Marble-effect tiles

Marble-effect porcelain stoneware tiles

Marble-effect porcelain stoneware tiles imitate polished or antiqued marble with spectacular precision, reproducing its depth, shine and veining thanks to modern pressing and digital decoration technologies.

Are you looking for a tile that looks like marble? Try searching for it in the articles and photos we present on this page:

• Polished marble effect tiles

• Shiny or matt tiles?

• Marble Effect Tiles: What colours?

• Tiles or marble floors? Advantages and disadvantages

• Tile or marble furniture? Advantages and disadvantages

• Enviromental factors and marble effect tiles 

• Bathrooms with large marble effect tiles 

• Problems with large marble effect tiles in bathroom

• Installation of large marble effect tiles as wall tiles

• Marble effect tiles for illuminated niches

Happy reading!

Polished tiles, as shiny as marble

Marble-effect stoneware, especially in the polished version, is of great aesthetic impact and immediately confers elegance and refinement. The shine of marble is reproduced thanks to the polishing of the stoneware: a mechanical process of abrasion of the surface of the tile. After firing in the kiln, the stoneware is polished with abrasive tools with an increasingly fine grain until a perfectly polished surface is obtained.

We talk about it in this deepening: STONEWARE POLISHING

Glossy or matt tiles?

Marble-effect stoneware can also be found in the matt version, generally in two versions: natural (i.e. the normal surface of the tile without any surface processing) or lapped/smooth. 
The latter is more popular - compared to the normal surface - because of the better feel it gives the tile, a very pleasant silk effect. 

Marble effect tiles: which colours?

 In the collections of modern marble effect stoneware we find all the colours of marble, from absolute black to Carrara, from portoro to bardiglio. But the formats are also revolutionary: the large marble-effect stoneware slabs reach and exceed 3 metres in length and almost 2 metres in width. 

We discuss this in the dedicated in-depth study: the large stoneware slabs 

Tile or marble floors? Advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of using tiles compared to marble for floors or walls are:

• Less thickness for the same size. For example, 120x240 wall tiles are only 6 mm thick. In general, the thickness of tiles is about 10 mm;
• Less weight: less thickness means less weight;
• Easier laying: less weight means easier handling of small or large slabs for the installer;
• Tiles do not absorb and therefore do not stain unlike marble, which generally suffers from these problems and must be treated and protected;
• A lower cost, both of material and installation.

Tile or marble furniture? Advantages and disadvantages

Even if slabs are used for counters, kitchen tops or tables, tiles have some advantages:

• Lower thickness: for pkitchen worktops or tables, 12 mm thick tiles are usually used, supported with a glass fibre mesh. This thickness is sufficient to guarantee mechanical resistance equal to that of a thicker marble;
• Tiles do not absorb, which allows us to use light colours and alabaster or onyx effects in the kitchen without any fear.

But there are some disadvantages of tile or rather reasons to prefer marble, for example:

• Marble allows for better edge work because veining and colours are "through" unlike tile where edge and surface are different. If the edge is visible - and this is an important detail - marble gives better results;
• Those who love marble will always prefer it to tile for the fact that it is natural, because each slab is different from another, for the different sensation to the touch. 

Tiles, marble and respect for the environment

From the point of view of respect for the environment, there is no doubt that tiles, obtained by pressing and firing clays and minerals, have less impact than marble quarries that forever alter a natural landscape. 

It has to be said that the production of tiles also involves environmental damage, especially if it is carried out in countries where there is little attention to these aspects. In Italy, regulations are very strict and production companies are almost closed-cycle. 

Bathrooms with large marble-effect slabs

The sensation that large marble-effect slabs give is truly exhilarating. A bathroom, with this new look, gives an emotion to the owner and also to friends and guests. Of all the bathroom cladding options available, this is certainly the most surprising.

Marble-effect slabs can also be tiled with continuous vein or open-spot slabs. There are manufacturers who also offer this option in their catalogue.

The continuous vein needs space to express itself, so a large bathroom is needed. We usually design it in the freest wall of the room, so not where the furniture is placed but in the wall of the shower-sanitaryware.

Problems with large marble effect tiles in the bathroom

Before choosing, you should also be aware of the disadvantages and problems of this material, which I divide into two categories: those related to tiles and those related to installation.

We have already talked about the problems of tiles in general, but as far as slabs are concerned, the things to watch out for are these:

• The level of detail of the graphics: a poor resolution defeats the final effect. Seen from close up the slab must be very realistic, the graphics must give the impression of transparency, the vein of the marble must appear deep, not flat and superficial;
• The number of graphics: if you buy 8 or 10 identical slabs with the same graphic design to cover your bathroom, the final effect will be completely false. You have to ask how many different graphics there are: the more graphics there are, the more realistic the final effect will be;
• The thickness of the sheet: handling a 1 cm thick sheet is more complicated than handling a thin sheet;
• The workability of the slab: as we have often written, not all slabs are the same. Some are really difficult to work, they break too easily, they are too tensioned, they break as soon as you try to cut them, others instead have an excellent workability;
• You also need to take into account the route that the slabs have to take from the lorry that delivers them to your house to your bathroom: if there are impassable obstacles, you will not be able to lay them. For example, if there is a spiral staircase to access the bathroom and if there are no terraces or large windows, you will have to choose smaller sizes;
• Also take into account the height of the room. In the case of marble-effect tiles, always try to cover the entire wall (no "half-height" or "three-quarters"). The full wall slab gives you an extraordinary effect.

Laying large marble-effect slabs as a wall covering

Few installers are equipped and able to tackle the laying of large slabs without hesitation. These slabs present problems of installation that must be taken into account:

• The installer must have special equipment for large slabs. Tools are needed for handling (bars with suction cups), for cutting (diamond tools for cutting the glass, sliding bars, special discs and hoses), for drilling the sheets (diamond cup cutters) and many more...
• Laying must be carried out by several people: a single person cannot handle sheets of that size;
• It is compulsory to lay with the double glazing to avoid empty spaces under the slabs;
• Laying a large marble-effect slab is much more difficult and risky than laying normal tiles and therefore also more expensive. Usually the cost of laying a bathroom wall covering is around 1,000/1,500 euros for a bathroom of normal size. For the installation of marble-effect slabs the costs are at least double;
• The risk of the slab breaking increases in proportion to the number of holes and cuts we have to make. And in a cladding there are holes for the sanitary system, holes for electrical sockets and holes for switches.... Each hole weakens the slab, which has to be handled very carefully.

The most important thing is that the team of installers you recruit have already done these jobs, and it's not their first time. We, for example, have been laying sheets for 10 years and they don't scare us.

Marble effect tiles for illuminated niches

One of the things we always do when designing marble-effect bathrooms in particular is to insert a possibly illuminated niche.

If possible, the niche should be made without using profiles, which should never be used in marble effect tiles, not even in the corners. In order to make it without corners, all the components must be cut at 45 degrees and then welded together.