On Mar 13, 1:41 pm, "RicodJour" wrote:
Adam wrote:
I am considering using honed marble for a bathroom floor. It's not a
large floor (25 ft square) but was warned that honed marble is soft.
Do you see any issues with using it for a bathroom floor?

All marble is soft. Honed marble has a less polished finish. Oddly
enough, the honing is frequently an additional step. After it's
polished, they take off some of the gloss. Honed stone shows less
wear and is less slippery than highly polished stone.

The only issues are upkeep and durability. The marble must be sealed
or it will absorb whatever liquids land on it and it will stain.
Sealing once a year is sufficient and it is not a major procedure.
Softer stone is weaker and more likely to chip and crack. If the
installers know what they are doing, use the right setting materials
with flex additives and/or an anti-crack membrane under it, you don't
have to worry about much else than someone dropping a bottle on it or
something like that.

Lighter marbles will allow the thinset to shine through, so a white
thinset is used. If a tile setter even mentions the possibility of
setting marble on plywood, say, "Next!" and move on to someone who
knows what they're talking about.

R

Thanks to everyone for their replies so far. To clarify, the floor
space is about 5'x5' so 25 sq ft. Most of it will be covered by the
vanity, toilet, and bath mat.
R clarified what I meant by honed. I will definitely seal the stone,
and will be sure the adhesive has flex additives. I will look into an
anti-crack membrane; haven't heard of that before. The floor already
has a layer of hadibacker under it, so no plywood here.
Still open to other comments if anyone has them.