Installing a Marble Floor in a Foyer

No flooring choice exudes elegance and good taste quite like marble and marble is a great selection when it comes to flooring for the foyer.  A marble foyer can be very welcoming to your guests and provides a good surface for foot traffic because it is ultra-durable and long lasting, and requires little maintenance.  If you live in a cold climate, marble may not be right for you.  Marble is naturally cool to the touch, and folks living in colder locations might find marble too cold for their tastes.  Marble floors are reasonably easy to install so this floor is a good do-it-yourself project. 

Marble Flooring Choices

There are basically two types of marble flooring that you might choose for your foyer, and both of them have their good aspects and can create different effects at your home's entrance. Traditional tiles made of marble tend to have a shiny, polished finish that can add an aura of class to your home when guests enter and are very popular in the foyer or entryway. A newer version of marble flooring, tumbled marble, has a less polished and more of a buffed look, and is usually created in milky or beige tones for an earthy, natural look. Tumbled marble is typically only used in foyers that are quite large because the tiles themselves tend to be larger. So marble flooring can coordinate with any decor, whether your tastes lean toward elegant furnishings and classic accents, such as a palm tree wall decor; or whether you prefer a sleek decor with minimalist furniture and wall art and decor.

Installation

If you have ever installed ceramic tile, then you likely can install marble tile easily as they are installed much in the same way, except that marble is a bit heavier to work with than ceramic.  Start your installation with a clean surface that is level.  Screw a cement backer board to the floor to reinforce the weight of the marble, and to keep your tiles from cracking.  Marble tiles are installed using a thin set adhesive. Find the center of the floor and start laying tiles out from the center to get an idea of what the product will look like without actually placing them in a permanent spot. Once a setup is decided, then the thin set adhesive can be rolled out and the tiles can be laid. Use spacers in between the tiles to keep the tiles evenly spaced. Once the tiles are laid out, mortar will be spread over the tiles as grout. A grout mesh can be used underneath the tiles to prevent the mortar from cracking. After the tiles are laid out and the mortar has had time to dry it is time to seal your marble floor. The sealing will have to be reapplied every 9 to 18 months depending on traffic in the foyer. Unlike ceramic tiles, marble tiles will be harder to replace over time as marble changes color over time which makes getting a perfect match almost impossible.

A properly installed marble floor in the foyer can last for many years, and with the proper maintenance, you can count on marble to maintain its beauty for a long time, too.