The Benefits of Marble Tile Floors

Over the past two decades the popularity of marble tile floors has been growing exponentially. There is just no mistaking the look that a marble tile floor can give to a home or office and the fact is that it is an excellent investment also.

However; there are several types of marble tiles that are available to select from and each style style has its own unique characteristics. One other thing to consider also, is that floor tiles also include polished granite and many people fail to make this distinction.

Polished granite tiles are darker in color then marble tiles and can range in tone from light gray to almost solid black. Polished granite counter tops have become very popular over the years to the point where they are almost a requirement in a first rate custom kitchen now.

So it is important that you know the difference between all of the types of marble and granite floor tiles before you begin the design process of your home, so that everything will match up properly and you know what you are looking at when you are looking at floor tiles.

The prices on all of the various marble and granite floor tiles can vary greatly but as a general rule you will be able to find the cheapest prices on marble floor tiles. This does not mean that all marble floor tiles are inexpensive, because they all aren't and in fact some specialty marble floor tiles can be quite expensive.

It just means that you can always find some types of inexpensive marble floor tiles available on the market. Hardness is one of the factors that determines the price of marble and granite floor tiles and this is why you really won't find budget granite floor tiles priced as cheaply as marble. Granite is a very hard stone and is therefore expensive to cut and polish and the darker the granite the more expensive the tiles will be.

This is because it is iron in the granite the gives it its black color, so the blacker the granite tiles are, the more iron it contains and hence the harder it is.

Limestone is another quarried stone that floor tiles are manufactured from and it will be even cheaper than marble but it won't have the color and "style" variations that marble will have. Limestone tiles in fact are limited to white and slightly off white in color and limestone also is one of the softer stones that tiles are made from. The benefits of limestone floor tiles are cheaper cost and their white color that many people prefer.

The choices in marble floor tiles with regards to color and "design styles" is far too broad to mention here. This is due to the fact that marble is quarried in numerous countries and regions that span the four corners of the globe and it comes in such a wide range of types, colors and styles. The term "style" refers to the unique "look" that all marble tiles will have the can range from "blotchy" to "swirly" and numerous other unique natural designs.

If you are considering having marble, granite or limestone tiles installed in your home or office the floor must be able to support the weight of them. This means that they have to be installed on a cement "slab" floor or a "raised frame" floor that was joisted and sheeted to support the weight of the tiles.

The reason that marble floors are so heavy on a raised wood frame floor is that the tiles can't be installed directly onto a wooden floor. Rather, a two inch layer of cement must first be poured over the wood frame floor, which the tiles are subsequently installed on.

The cement layer can be lightened by using perlite in place of standard gravel but it still will require that the floor and underpinning be specially framed to support the weight.

Bathrooms and kitchens are places where marble, granite or limestone floor tiles can make all the difference in the world and you will get the best return on your home improvement investment.

So if your homes sub-framing and underpinning is insufficient to support a complete tile floor, one sensible option is to have the extra support framing retrofitted under the smaller floors of your bathroom and kitchen. This can be a a relatively simple task if those areas under your home are accessible. Installing marble floor tiles is a task which homeowners can do themselves if they have the right equipment and one of the many books on the topic handy when they do it.