Construction of marble flooring

Marble flooring uses polished marble slabs (usually 18-25 mm thick) laid over a mortar bed. It gives a smooth, durable, attractive, easy-to-clean surface, used in halls, temples, offices and houses.

Materials

Marble slabs of uniform colour and thickness (e.g. 300 x 300 or 600 x 600 mm), cement, sand, white cement for joints, and polishing wax.

Construction method

1. Base: clean the concrete sub-floor, remove dust, and wet it.
2. Marking: set levels and lines with a string and level at the floor edges.
3. Mortar bed: spread a 20-30 mm cement-sand mortar (1:4), stiff (just damp) and levelled to the correct slope.
4. Neat cement slurry: spread over the bed so that the slab bonds well.
5. Laying slabs: soaked slabs are placed on the bed starting from a corner or the centre, tapped with a wooden mallet and checked with a straight edge and spirit level. Joints are kept thin (1-2 mm) and straight.
6. Joint filling: after 2-3 days the joints are cleaned and grouted with white or coloured cement paste.
7. Curing: kept wet for 7 days.
8. Grinding and polishing: the floor is ground with a machine with carborundum stones, then polished with oxalic acid and wax.

   marble slab 20 mm      =========
   slurry                 ~~~~~~~~~
   mortar 1:4 (25 mm)     .........
   PCC base               ---------

Precautions: use marble of good quality; keep the bed well compacted; avoid hollow spots and lippage between slabs; do not walk on the floor until it has set (about 3 days).