Three Ways To Make Sure The Marble You're Eyeing Will Be Able To Withstand Bathroom Water

Home & Garden Blog

As long as you take a good survey of all the marble grades and varieties out there, it's perfectly possible to get tiles and slabs that are both suitable for your bathroom's style and relatively cheap. But since not all marble is the same and not all cuts into marble rock create the same kinds of tiles and slabs, it's important to always keep water resistance problems in mind. Use these three ways to ensure the marble you're eyeing will be able to withstand bathroom water.

Prioritize Marble With A Honed Instead Of Polished Finish

In addition to being less slippery under humid conditions, honed marble that's properly sealed is very resistant to scratches and moisture penetration. Also, its lack of a light reflection means that its look won't be ruined as much when it's covered in stains and dirty water.

Polished marble, by contrast, can only really be used on out-of-the-way surfaces because of how vulnerable it is to scratches. Generally, it's also more expensive than its honed counterpart.

Avoid Marble With Significant Iron Deposits

Many cheaper brands of marble have iron deposits near or on their surfaces. When a tile or slab with lots of iron in it absorbs too much water for too long, rust will be created and the entire surface will look horribly disfigured.

So ask about how much iron is in a particular piece of marble before purchasing it. If you can obtain a sample of the material you want to buy, dip it in water for a few days and see whether discoloration occurs. Even if the surface only changes slightly, it shows that there's lots of minerals trapped in the material that will wreck havoc with the passage of time. This is especially important to do if you choose Crema Marfil marble or another light colored stone.

Make Sure The Interior Of Marble Is Dry Before Applying Sealer

Once you have your marble pieces, it's important to make sure that their interiors are just as free from moisture as their surfaces. You can do this by leaving the pieces out on a sunny day for a few hours. This will increase the rate at which moisture trapped inside the marble gets drawn out.

If you apply sealer before the marble completely dries, the material will end up degrading and discoloring much faster than it would otherwise. So instead of assuming that there's no moisture in your marble pieces when you get them, you might as well take the precaution of drying them out.

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3 June 2016

Double Up: Bunks Beds as a Small Room Solution

Having to place children's furniture in a small bedroom presented a problem for me. With two growing kids, I needed a dresser to accommodate both boys, as well as two beds. With two beds, desk and chair, toy chest and floor lamp, the room seemed overly crowded. My solution came with a highly functional bunk bed. Bunk beds take up minimal space. Better yet, my choice was a bunk that included a storage drawer. This compartment is used for storing the boys' small toys and other necessities. I didn't have to have a separate toy chest, so I reduced clutter which was great! When you have multiple children all in one room, you need all the help you can get!