Post by dr.girlfriend on Aug 11, 2019 17:36:18 GMT -5
Motherf*cker. The contractor just emailed me this about the new tile I picked:
As far as the tile goes, we have not had happy customers who have gotten it. It is an irregular look as no tiles are the same so you kind of have to like that look, but more importantly, it is a lot of up keep. The ones that got it have regretted it. It needs to be sealed constantly. Water gets behind the tile making some tiles dark and they don’t dry out for a long time. Our last one had us rip it out after a year because she hated it. I don’t recommend it.
Why would he not have mentioned this earlier? You could have still chosen it if you wanted it after hearing that, but to just not say anything until now, ugh
I'm sorry. We got tile for our master shower floor and our kitchen backsplash and we have had major issues with the color variation. Our contractor recommended against getting marble in our bathroom, especially in our shower, because it will definitely look bad if you don't seal it properly since it's exposed to water. We loved the look of it but that's why we only did the floor of the shower.
I'm questioning what your contractor said though about the water behind the tile. I don't think this is true unless it was not installed and sealed properly. We were told that you're supposed to seal it twice after installation and then once per year after that. If it's not sealed yearly then it will start to absorb water. I'm not sure if that's what he meant when he said constantly. Even though it's high-maintenance, people do install and love marble in their showers. However, it's a moot point if you don't like the color of what you ordered.
2 options that I'm just going to throw out there and unfortunately I don't have photos:
#1- We got polished porcelain in our bathroom on the floors and shower walls and it looks exactly like marble. We just got it installed and several people thought it was marble. Not sure what the rest of the bathroom is like but that may be an option for you. We got the Bianco carrerra: besttile.com/tile-collections/ceramic-and-porcelain/classic-2-0
#2- We did a 6x12 textured white subway tile in our downstairs shower and it looks very nice. Way nicer than I was expecting. We did the marble floor there, too.
Why would he not have mentioned this earlier? You could have still chosen it if you wanted it after hearing that, but to just not say anything until now, ugh
This is the other one I just picked today, to replace the first tile that was supposed to be variegated marble but was just plain white. :-(
I'm sorry. We got tile for our master shower floor and our kitchen backsplash and we have had major issues with the color variation. Our contractor recommended against getting marble in our bathroom, especially in our shower, because it will definitely look bad if you don't seal it properly since it's exposed to water. We loved the look of it but that's why we only did the floor of the shower.
I'm questioning what your contractor said though about the water behind the tile. I don't think this is true unless it was not installed and sealed properly. We were told that you're supposed to seal it twice after installation and then once per year after that. If it's not sealed yearly then it will start to absorb water. I'm not sure if that's what he meant when he said constantly. Even though it's high-maintenance, people do install and love marble in their showers. However, it's a moot point if you don't like the color of what you ordered.
2 options that I'm just going to throw out there and unfortunately I don't have photos:
#1- We got polished porcelain in our bathroom on the floors and shower walls and it looks exactly like marble. We just got it installed and several people thought it was marble. Not sure what the rest of the bathroom is like but that may be an option for you. We got the Bianco carrerra: besttile.com/tile-collections/ceramic-and-porcelain/classic-2-0
#2- We did a 6x12 textured white subway tile in our downstairs shower and it looks very nice. Way nicer than I was expecting. We did the marble floor there, too.
I'm confusing people -- originally we planned on marble tile, but then when it came it was all white.
So, I went to the store today. I tried to pick through the marble tiles and find enough with color to look like the sample, but it quickly became clear that was a lost cause. So, I picked a new porcelain tile for the shower walls. This one: Vita Heirloom Pewter
I did see on Houzz that one person had issues with some of the tiles being irregular, and other people expressed concern about a crackle glaze not holding up to water exposure in the shower area, but it seemed like others were fine with it, so I chalked it up to "everyone complains online." But, as soon as I told my contractor what I picked, he emailed me back the above about having issues with it. I guess either 1.) water leaks in through the crackle finish or 2.) water leaks in because some of the tiles are bowed. He sent me a picture of it installed and some of the tiles bordering the tub were darker than the rest of the wall. I believe him, in that this tile probably sucks. I'm starting to think Floor and Decor just sucks in general. This is my latest hope: H-Line 3 x 6 glossy in Pumice. You have to email to find a distributor which is a giant PITA, but I think at worst there's one a couple of hours away so I might have a drive ahead of me. I've found at least 10 different photos of real-life installations that look good, so maybe I'll just roll the dice and order it unseen if I have to.
dr.girlfriend, oooohhhh I see what you're saying now. That's a bummer but at least he was familiar with it beforehand. Do you have to use floor and decor?
dr.girlfriend , oooohhhh I see what you're saying now. That's a bummer but at least he was familiar with it beforehand. Do you have to use floor and decor?
Yeah, you're right. As frustrated as I am right now (I couldn't sleep last night stressing about this and I had literally like 45 minutes of peace thinking it was resolved before I got his email) I'm glad I found out before it was installed.
I don't have to use F&D...he was actually encouraging me to order from Avalon, but F&D had a much better selection. And I thought it would be easier for him since he has to go back to F&D to return all the marble tile he already picked up for the shower to pick a replacement from there. Honestly, almost any tile I've looked at I've found really negative reviews online -- that's the case for pretty much anything I've tried to select -- floors, tiles, etc. It's hard to know what's a real issue versus what's just the small percentage of unhappy people being the only ones motivated enough to bitch about it online. :-(
I think if I can find this H-Line pumice and get it before the tile guy is scheduled, I'll be glad it worked out that way in the end. I do like it better than the F&D one, I just went with that one because it was acceptable and for the convenience of it. Cross your fingers for me! And that F&D doesn't give me a hard time about all these damn returns.
Why would he not have mentioned this earlier? You could have still chosen it if you wanted it after hearing that, but to just not say anything until now, ugh
This is the other one I just picked today, to replace the first tile that was supposed to be variegated marble but was just plain white. :-(
Got it! I saw the original post, then this one which is the 3rd update so figured I'd missed something somewhere but don't know what.
Hope this is the worst of it and you're new tile will be great!