | HONED MARBLE | TUMBLED MARBLE |
| High gloss finish - vivid colors. | Natural finish with square surface and edges - soft muted colors. Easily color enhanced to increase color depth when sealing. | Natural looking aged finish - soft muted colors. Easily color enhanced to increase color depth when sealing. |
| Excellent for wall and light traffic floor use. | Best choice for floors, bath and countertop use. | Best choice for floors, bath and countertop use. |
| Must use unsanded or epoxy grout to prevent scratching finish. | May use sanded grout for additional strength and is excellent for outdoor applications. | May use sanded grout for additional strength and is excellent for outdoor applications. |
| Must use grout in any installation that may be exposed to moisture or installation will eventually fail. | Must use grout in any installation that may be exposed to moisture or installation will eventually fail. | Must use grout in any installation that may be exposed to moisture or installation will eventually fail. |
| Sealers do not penetrate well and offer little protection against etching and will not protect against abrasion. | Accepts enhancers and sealers readily - excellent protection against etching - scratches are less obvious. Usually scratches disappear with resealing. | Accepts enhancers and sealers readily - excellent protection against etching - scratches are less obvious. Usually scratches disappear with resealing. |
| Very expensive to repolish or remove stains. | Resistant to staining and easy to reseal. | Resistant to staining and easy to reseal. |
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| Full visibility of mosaic when installing.
Tape and kraft paper obscure the surface and make positioning difficult. |
| No messy tape, tape residue or kraft paper to remove.
Tape adhesive residue is very difficult to remove and requires adhesive remover to be used - some is toxic and very flammable! Even when remover is used some residue may be left in the pores of tumbled marble causing discoloration. |
| No danger of removing the "polish" from polished marble.
When marble is polished small particles are pressed into the porous surface of the marble and actually fill the pores resulting in a smooth finish - the adhesive on tape mounted mosaics may actually pull this fill when the tape is removed resulting in an uneven finish. |
| Tape mounted mosaics distort with temperature changes.
Tape expands and contracts with temperature changes more than the marble it is attached to and may cause the mosaic to curl on the edges resulting in uneven grout spacing and height from piece to piece. |
| Loose pieces are easily reattached.
Mosaics are fragile before being mounted. Many times pieces are detached and must be reattached - this is difficult to do if the tape has lost it's stickiness. Tape will often lose adhesive properties with age - this is really annoying when handling a face mounted mosaic and the pieces keep falling off. Mesh backing supports the mosaic during installation and allows for adjustment of individual tesserae if necessary. |
| Installation is Fast!
Mesh backed mosaic installations are much easier - if you can install conventional tile you already have the required skills. If you prefer to use the services of a tile or marble installer his job will be much easier due to the elimination of face mounting materials. |
| Your installation will only be as sound as your subfloor! We suggest the following for residential applications: |
| CONCRETE SLAB WITH BARRIER UNDERNEATH:
Thinset with admix or epoxy directly to slab. Treat slab with muratic acid if needed to clean and roughen surface. |
| OVER CEMENT BOARD:
Minimum 1 1/8" subfloor is required with joists 16" on center. Concrete board must be adhered to the 3/4" plywood/OSB subfloor with either mastic and/or screws - follow manufacturers suggestions. Leave 1/8" joints between the sheets, fill and tape joints per manufacturers recommendations. Use thinset with latex additive. |
| OVER 3/4" PLYWOOD, OSB OR HARDWOOD:
Minimum 1 1/8" subfloor with joists 16" on center. Glue and screw 3/8" exterior grade plywood at a 90 degree angle to existing 3/4" subfloor and leave 1/8" space between the sheets filled with latex modified thinset. Use epoxy adhesive for the best results or use latex additive full strength with thinset. |
| OVER VINYL, ASBESTOS TILE OR CERAMIC SURFACE:
Surface must be level, in reasonably good condition and completely adhered to the subfloor. Roughen vinyl surface for better adhesion - leave asbestos tile alone! Use epoxy adhesive or thinset with full strength latex additive. Subfloor must meet the required 1 1/8" thickness not including the tile already applied. |
| INTERIOR WALLS:
Cement Board with vapor barrier behind in damp locations - directly to drywall on 16" centers in other locations. Thinset, epoxy, mastics and silicone adhesives may be used - follow manufacturers suggestions! |
| SPECIAL CONSIDERATION:
For light color or translucent marble use light color adhesives and grout as either may darken the marble color. Green and some black marble solid tile may warp with water based adhesives. Use epoxy based adhesives instead. Mosaics are not affected by warping. |
| PLEASE NOTE:
New and improved adhesives are frequently released - we have mentioned only those that have been in use for some time - other adhesives may be available with acceptable properties for use in installations. Always check your local building codes first to be sure you are in compliance in your area! |
| All of our mosaic products feature mesh backing and are easily installed using mounting techniques similar to solid tile. |
| Complete mounting and grouting instructions are included with the purchase of our mosaic products. |
| In most cases our instructions, a few hand tools, readily available adhesive, grout, and sealer are all that you will need to successfully install and maintain your marble mosaic. |
| In addition, we have considerable experience with installations and mosaic manufacturing and are always available as a resource to help our customers with any problems they may encounter installing our products. |
| Purchased your medallion, borders or flooring from another supplier that doesn't offer any follow up service or can't answer your questions? Our instructions and resources are still available to you for a small fee of $50.00. |
| Please contact us at sales@mosaicsdirect.com if you have any questions! |