The advantages and disadvantages of kitchen marble floor tiles

　　Benefits of Marble Kitchen Floors

　　Color: Marble tiles and slabs are available in a wide variety of colors. There are also multicolored marble materials that are available, which feature a variety of hues arranged in the surface of each piece. Since Marble is a natural flooring material, each piece is going to look slightly different from the other, which means that every tile will have its own unique personality.

　　When marble is quarried, it is extracted in large sheets called slabs. These slabs contain natural features which form a symphony of colors across the surface of the piece. When the slab is sliced down into more manageable sizes, each piece is a section of that original natural picture. While it is impossible to perfectly reassemble these pieces, an installation of a single material will feature pieces that tend to match one another.

　　Polish: Unlike many other stone flooring materials, marble is able to take an extremely high polish. This allows manufacturers to get the surface of marble extremely smooth and shiny. Polishing also tends to bring out the colors in the stone making them more noticeable and dramatic.

　　Light: One of the reasons that marble has so often been used in great works of sculpture is that it has a slightly translucent quality. This allows illumination in a room to penetrate the surface of some lighter colored marble materials. In the right light this material can seem to take on a very slight glowing quality. Even in darker marbles the play of light across the surface of the stone can be quite lovely.

　　Natural: Marble is an all natural material that is created by the earth. That means that it is eco friendly and bio degradable, and will not cause pollution at the end of its functional life.

　　Drawbacks of Marble Kitchen Floors

　　Cost: Marble is one of the more expensive kitchen flooring materials on the market and individual 12” X 12” tiles can cost upwards of $5-$10 per sq ft. When dealing with mosaics, larger tiles, slabs, and non standard sizes the price can be even higher then that.

　　Slippery: When polished, marble flooring has a very low coefficient of friction, meaning that it may present a slipping hazard. This is especially true in a kitchen where water and other liquids may occasionally spill on the ground. This can be offset to some extent through the use of floor mats.

　　Scratches: A polished marble tile is relatively easy to scratch; meaning that over time your kitchen floor may be marred by the moving of furniture and the clicking of heals. Repairing a scratched marble tile is a difficult job and usually requires the assistance of a professional.

　　Stains: Marble is a base material, in an acid base relationship. That means that whenever anything which is acidic interacts with it, a chemical reaction will occur, in the form of a rather noticeable stain. In the kitchen you will often have acidic liquids such as sauces and fruit juices splashing and spilling onto the floor, putting the marble in danger of permanently staining.