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jimt_oh

How to set a marble and wood floor

JimT_OH
10 years ago

I will be laying a dining room floor that has both wood and marble. The wood is bamboo and will be in the form of a lattice. See pics for an example of what I will be doing. The marble will fill in the lattice. I have already put down hardie board (with thinset).

Is there something I can use to set both the marble and wood, or do I need to use two different adhesives? Can I use thinset to set both the marble and wood?

Comments (4)

  • _sophiewheeler
    10 years ago

    You don't glue wood to hardiboard. You need to take that up. And you're going to have a problem matching the heights up unless the bamboo is 3/8" instead of 3/4". Or the marble is 3/4" (rare) Have you assessed the joists to know if your floor is actually stiff enough for marble? It has to be twice as stiff as for tile. I'd probably do a layer of 3/4" ply over the subfloor, then nail down the bamboo. Then a 1/4" ply and Kerdi in the center and then (white) thinset the marble. Then use sanded caulk between the wood and marble to take care of the expansion/contraction of the wood which would just chunk any grout you used out of there. But, you'd still be left with the different care requirements of the two materials. Keeping the marble sealed within that grid of wood will be an ongoing major chore. You have to be careful not to slop the stone sealer onto the wood.

    This is one of those things that looks better than it lives.

  • JimT_OH
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Does anyone know of something I can use to lay both wood and marble?

  • GreenDesigns
    10 years ago

    There is nothing that is an appropriate adhesive for those diverse materials, much less on hardi. You've received some good advice, especially the use of the sanded caulk instead of grout. You should have researched this before you got ahead of yourself and put down the hardi. Now it will have to be removed. Wood and cement board doesn't co-exist together.

  • lolli
    10 years ago

    I had been considering installing a similar floor in my dining but got scared off. The information you are providing is very helpful. Would a porcelain/ceramic tile achieve a better installation than a natural stone? Correct me if I am wrong but the care would be easier because you don't have to seal the wood - right?

    Also, would a concrete slab subfloor eliminate some of the issues? Can't the bamboo be glued directly to concrete? How would that be different than hardiboard?