They did a bad grout and seal job

@ misfoursir. How exactly did you determine they did a bad grout job?? They sealed the stone prior to grouting which they are supposed to do, and what is the issue you see with the grout?

As for the original poster....did they use a white tile adhesive? If not it may be contributing a bit to the darker color. The marble is slightly translucent so even the darker grout you used will have a slight impact on darkening. As the grout, and marble dries and cures it should lighten up a bit, but realistically it is not going to look as light as the raw uninstalled pieces you have left over. Also, it is pretty normal to get slight chips on some of the edges from the original cutting of the tiles and from fragile edges. It shouldn't look horrible but some small chips are to be expected when using a mosaic marble like this.

Did you happen to notice the darker color before the grouting and sealing was done?

Tried to delete my previous question since you did say it darkened after sealing. Yes the sealers typically do darken stone like yours. Sometimes it is more than other times since there is variability in the structure of the stone itself.

There are different kinds of sealers, some are specifically "colour-enhancing" which means that after application, the stone usually darkens. Marble is a porous material and absorbs moisture. Sealing should be done with a completely clean and
very dry surface, so you don't seal in any water or moisture. That is why if used in kitchens it requires quite a bit of maintenance. Grout colour also plays an important role. By applying darker grout, you tend to bring out the darker tones in the natural stone while lighter or white grout highlights the lighter tones in the stone therefore you would get two completely different looks even though it is the exact same stone. Sometimes in the design world, things don't always turn out as planned or envisioned. You just need to make it work. Keep going and good luck!

Thank you for the replies! Kiva, he did use a white adhesive and it looked great prior to grout. He
actually tested the sealer on the polished surface of one tile (not the
cut edge) prior to install and we could see no change. Even when the
grout was still wet and really dark the tile looked okay, it was like
the color slowly seeped into the tile as it was drying. The
weird thing is the tile shop had given us a couple sheets from a
different lot to replace individual defective tiles that blended fairly
well before grout but those pieces absorbed no color unlike the rest of
the floor so they are still bright white!

I know the tile
was stuck down and then left overnight, maybe around 18 hours, prior to
grouting but I don't know how much time was in between sealing and
grouting as I wasn't home. I suspect maybe not enough sealer applied to
the edges or not dry enough? I also don't know if sealer was applied a
second time after grouting. How long should there be in between laying
tile, sealing, grouting and resealing? It was DuPont Stonetech
professional maximum bulletproof. Should the tile itself and adhesive
also been left to dry longer before sealer & grout? I was told it
now wouldn't dry or lighten after install but I think it actually may be lightening up a little.

I
think I can live with the darker colour but my husband is very upset about the
chipping and I'm not thrilled with it either. Is that level of chipping really normal? Are photos of this
type of floor that I see online just too far away for that chippy detail to show? The darkened tile definitely made it more noticeable, I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo but it really looks worn around the edges of most tiles, as if it furniture has been dragged across it for years. I wanted darker grout to keep it cleaner looking (kids bathroom!) but had I known the end result I would probably have opted for a very light grey or even white grout.

Hi-looks nice, a bit dark, but nice.

For light marble it should be sealed before grouting; white thinset, cure for 24hrs., grout-clean-cure at least 12 hours, seal again.

Good Luck!

Agree. Something's wrong with the grouting. Chipping seems excessive too.

Tiles look rough on almost all edges....while the uninstalled sample appears smooth. I'd need more of an explanation because it would bother me......

This may get lighter over the next several days. The edges of the stones are not nor should they ever be sealed. Therefore they absorb a substantial amount of moisture during the grouting process. The only thing I see wrong with the grout is a few pinholes. Yes there should have been a discussion about the chipped edges prior to install. Is it common? Yes. I always inform the client in the sales process, It may be common to the salesperson but not to the purchaser. I suspect your installer may mention this in the future:) DO NOT add more sealer for a couple of weeks as this will impede the evaporation of trapped moisture.

I think you have a few things going on here. Marble is a pretty soft stone and is porous. Both of those qualities vary depending on the stone itself. When marble is cut with a straight edge those edges can be quite fragile ( this is why the larger floor tiles also have a micro bevel on the edges- to eliminate the most fragile section of the cut tile). It is hard to tell from the pictures how rough the edges are but the white spots and white areas along the edges are likely "stun" marks in the marble. These marks are caused by high pressure impacts in those areas and are small explosions or damage in the crystalline structure of the marble itself. It changes the characteristics of the stone in those areas so things like water, grout, sealers, do not penetrate the stone in the same way where this has occurred. Most likely these stun marks happened during manufacturing. Tiles are cut, tossed into a bin with others, edges impact each other and you start getting edges with stun marks. Before they are installed these white marks can be very hard to see. Even after installation stun marks can appear if hard objects are dropped onto the stone...or even women in high heals can cause them.
I'm going to amend my earlier comment about sealing before grouting on your polished marble. I was incorrect ( typing without thinking). It is not a total disaster to do so but dramatically slows down the drying of the tiles, and so should be avoided, as pointed out by creative.
Hopefully the installers did not use a white mastic adhesive for the tile - wrong adhesive and very slow to cure.

At this point you will need to be very patient as you wait for the floor to lighten. The tougher call is whether or not you can live with the stun marks and damaged edges. The white marks may diminish a bit as the floor dries.

even pre-sealed matte finish porcelain tiles can be stained with the black pigments in tinted grout, we discovered. that may have happened some here, at least the tiles are small so you dont see dark edges with light centers. you may find it gets lighter over time as the staining is worn off.

@ Kivi. I agree with your statement of sealing prior to grout in most situations. I was concerned with the post that said to seal again 12 hours after grouting. That would not help this situation at all. Plus we don't know the type of grout used and what the manufacturer recommends. Your point on mastic is a good possibility.

I honestly don't know what type of mastic other than it is white, no container left behind. Grout is Custom Products Prism Sure Colour I delorian grey. The tiles are at least a bit rough on all edges including the uninstalled pieces but yes it is not nearly as noticeable on those. We wondered if it was just the staining making it show more on installed or if the installer damaged the edges more as he was scraping excess mastic out of grout lines (he says no). What really irritates me is that I complained about the chipping prior to install to the installer and both of our general contractors and also repeatedly asked if we should be doing a test board with the dark grout. All 3 told us not to worry that it would be completely unnoticeable when grouted and had no concerns over the grout color, installer actually suggested going darker on the grout. We insisted our gc arrange for the tile company to come take a look and advise, that will happen this Thursday. I hate to rip it out but worry we will be disappointed every time we look at it. I designed the whole bathroom around this tile but am scared replacement tile will just have the same problems!

Soak your sample in water and then lay it on the tile. It'll be close to the same color as the installed stone. Marble is porous. When it dries out, and t will, it will be lighter overall. Until the shower gets used and it absorbs water again. Just wait until you use the wrong bathroom cleaner and etch it!

If you want something that isn't so soft and fragile, and won't change color when wet, then you want porcelain, not marble. Your marble is behaving as marble does. And yes, if you replace it, any new marble will behave the same way. It's marble.

Cure "at least 12 hours" before sealing again.

The grout of course has to be completely dry... CheerS!

What ever happened to your marble hex floor, I am having the exact same problem with some Carrara mosaic tile I just had installed. It turned dark gray after installing! Just curious if it resolved on its own... thanks!

Sorry to say it did not. It lightened slightly over a few weeks but stayed grey overall and some pieces discolored to purplish brown. We suspect the wrong mastic was used. Wish I had it ripped out before contractor walked off the job (over other issues) and left us high and dry. We are stuck with it unfortunately. So sorry you are going through this as well.

So this literally JUST happened to us. We ran out of tile and ordered more. Once it arrived it was the darker carrera. We started with the lighter. It has nothing to do with grout or sealing. There are actually two different lots from the manufacturer according to the warehouse. One is lighter and one is darker. So they re ordered the lighter and when it arrived it was a perfect match.

Here's a picture side by side :)

Nope this wasn't our issue. The tile was one lot and bright white until it was installed. In our case it was determined in the end it was likely an incorrect mastic being used. It improved slightly over time and we decided to live with it, but I regret that choice. Bugs me every single day.

uptoolate,,,when you say mastic, was it the premixed stuff in a tub? Marble needs a specific thinset for marble and natural stone. Mastic can take months to completely dry and should never be used in a bathroom. After install it's normal for the stone to appear darker. after the moisture evaporates (2-5 days) it should return to the normal color. If not, something was done incorrectly and you have moisture seepage.

btw, you can have a professional stone restorer come out and basically 'sand' down the floor. they leave it honed or polished and have it look brand new. I have black marble on the floor. due to some bad individual tiles on the sheets, i had to have the guy come out and do my floor. It turned out great. I opted for a honed finish. He applied a super sealer after he was done. there are certain sealers that are meant only for polished marble. honed marble takes a different sealer.

We don't know what was used, the general contractor used a sub-trade who left for Romania permanently the day after our job. If they ever got answers they didn't share it with us. The company we bought the tile from sent a rep and their suspicion was incorrect mastic used. It ended up in small claims court so we got a partial credit back for the shoddy work (this wasn't the only problem in this bathroom). I hadn't thought about refinishing, but suspect the darkened color is throughout the full tiles as it would have seeped up from the bottom so I suspect resurfacing the top wouldn't help. 2 years later and it is still permanently discolored. It lightened a little over the first couple of months but nothing further after that. I would rip them out and redo it but don't want to risk other parts of the bathroom by removing the wall mounted vanity, toilet, trim, or possibly damaging the tub. I try not to look at it.

I know this thread is several years old but I just happened on it when searching for what is considered acceptable for chipped tile. I ordered very similar tiles (mine are 3”) and just started going through the boxes. Out of the 10 boxes we opened so far there was one tile that was clearly broken in half, but many with rough edges or obvious little chips here and there. Did yours look like any of mine before install? I’ll probably call the tile company after opening the other 30 boxes but I’m afraid my floor will look similar to yours after grouting and install. Any advice?

@Caroline. If it's any help. I would refuse to install that material. The lack of quality is obvious and would only look worse after grouting.

^ this.

It's not a true carrara (if that's what it's trying to replicate). prob a china White marble that was put on the mesh and shipped w/o regard. It will discolor over time and you'll be sorry you even settled for it.

go to a reputable tile store and purchase quality carrara marble. it will cost more, obviously, but it will be night and day from this.

Thank you for your input. I ordered it online based on good reviews - The Builder Depot. I know that all 180+ square feet of tile will not be perfect since that’s the nature of the stone, but I wasn’t sure what was deemed acceptable vs what was expected imperfections. I’ll give the company a call on Monday.

@carolyn - what did the company do for you? i ordered from them too and am having the same issue. not sure what to do :(