Marble cladding: technology and features

Gusevsky Andrey Anatolyevich

Black marble in the interior

The technology of wall cladding with marble is quite diverse. The sequence of actions and the amount of tool used depends on the size and weight of the material, and marble may have different parameters.

Properties and characteristics of marble

Marble is natural stone. Because of this, it is environmentally friendly.
The stone has a wide variety of shades and sizes. The photo shows marble of various sizes and colors.
Benefits:

• The main advantage of marble will be its attractive appearance, which gives the room sophistication and luxury. You can use marble not only indoors, but also for exterior decoration.
• You can make benches, gazebos, columns, tables, chairs and other interior items from it. Very often there are countertops with marble tiles.

Marble:

• Environmentally friendly material. For this reason, its price is a bit overpriced.
• Practical, in spite of what time the finish will be used, the surface of the stone will not lose its appearance.
• Resistant to sunlight. The structure of marble is not subject to deformation and does not fade under the sun.
• Durable and reliable, as it can withstand very large physical and mechanical stresses.
• Wear-resistant, since the surface does not scratch, does not deform, the design does not lose its color, even if the stone is laid on the floor surface.
• Frost-resistant, as it is able to withstand very low temperature conditions, which makes it possible to use stone in exterior finishing work.
• Fire resistant, as it does not burn and is able to withstand the effects of a direct source of fire and not be deformed.
• Freely withstands high temperatures.
• Moisture-resistant, as it is not able to absorb the effects of a humid environment and does not absorb moisture and various dirt.

Note. The surface of marble, as a rule, is smooth, relief is quite rare.

There are such colors of marble:

• White and gray.
• Pink and red.
• Yellow and green.
• Black and blue and so on.

What colors are used:

• The easiest way to work with gray and white marble. It can be used to decorate walls or other surfaces of a room.
• The technology for wall cladding with marble in these shades is no different from the installation of any other color of marble.
• Darker shades of marble are used for floor finishes.
• They are less prone to contamination and thus very easy to clean.

Note. Due to the fact that the material is moisture resistant, it can also be cleaned with a damp rag.

Marble structure

What is the structure of marble

The structure of the stone is crystalline. It also has minor pores, which give a variety of shades of the stone itself.
Features:

• Marble is very easy to work with. The material lends itself to grinding, cutting and other influences.
• The surface of the stone is glossy. But it can sometimes be not completely glossy.

All this is due to the fact that the stone after mining is not processed by various means to give shine to the surface.

Preparatory work for the installation of marble on the wall surface

The technology of wall cladding with marble is characterized by the fact that the surface for such work should be well prepared.
A number of such works include:

• Surface alignment.
• Gain.
• Cleansing.
• Padding.

Features:

• You can level the surface with cement mortar, plaster or drywall. The last two options for leveling the surface can only be used when the weight of the material is small.
  If drywall can withstand almost any load, then the plaster can begin to deform.
• The use of plaster implies the use of two of its types: start and finish. Both of these tools are superimposed and distributed on the surface using spatulas and a building level.
  After complete drying, each layer of the starting and finishing plaster.

Surface preparation and installation of marble

Tip. Use both the start and finish plaster will need only strictly for its intended purpose. That is, starting plaster is initially applied and only on it is finishing plaster.

What is the difference between the methods:

• The process of using plaster is very long and laborious.
• Using drywall is a modern way of leveling the surface. It is mounted on a frame of special profiles, which is already mounted on the wall surface.
  There are several types of such material, but wall and ceiling drywall is used to level the surfaces and it is best if it is moisture resistant and fireproof.
• The joints of the drywall sheets are processed with putty and, after drying, are sandpaper.
• The next step is to strengthen the surface. To do this, a reinforcing wire mesh is used, which is attached to the surface using cement mortar or plaster.

Tip. To save time on finishing work on the implementation of surface reinforcement, such actions can be performed simultaneously. Fasten the reinforcing mesh immediately to the surface and already apply mortar on it to level the surface.

• After the surface of the wall is processed with sandpaper, dust and other types of pollution always remain on it. It will be necessary to clean it.
  This can be done using a vacuum cleaner that quickly collects dust and damp rags, which finally clean the surface. There is also an option to use detergents.

Tip. After such work, the surface should dry out very well.

Then primed with a special tool. It is applied to the surface with a fairly large brush.
As soon as the primer is absorbed, you can apply a second layer of it and wait for the wall to completely dry.

How can I install marble on a wall surface?

What is used as fasteners

Facing marble walls with technology involves several methods of surface mounting using:

• Adhesive solution.
• Concrete mortar.
• Mechanically.

Mounting marble with adhesive

Facing marble walls with special glue technology is simple.
Stages:

• Here, you will not need to look for material for the preparation of the solution, since the glue is sold in loose dry form. To make such a powder a complete solution there is a special instruction.
  According to which you need to pour a certain amount of water into the container and only then gradually pour the powder into it, gently stirring.

Tip. To avoid lumps in the glue, you need to use a construction mixer, which can give a lot of uniformity.

• The adhesive for the installation of marble should be the consistency of a not too thick cement mortar. It is superimposed on the back of the marble and on the surface itself.

Tip.In such works, it is not worth using a large amount of glue, since its excess can pass to the surface of the finish and if it is untimely eliminated, it will spoil the appearance of the decoration.

For installation you will need:

• Directly glue.
• A spatula or trowel, to whom and with what it will be more convenient to work.
• Construction level and other improvised tools (rubber mallet, tile cutter and so on).

Note. All actions are very similar to the installation of ceramic tiles and are done with your own hands pretty quickly.

Concrete mortar in the installation of marble

Installing a marble slab using concrete mix

Marble wall technology may also involve the use of concrete. Only this choice of agent is more suitable for large marble tiles, which have a significant mass.
In principle, all actions are similar to the process of installing marble tiles on special glue.
Only in this case, the solution will need to be prepared from:

• Cement (its brand must be of high strength).
• Cleaned sand.
• Water.

Stages:

• Everything is mixed in a special container and using a construction mixer to give a homogeneous mass to the composition. The proportions of each ingredient are calculated 1 bucket of cement in 3 buckets of sand, water is added depending on the required consistency of the solution.

Tip. If you need a solution of greater strength, you can reduce the amount of added sand or just add hardeners and those products that increase the density of the solution to the solution.

• The video shows an example of installing marble tiles using concrete mortar.

Tip. Installation of marble tiles can be done using a decorative seam.

For this, a special coloring pigment of the required shade is used in the solution. It is added during cooking.
Or you can use decorative putty instead, which processes masonry joints after installing marble tiles.

General recommendations for the selection of marble mounting technology

Facing walls with marble technology can be using various means for installation and the process of laying marble tiles can have different designs in the end on the surface.
So:

• For large marble tiles, it is best to use a concrete mortar with a small amount of sand.
• If the tile does not have a large size, then ordinary glue can also be used.
• It is used with a thickness of marble tiles of 1 cm.

As for the mechanical installation method, it is suitable only for decoration with the help of the material of the floor surface, since it involves the use of frame profiles, chipboard blocks, which are decorated with marble tiles on the front surface.

Also on our resource you can find out about facade cladding marble.