Carrara Marble Mosaic Shower Pan Woes

6 years ago

So some project details first, these are 1 inch mosaic tiles set on a 12”x12” mesh. White thinset was used and Laticrete grout was spread in. Tiles are from Floor and Decor, and they were hand picked to ensure the variation was all within the same range. Tiles were sealed after the grout. Tiler says this happens and its due to the material selection—the inherent risk of going with marble. He said it’s possible the shower floor resolves itself after a few months of use as the glue underneath melts off from use which could be causing the variation. I’m not sure if I put a lot of stock in that thesis and wanted to see if anyone experienced this before and if they had a fix. Thank you!

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Comments (8)

PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
6 years ago
In progress photos?

" the glue underneath melts off from use" This statement makes no sense. Perhaps a misunderstanding.

Yes shading is very common. How much time has passed since this floor was completed and you took the photo?
cpartist
6 years ago
What type of waterproofing was used underneath?
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Mike W
Original Author
6 years ago
Adding progress pictures. Hard to tell since there was a protective sheet over it.
Mike W
Original Author
6 years ago
@Creative Tile— I may have misunderstood his explanation, but he definitely mentioned something about how the glue on the fabric mesh could interfere with absorption of the sealer causing the huge variation. Tiler tried “flooding it” (letting the pan sit in an inch of water) for a week to see if that would mellow out the variation, which had no effect. He’s going to retry resealing to see if that will even it out.

It might just be a total loss, and we may just switch it out for ceramic; however, there is a heating element underneath it, which I’m not sure can be spliced back together if damaged during demo.
Mike W
Original Author
6 years ago
Flooring has been installed/finished for two weeks now.
PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
6 years ago
Without knowing the materials used and the order in which they were applied to create the shower floor assembly I don't have enough facts to work with. Sorry. For all we know it could be the sealer causing the problem. Keep track of what sealer was used initially and what is to be used on the reseal. Take note and call the manufacturer before applying more sealer.
kitasei
6 years ago
Could you live it with it with some kind of bath mat on top?
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
That’s a mixed up bit of watetproofing mess. The Schluter for the shower floor, which isn’t tied into the waterproofing over drywall? walls correctly, and then Red Guard over what looks like asphalt impregnated board? Surely it’s not a hot mop under it? This is a bizarre frankenhack, with no warranty from any manufacturer. I’ve never seen anything so bizarre. And that says a lot.

Then you have low quality seconds marble from Floor and Decor in the mix too. The whole thing crosses my eyes and begs the question of what price was paid for this, and what the expectations actually are.

I wouldn’t be inviting the frankenhacker back, that’s for sure. I’d be budgeting 15K for a redo from someone a bit more up the scale of a properly built and waterproofed luxury marble shower . And better materials quality to go with the better labor goes without saying.