Intricate Marble Bathroom Installation

Deco Marble Base, Chair Rail, Pencil Trim and  Mosaic Border

          
This is the final part of the 3 series marble blog.

The first one walked the reader with pictures thru the demolition of a tub and the installation of a walk in marble shower.

The second one involved the installation of a 8 inch brown marble boarder with a Marble mosaic medallion at a diagonal in the center.

Each part of the series was much more detailed and difficult than the one before. This 3rd and final presentation is a 5th degree more difficult than the 1st .These Blogs are written here in order to inform and help people , for those of you who are handy with some experience you could do it yourself. For those of you who need to hire a professional to do it, very importantly this blog will inform you so you don't get taken advantage of. One of our up coming blogs will address this exact issue. Some good people out in Groveland Ma. had a major chain home improvement co give them a price on tiling their bathroom. And needless to say they were really glad they came across tile excellence.com because they saved a unbelievable amount and we will tell their story in a Blog soon. We are finishing up their job this week.

This bathroom installation job is located in Wakefield, MA. And was a intricate and detailed installation with deco marble base , chair rail , pencil trim and a mosaic boarder and floor. There are over 30 photos in a effort to show the detail and give the reader a clear idea of what has to be done to accomplish such a installation.

The first  9 pictures show the Hardi board preparations for tile with captions . The homeowner installed all the hardy board on the entire job all I did was seal up all the joints with the silicone pictured.

garden tub with Hardi board installed ready for tile

                                              

shower walls with Hardi board installed ready for tile

 

Hardi board seams sealed with silicone II to seal in any water

another picture of sealed Hardi board

all Hardi board seams get sealed with the caulk below

silicone II caulk used to seal all Hardi board seams

another picture of garden tub with Hardi board ready for tile

floor Hardi board installed  ready for tile

floor Hardi board is sealed at all joints here pictured where floor meets curb

 

 

 

 The next 3 pictures are of the garden tub with captions . notice the large granite one piece bench top installed with thin set 

Tile installed on garden tub with chair rail trim finishing the top of the wall tile

garden tub marble meets solid granite bench installed with thin set mortar

Another picture of the solid granite bench top installed  notice the 1 inch overhang

The next 3 pictures are of the shower floor with captions. One of a sealed concrete sloped to drain floor with Redguard ready for tile 

concrete sloped to drain with Redguard sealer on top

  

Finished mosaic broke joint tile on shower floor

 shower floor tile with granite thresholds used as finish for curb and bench end

The next 9 pictures are of walls being installed with captions. The walls are in a "broke joint " pattern and are 2ft by 1 ft marble.

Tile installed on front of bench against granite threshold

broke joint 2 ft by 1 ft tile going up wall

  

marble lines meet level in corners while horizontal lines are offset like bricks

                           

once vertical level ines are established then the brick pattern just stacks on top

once lines are matching in all corners the marble just stacks right up to ceiling

Double soap dishes are installed in the corner notice the granite threshold as a door finish

A close up of the cut in soap dish in corner

A mosaic design strip in the wall at eye level with pencil trim on top and bottom gives elegance



a marble wall behind toilet with a design strip  finished off with chair rail on top and bottom

There are 2 pictures of floor lay out with captions showing the lay out to start laying marble with a whole piece from the door.

notice  the lay out whole piece of marble in doorway layed out with the spacer to be used

a close up of whole tile to be started next to granite  threshhold

There are 3 photos of laid floors with captions. Again they are 2 ft by 1 ft marble laid in a broke joint pattern

laid floors notice the brick pattern of the 2ft by 1 ft marble

look at the top of the picture see the marble base where meets the back wall

a small hallway really highlights the broke joint pattern

Finally there are 3 pictures of deco trim tile used to finish off this job . The detail and difficulty of this job is amplified by the use of such

 trims and base throughout this entire bathroom.

hand rounded finished chair rail around garden tub

 hand mitered 45 degree base corners require great care and detail

inside corner 45 degree mitered  marble base

Unbelivable prices for flooring in my town

A friend of mine in Rockport mass. who has referred me many jobs over the last 2 years, called me to come do atub shower tile job. The square footage of the job was 50 sq ft plus 16 liner ft. of bullnose. I charged him $ 350.00 and completed the job in 5 hours a good job for me.

They were not sure what they wanted to put on their 35 sq ft bathroom floor.After completing the tub,I asked About the floor.The wife told me she didn't think they could afford tile on the floor and would have to do linoleum . She was talking with a very well known Family flooring company in Gloucester ma (my town) the next town over. I asked more about what they would get and the cost. Unbelievably the cost for linoleum for 35 sq ft was $700!!!COME ON how do these people sleep at night?My friend is a good hard working ethical homeowner living on a semi retired income.I told the wife to go get 40 sq ft of porcelain tile from Home Depot $40 3 sheets of 3ft by 5 ft hardy board hardy board $30 1 lb 2 inch roof nails$3 and 15 lbs sanded grout $13. I charged her $135 for labor , completed her job in 2 hours more that day.She had a floor installed material and all for $211 and I made $68 per hour more that day.Now my question to readers and contractors out there Whats your opinion on this??I do tile every day and have for over 30 years and am very quick and have a lot of tricks in my tool bag to expedite the job. But the kind of prices being charged out there are just plain crazy. I advise ANYONE who is having work done in their home to shop a while see you options and talk to at least 3 or more tradesmen until you find the best fit. Don't get caught up in smooth talk and salesmanship and pay dearly. And if its a tile job feel free to contact me any time for the lowdown on what I know best   I wont solicit you just give you my advice like I do every day through this blog no strings attached.  Thanks Chris

Thanks for coments and questions about custom tile installations from around the world

 I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you out there for your questions and coments making what I do that much more enjoyable and challenging
Its a honor to answer questions and help those out there make educated and well informed
choices when it comes to renovating and improving thier homes. And I want to send out a huge THANKs to our international readers,My web master informs me we have a huge international following from all over the world. Russia,Australia.France,Germany, Brazil, just to name a few.
This blog Is being translated into many languages and we are recieving lots of international readers.
So keep the questions and coments comming  And THANKS SO MUCH I will do all I can to continue to produce quality custom work here in Boston as well as answer any questions for our followers here on the blog.And as always I am always available for inquiries about do it yourself installations . regards   chris lawson