Fabrication and Installation

Q. I have a 2nd floor shower with moisture resistant sheetrock. I want to put 18" travertine tile on the walls above the pan. Using modified mortar, can these tiles be put on the wall with mortar blobs leaving an air space behind tile or do the tiles... Read More

Q. Natural stone tile installation has water marks that aren’t fading after 2 weeks of installation. Should I apply a poultice to remove the moisture? MSI sells the stone. It's called white oak. It's honed marble, 24 inch tiles, and... Read More

Q. I am purchasing natural stone countertops, and I am concerned that I might not recognize the difference between naturally-occurring imperfections and unnatural damage. Can you provide some resources to help me make a good decision on my purchase?... Read More

Q. I had granite countertops installed about five months ago. Yesterday, I noticed the granite had cracked all the way through on both sides of the undermounted sink. What caused this - was it improperly installed?     A. Cracks of this nature can... Read More

Q. We are considering using a large format marble tile on a kitchen wall. The tile is 7 1/2" X 24" X 3/4". Is this size tile too heavy to use on a wall? Is special thinset needed? Currently the wall is lathe and plaster (100+ yr old home), should... Read More

Q. We just tiled our bathroom with travertine. I was cleaning the stone and getting ready to seal it when I noticed a crack in the doorway where the stone is. It runs from the corner by the door diagonally clear across the whole stone. It has not... Read More

Q. We live in San Francisco and are refurbishing our town house. We would like to use marble on our kitchen floor, but are concerned it may crack during an earthquake. Is there any way to install it that would minimize the cracking?   A. There are... Read More

Q. How do I know if my 2nd floor bathroom floor is strong enough to handle the weight of tile? There is vinyl on the floor now, obviously tile will add a lot of weight and I don’t know how to check this out.   A. Thank you for sharing your... Read More

Q. Hi, the very first time I set a cutting board on the 6" hang over on my new sun gold quartzite island top, I noticed a crack 3 hours later. The crack extends 10" into the island top and also straight through the separate 2 1/2" beveled edge. This... Read More

Q. Hello. I just received a new quartzite install, and there is a crack at the sink extending to the hole for the soap dispenser. The fabricator claims it does not affect integrity of the stone, since apparently it's not a full-depth crack. The... Read More