Marble floors: how to choose the material for the cladding

From time immemorial marble personified magnificence and prosperity. Marble floors were met not only in the royal palaces, but also in state and public institutions, as well as in the mansions of nobles and nobles. Today marble can be used in interiors of different styles. As before, this material is an indicator of good taste and respectability.

Houses with marble floors

If it is not about the presidential palace, but about the residential house, then marble floors are most often plastered in the hall, corridors, reception rooms and bathrooms. Imagination of the designer is limited only by the customer's solvency. The color and structural pattern of marble can be selected for any interior. Typically, designers use one of the following options:

• Artificially aged marble;
• Glossy monophonic marble floors;
• Glossy floors with a pattern of veins;
• Matt floors;
• Floors with a complex pattern of marble of various colors;
• Floors of marble chips;
• Floors of marble slabs (tiles made by sawing monolithic slabs);
• Use of mosaic technique.

Marble: a brief description of the breed

Marble is the rock of the granular-crystalline structure. It was formed under the influence of high pressure and high temperatures during tectonic displacements of the earth's interior. The color of the rock depends on the natural impurities.

Marble is considered to be a solid and durable material, but it is easy to handle. This makes it an excellent, durable and sought after finishing material.

How to choose marble for flooring?

In addition to color, natural pattern and decorative pattern, choosing marble floors, it is important to pay attention to the density characteristics. For this, it is necessary to understand well for which surface the lining is selected.

Marble for flooring should have a thickness of at least 2 cm. This is due to the fact that the floors will be polished from time to time, and in addition, they are heavily loaded, causing natural abrasion of materials.

The next criterion is the density of the material. For halls, corridors and halls, you can choose coarse grains. In these premises it is dry, and the material will not suffer from moisture drops. For bathrooms and showers choose fine-grained varieties.

To reduce costs without compromising the artistic value of the interior, a floor covering was created , which is called marble chips.

Marble Floors

There are two names for this material. One of them - ground marble, the second - marble chips.

The technology of production is extremely simple. The crumb is made from crushed quarry stone, and then sorted, according to four fractions:

1. Crushed stone from marble in the size from 2,5 up to 5 mm.
2. Fine screening with a particle size of less than 5 mm.
3. Marble flour with particle size up to 2.5 mm.
4. Marble dust.

The production of crumbs can produce defective marble, in the structure of which defects are found. Marble chips from this material are of high quality, but the material is much cheaper.

A binding mortar for marble chips is a concrete mortar. Laying of such floors is made on cement screed, the thickness of which is more than 2 cm. Special wire or fiberglass veins are laid in it, with which it is possible to form a coating pattern.

The ground marble is best bonded with M400 cement. To one part of the cement is added three parts of crumb and 0.5 parts of water. To better saturate the marble solution, it is worth taking crumbs of different fractions.

Marble chips are suitable for creating geometric patterns, as well as for mosaic floors.

Marble Mosaic Flooring

Mosaic floor coverings look good in large areas. It can be stations, lobbies and corridors of public buildings, staircases.

Initially, a project of a mosaic pattern is created. Next, make a marking of cards and installation of veins, according to the draft. Before mixing the mortar, the marble chips are cleaned of foreign contaminants and, if necessary, washed to improve bonding to the cement. Color elements are created by adding a coloring pigment.

When ordering marble floors, the prices for which always remain high, a person receives a coating of high quality, which will last for many decades. Marble chips and mosaic patterns will be cheaper due to the cost of the material, but the price will lay the complexity of the project. Therefore, the mosaic with numerous small color details is evaluated highly. Marble and granite floors are not an expensive pleasure, their price is about 2500 to 5000 rubles per 1 m ² . But the style and quality are worth it!