Emperador marble

Our job

The Emperador bathroom shows what this stone does over large areas: big polished tiles on the walls and floor, and a pedestal basin made of polished and split-face bands. Being dark, it hides stains better than a white marble.

The slabs

Emperador is naturally more fractured than Carrara. Many slabs have a fibreglass mesh glued on the back, which is normal for this stone. We check each slab against the light so we don't mistake an open crack for a sound vein. It's sold as 1 to 2 cm tiles, from about 30 × 60 to 60 × 120 cm, and as 2 or 3 cm slabs for tops.

Fitting in a bathroom

One batch goes from light to dark, so we lay the tiles out and mix them before fitting. In a shower the waterproofing goes on first, marble doesn't stop water. Tiles are fixed with adhesive made for natural stone. We use 2 to 3 mm joints in a brown grout, as white grout would draw a grid over the whole wall.

What we avoid

Outdoors in frost. A polished kitchen worktop, where acids leave dull patches. A polished shower floor, which is slippery when wet. In a kitchen, honed and sealed is fine.

Care

Neutral soap, no acid limescale remover. One piece of advice we give every time: keep five or six spare tiles in the garage. Emperador from another batch will never quite match the day one needs replacing.

See also marble wall cladding and stone shower trays. Call 07 45 20 76 39.