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lillo_gw

Does this look like fake or real marble to you ?

lillo
10 years ago

Would a whole floor of this material look like real or cheap fake marble ?

Comments (46)

  • sunnie62
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It looks like real marble to me. I have that same tile on my floor. Love it.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you sunnie62 and raehelen for your feedback . I am waiting for one more sample to come , a polished one which i prefer . If it doesn't look good , then I know that I can go with this one . I can sleep better now .

  • hobokenkitchen
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I like it too. We used a Calcutta porcelain marble tile in our bathroom and I think it looks really good. I was worried, but it came out well. Lots of variation is key as raehelen said.

  • dekeoboe
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Regarding the issue of pattern repeats - the middle two tiles that you are showing (left and right tiles) have the same pattern on them. It can be made less visible by turning the tile, but with a tile like this where the "veins" go one way, you can usually only place each tile one of two ways.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you Hobokenkitchen for your feedback . I wanted to look for your Calcutta porcelain , but I couldn't find it on their website . May be it is discontinued . Dekeoboe you have a sharp eye , I didn't notice that . I hope that my contractor approves of it . I am a little skeptical because when I carried it , it weighs way less than the other porcelain tile that I already had , but cannot use because it is greyish . . We will see tomorrow , I'll keep you posted .

  • cathy725
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    lillo--can you tell me where you are getting your tile samples (and names of tile). I'm considering the same type porcelain tile for my bath and I'm looking for locally available tiles.

    Thanks and good luck on your search

  • sas95
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It doesn't look real to me. But that doesn't mean it looks bad and cheap. Nice porcelain tile doesn't look cheap to me at all-- but it doesn't usually look like real stone. We have a travertine-ish porcelain in our master bath, and I think it looks great. But it still doesn't look like real travertine. You just have to like it on its own.

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Look at Stone Peak tile or Iris, I understand these are made at the same plant in Tennessee. There is a marble look alike that is polished so I wont be using it on the floor, but on my shower instead. Though the tile showroom clerk says that people put it on the floor. I think it is too risky to have in a wet environment. It is not cheap and not real expensive, around 9-10$/sf. It has occasional bold veining with lots of white background. Very realistic and looks very good with my real carrara. Though I will not have them next to each other. It is by Iris tile. I brought one home from Sunderland Tile. This image is way bolder than the tile samples I have, but this is the tile. It is called "lappato" finish. Looks polished.

    I also brought a matte marble home that is the same line of Iris, but it is rudy looking, and does not have a nice white background. But is beautiful too. It would look good with another stone but not whitish gray marble. The Iris tiles are rectified I think, with crisp edges.

    My floor will be a darker stone mashup of color called Fossil, Deep Sea by Stone Peak tile. It has over 200 patterns before a repeat, or so I've been told.

    The tile you have looks like the Johnson tile that is from The Tile Shop. I brought a sample home and I think it is very nice in color. The Tile Shop clerk told me that there is about 7-8 patterns. Not much. The Johnson tile is made in England. I thought the clay body felt a little more porous compared to the Iris tile I have in the marble pattern. The Johnson tile has a bit of a rounded pillow like edge because it was pressed. For a matte finish I like the Johnson Tile but there is not enough variation in veining. The Iris tile I have is HD printed I believe, and has a huge amount of individual tile patterns, before repeating.

  • KevinMP
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The problem usually comes with the veining appearing blurry or pixelated. (Even the HD printing doesn't always make it convincing, but it's a big help. Porecelanosa makes HD printed wood tile that is beautiful, for example, but it's still clearly isn't wood.) I've seen some good quality and convincing (relatively) faux-stone ones, but those were expensive. The ones at Lowes or Home Depot that I saw looked and felt biarre and were not the least bit convincing, but they were very inexpensive. So I guess you get what you pay for.

    The ones Enduring has posted about above look great in the photos. That's likely why they're around the same price as you could get carrara or arabescotto for.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Amazingly enduring that yesterday i got a sample from the iris tile from one of the tile stores. You're also correct about the other tile it's the Johnson from the tile Shop . I wanted to go with the iris for the quality ( rectified tile ) and the variations ( V2 ) , but it turned grey on me when putting it next to the real calacata marble ( like my first sample ) . The Johnson is more white, but I am questioning the quality it weighs a lot less than the other porcelain samples that I got . Remember enduring you predicted this, to be careful when putting the real next to the fake , it shows . The grey looks more grey next to the white. I will show the Johnson to my contractor on Monday , and see what he thinks. I might have a change of planes and go with the real marble on the floor and plain white on the walls . As kevinMP said it ,there is always a difference between the real and the fake. The porcelain background is a solid color white or greyish white, while the real marble's background has a variation between the white and the grey, so it matches a white or grey color next to it . Is that really hard to take care of the real stuff ?

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh , enduring , I like your choice of tile. If you it's the same quality as the iris , than it's really good. I love the calacata porcelain in the iris , the only problem is the color . Cathy 725 , it depends what on what you want . White or greyish , polished or mate . Until now I couldn't find a nice white polished calacata porcelain . If you want greyish polished or mate go with the Iris , it's beautiful and quality . I got the sample from a tile store called Thomas Brick . You can look online or call them for stores in your area . The other tile in the picture it's a white mate finish porcelain from the store called the tile shop . If you don't have one in your area you can order a sample online . There is also Anatolia , suggested by cat mom . It has a mate finish , but I don't know if it is white of greyish . I haven't seen it yet . A store in my area is getting a sample next week . I can tell you when I see it . Me personally , I prefer the polished , I see that honing takes away the beauty of the stone. Just personal preference. Let me know , if I can be of anymore help.

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, I just came home with a large sample 30x30" it was the only one they had, LOL. It is by Atlas Concorde, a company in Italy. It comes in a matte and polished finish and both are whitish without the ruddy color the Iris had. Take a look at their web site. The problem is the shipment time. For me it is ok but probably not for you. The store also had a brand called Rex, another Italian tile. It was very pretty. It was very bold though. They had a whitish gray and a calacatta. To me the polished and the matte were similar in color which is great. But I think I am now going to go with the Atlas Concorde. We stood and looked with my elements and this tile was beautiful. The dark tile I posted above is still in the running for the floor. Unless I find something else. I was on the Atlas Concorde web site and saw a few that I'd like to see in person. Good luck Lillo!

  • littlebug5
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have something similar in my bathroom, which we had redone last fall. It's called Calacutta - a weird way to spell it, I thought. It's porcelain and I got it at Lowe's.

    Looks great.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you littlebug for your feedback .
    Thank you enduring , I will look it up . How long does it take to ship ?

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Enduring , can I ask you for a favor ? To look at the tile at night and put it next to something white white that you have , and see if it is white or turning grey ? I checked it online , it's beautiful . It is like the iris , v2 and rectified . Do you have a sample from the calacata in the iris ? If you have , can you put them next to each other and see if the atlas concorde back groung is white ?

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes I will do something with some pictures. I don't have the Iris honed, I took it back because of all the ruddy background was too much. I do have a sample of the honed that I got off line where elphaba bought her tile, though this is probably not the same line. My order of samples from them got mixed up somehow and I really don't know what is what from them.

    I will be using a carrara remnent on my vanity and am trying to match that. But again my porcelain will be 3-4 feet away from my counter top. So the exact match will not be an issue. With the latest sample, they only had the honed on site so I don't know what the polished looked like.

    Give me a few minutes...

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ok, here goes. This was a good exercise for me too. As I see that the "Calacatta Extra" has an ever so slight hint of warmth in the white background. Remember that calacatta is a warm color compared to carrara that is grayish as I understand it. The real calacatta that I saw at the stone yard was very very warm and tannish.

    As you look at Hobokenkitchen's bathroom, you will see that her marble vanity top does not exactly match the floor. There is separation between the two elements, except at the backsplash. But that tile is the show stopper, and the counter, to me is a secondary element. What I noticed online at the Atlas Concorde site is that they never used real stone in any of their installations that are shown in their gallery pictures. All of the surfaces are other man made counters of some sort. A nice play on texture, and color.

    As I took pictures I have a block of typical carrara marble, then a small square of a chinese tile from an online source (sort of looked like the honed US made Iris that I took back with the ruddy look), the extremely large tile 30x30" is the Italian made Marvel "Calacatta Extra" in the matte or honed finish (not the shiny finish), 2 squares of the US made Iris in the polished, then last, I have a sample of the Johnson tile (like you have).

    I staged this photo shoot with SNOW. The last of the snow, that fell over the last two days in Iowa! Can you believe it!!! Anyway, that is something white to use as reference :)

    Pictures
    The Marvel Calacatta Extra from Atlas Concorde and snow:

    Next to the more ruddy tile sample that was similar in color to the honed Iris, but is not the honed Iris:

    Polished Iris on the bottom of the picture (2 of them), the large Calacatta Extra, the Johnson tile on the right, and a piece of real carrara:

    Calacatta Extra on the left and Johnson on the right:

    Iris on the left and Calacatta Extra on the right with the carrara block:

    All of it together:

    My assessment is that the Calacatta reads a very slight red in the white, but the gray veining is nice with the carrara gray. The honed chinese sample (looks like the honed Iris to me) is defenetally ruddy all over, in the background white and the veining is rusty colored. The Iris polished is whiter background from the Calacatta Extra. The Johnson tile has the whitest background and a nice gray vein.

    Did this help, or ADD TO THE CONFUSION? I know I'm confused :)

    A few more with a walnut table. I will be using walnut in the room. I always see a little yellow in walnut.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Marvel Collection from Atlas Concorde in Italy

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you soooo much enduring for all these pictures . The most informative picture is the one you have the iris with the Johnson , and the atlas Concorde next to each other . I think that the atlas's background is close to the iris than to the white Johnson . My problem is that I don't want to have this greyish tint that will Pop up from the background on my floors . My aim is the white color , not the grey . Unfortunately the grey pops up more when put next to white ,as you noticed especially in the polished tile that I want . I think right now I have only 2 options , either going with the mate Johnson and forgetting about the polished look, or going with the real marble and forgetting about the easy maintenance . Thank you again enduring for all your help , as I just told raehelen , you are all so kind to help me out with my choices. I'll keep you posted.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh , I love the atlas next to your counter sample . The grey of your counters is the same as the grey in the veining of the atlas . The atlas is a beautiful tile . I am sure you cannot go wrong with Italian porcelain . I did my kitchen in an Italian mate porcelain ( I don't remember the brand ) I love it. I think you have found your quest . I hope I can find mine . I think I'll go Monday to a marble warehouse and see if I can find the polished white calacata there matching with my counters sample ? If not then its the Johnson . The good thing is that I'll get my marble the same day ( because it's a warehouse, they will have it there ) . If I go with the Johnson , if I place the order on Monday, I'll get it on Thursday . Therefore , I wan't delay my contractor.

  • KevinMP
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That atlas is phenomenal.

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Have you seen it live, Kevin?

    There was another brand that was bolder by Rex that was very nice too. But this Atlas was a little more softer.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey, enduring . How long does it take to ship from Italy ?

  • sofla
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow enduring you went to town on all those pictures. Wanted to comment that I used Atlas Concorde 24 x 24 throughout my house, rectified, matte, color is called dessert, resembles limestone. I wanted the look of stone without the upkeep. Went with caesarstone on the kitchen counters for contemporary look. The quality of the rectified atlas is good, as I have no grout lines, but it did chip when I had dropped a jar from counter and it shows water spots and splats if something is spilled, it gets into the small micro pores in the tile. I had the rep at the house and he brought aqua mix micro scrub and it did not work on the water spots. When you are standing over the tile it looks clean but when you stand away and look from afar you see spots, haze etc. Because it shows water spots, I am not running it into my boys bathroom even though I had purchased enough tile to do so. I can't image what it would do in the shower. For the amount of money I paid, the upkeep is more work than what I wanted. If you go with the Atlas product, make sure you look at it from afar in the sun and different light after spilling drops of water on it etc. I wish I knew what was causing this issue I have had , but no cleaner or scrubbing can lift the water spots. I had a bucket of mop water , plain water, and after a few hours when I moved the bucket it left a ring on the tile. You don't see the ring over it but only from afar. Drives me crazy. Oh, and I have city water. Once my son spilt lemonade and I wiped it up immediately then mopped it and it left a splat/spill mark . I'm thinking there is a sealer on at the manufacturer and the acid in the lemonade removed it leaving a dull splat.

  • KevinMP
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I've never seen it in person, but I have seen the Rex, and it's very nice, too.

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lillo, I don't remember what she told me :( At least several weeks. I will double check tomorrow when I go and check on some other ideas I have for the floor. The show room staff seem very reliable and helpful. My installation is a ways off as I plan and demo the room.

    Sofla, the staining sounds interesting. I will ask about that when I take the sample back. I have heard that porcelain is to be sealed. That was just a few weeks ago and I can't remember where I saw that info. I was surprised at that bit of info. I assumed it was sealed by virtue of being glazed. I wonder if the matte finish is more problematic than the polished? Very interesting and I would like more info on that.

    Kevin, the Rex I saw was very wild and beautiful. I am going to look at it again. Now with Sofla's information about water spotting, I'm thinking that the polished tiled walls may be better than the matte finish. But I plan to find out about the practice of sealing porcelain.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Enduring, I can't believe what we are going through !! Every time one thinks that he has found his quest , something pops up . Who would have guessed what Sofla is going through ? Now we are talking about sealing porcelain ??? This is what scares me of settling on a certain choice , after spending so much time checking and researching . Thinking that you have found your quest , only to find out that your nightmare begun . Do you have to take each tile sample home and try to dump everything in your fridge and pantry on it ? After all that you discover that it stains from water !!! i think we should write a book ( Memories of a remodeler ) . Back to my choices , I will move away from mate porcelain . If I have to use sealant anyway, so better use it with real marble . I hope that i can find tomorrow ,the marble tile that I need , for an affordable price . I'll keep you posted .

  • VictoriaElizabeth
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have no idea whether this will be helpful or not… seems you've sort of narrowed it down... but I went through your SAME experience/agony/never-ending search for porcelain look-alike-marble.

    I chose Peronda museam in Bianca carrara.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Our porcelain tile.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you VictorianElizabeth for your for feedback . I looked into your tile when looking at your finished bathroom . However I thought the price was outrageous . It's listed at $25.73 the square foot . I tried to look for a dealer next to me , but the link on the sight is broken . I love it on your floor . I love the way it shines . I'll just go the hard way ( sealing and using only water to clean ) to get that look .

  • ctkathy
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Have any of you compared the Porcelanosa Marmol Carrara Blanco which comes in gloss or matte in floor and wall? It is in a reasonable price bracket but I don't see it mentioned here.

  • enduring
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lillo, I just asked about the shipment from Italy, 8-10 weeks. It comes by boat :) I am ordering the 12x24 by weeks end. It will go in my shower. I'll keep you posted.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you ctKathy for your suggestion , but I got really tired of trying to find the white porcelain fake mable , that I finally went with the real stuff for my floors and vanity , and white ceramic for my shower .
    Enduring, 8 to 10 weeks , wow , is it coming swimming ? My marble slabs for vanity and tub deck , are in water now . I hope they are here soon . The marble place said 2 weeks. Here is a picture of some of the real stuff that I got today . I chose the ones that are white with little veining ( this is what I like )and they are polished .

  • ctkathy
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I didn't even try to match countertops to floor in marble. Too frustrating. I am using Caesarstone countertops in Haze and carrara stone for floors, shower, etc however I would have used the porcelain carrara if I could have found a nice one that I liked with a white background. The one quality that differentiates porcelain from stone is the translucency. I thought I found it in the Porcelanosa but it is 4/6 weeks delivery and then I did read a couple of reports of the tiles not having too many different patterns of the vein markings.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't know about porcelanoza , but finding a white polished calacata or Carrara porcelain is non existent . All the ones thar I checked are greyish colour or white with a mate finish ( only one the Johnson from the tile shop ) . I really like the look of the white polished stone and seeing it in my bathroom everyday will make me forget the high maintenance needed to keep it without spots . I know that it will get scratched and etched , so what , I will enjoy it and polish it when it's time to sell the house. Hopefully not soon ,because I want to enjoy my new kitchen and bathroom.

  • KevinMP
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Now that's the right attitude.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you KevinMP for your support .
    Now , what kind of sealant did you use ? How many coats ? What product do you use for cleaning ?

  • VictoriaElizabeth
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That price is either wrong!!! Or for a whole box… (there are only a few tiles in each box.) We paid a little less than $9/sf, at a local store. I could have gotten it for less online, but wasn’t worth it to wait when we could get it the same day, and actually put the floor in that weekend.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't know VictoriaElizabeth , I quoted this price from the peronda museum website . Usually , tile price is by the square foot and not by the box . I am pretty sure I looked at the porcelain , not the real marble price .

  • KevinMP
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I used SenGuard by Cosentino. It's the only sealer (permeable) that my local marble and granite yard recommends for white marbles. It's about $200 a container, but that was enough to do my shower and the rest of the bathroom floor and still have some left over. It allegedly lasts 15 years without reapplying.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you KevinMP . I assume that I can use it for counters too ? Do you clean your floors with water ? I heard from a granite installer that all the cleaning products , even specified for marble or granite , would remove your sealant eventually .

  • VictoriaElizabeth
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    $ 7.79/square foot (link below)

    I do get that you've moved on... only posting for clarity, if anyone else might consider it (and so that no one thinks I spent that much on tile.)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Peronda museum tile

  • KevinMP
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I use Marbalex from SCI to clean. I used the SenGuard on my honed calacatta counter and backsplash in the kitchen, too, since I had some leftover from the bathroom.

  • lillo
    Original Author
    10 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you again KevinMP for your help . I will try to find the Sen guard locally , if not I believe there is only one site that sells online.
    Thank you VictoriaElizabeth on your feedback . You can Bragg about your tile with the peronda museum website prices .I wan't tell any body !!!

  • kuchenka
    9 years ago

    Question!

    I'm going to install Carrara porcelain tiles ( Calacatta -design) on the shower walls and bathtub - brick patter ( size 12x12 ) . Is this to busy pattern? Should I change for strait? Floor will be 18 x 18 diagonal pattern - same tiles.

    Please help with answer?

  • enduring
    9 years ago

    Kuchenka, why don't you start your own thread so that you get your specific questions answered for you project. I think what you have asked sounds like the combo will work. I think straight laid tile looks more modern where as offset brick pattern is more traditional. But that is just my opinion. Good luck.


  • kuchenka
    9 years ago

    enduring

    Thank you for you help.......I will do straight laid..... I like more modern look.