Marble Tiles As Materials For Outdoor Home Use
Web Page Clicks : 11/7/2008
Marble Tiles have historically been seen as attractive and elegant materials for home or commercial applications.
These tiles have graced historic castles, palaces, monuments and churches, and have been esteemed for their durability and elegant radiance. These days, marble is utilized for many residential and commercial applications, from living room tiling to bathroom, kitchen and outdoor use.
Are These Stone Types Good For Outdoor Use?
Marble has had the historical attributes of being heavily used in outdoor construction and architecture. These types of tiles have been laid-out in large buildings, monuments, churches, castles, mansions and small homes as well for centuries.
There are many unique marble types, which are best suited for either indoor or outdoor applications. This natural stone material is generally utilized for a wide range of indoor and outdoor applications, like flooring, countertops, wall covering, fireplaces and exterior facades.
However, there's kind of a downside when using these types for high-traffic areas, since marble is not considered to be the toughest of natural stones. Therefore, it may not fit well as a floor covering material in extremely high traffic areas, although it would perfectly suit well in most areas of the home or office, as well as in other light commercial uses. For homes and private residences, the most common residential uses of marble are for window sills, fireplaces hearths, decorative foyers, bathroom floors, outdoor garden pathways, columns, steps and other surfaces.
This material could also effectively complement bathrooms, and they could be installed as wall coverings, backsplashes, tub decks and showers. Because of their durability and ability to counter the ravages of time and the strain of daily, public use, some marble patterns and designs have proven to be tough for use as outdoor furnishings, like the ones used as covering for stone posts, benches and flower boxes.
Proper Installation Is Needed For These Tiles To Weather The Elements
Natural stone materials such as marble can be truly appealing to the senses. But, because it is a natural material, these stone variants are a little less uniform in colors and patterns, and may require further planning when being installed. Because most natural stone tiles are mass-produced, they usually will have uniform length and width dimensions.
Natural stone tiles that have split, or raven surfaces are usually sandblasted to help them become more slip-resistant materials, and these will be of help when using marble for outdoor use. The hardness of natural stone floor tiles could vary such that some of the softer stone, like limestone tiles, are not suitable for very heavy traffic floor areas.
There are marble tile types that are literally "tumbled" in a machine, wherein the process knocks off the edges and roughens the textures to create an "antiqued" or old-world look. Tumbled marble has a rather rough, semi-sand-blasted appearance, which makes it less slippery, and can be effectively utilized in most outdoor applications, such as lawn or outdoor pathways.
There is however a downside to using marble tiles, particularly for outdoor use. Aside from the fact that they require more thorough and extra maintenance, natural marble tiles generally cannot be installed and laid out in a visually seamless process. The main reason is that most natural marble types have subtle veining and color variations that will, generally not permit a perfect visual match.
Source:http://www.granite-marbles.com/Granite-Marbles/bs_news.asp?Action=Co Tag:marble tile,marble product,natural marble marble floor
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