Natural stone installation in Batumi: marble and travertine interiors

Which stone goes where

Marble, travertine and limestone are soft and consist mainly of calcium carbonate: sand scratches them, and acid dissolves the surface. Granite and quartzite are harder, and household acids barely affect them. Onyx is brittle and translucent, and it is used on backlit walls.

Choosing slabs from the batch and a dry lay

A showroom sample shows the type of stone, but every slab has its own pattern and shade. That is why we choose stone from a specific batch: we look at the slabs at the warehouse together with you, or send a video of each slab if you are abroad.

Before laying, we set the slabs out on the floor without adhesive and move them around until the veins sit calmly, then number the backs. We order more spare stone than we would for porcelain tiles: a year later the same batch is usually impossible to find. On a bathroom wall, slabs are sometimes book-matched, so that neighbouring slabs mirror each other's pattern. For this they are cut in sequence from one block, and a batch like that is ordered in advance.

Base and adhesive: why white

Light marble is translucent to a depth of several millimetres, and grey cement shows through it as a shadow. That is why we lay marble and light travertine on white adhesive.

Stone also absorbs water from the adhesive. If the adhesive takes a long time to dry, the water carries salts and iron compounds to the face, and yellow and rust stains appear on white marble. For these types we use a white rapid-setting adhesive. Stone that warps when wet, such as some green marbles, goes on a two-component reactive adhesive that contains no water.

We apply adhesive to both the base and the back of the slab, because marble over a void cracks on impact. We prepare the base the same way as for large-format porcelain: a heavy slab can't be levelled over an uneven base with adhesive. In a bathroom we always put waterproofing carried up onto the walls under the stone, because stone and its joints let water through.

Natural stone installation in Batumi: joints and cuts

We lay polished marble with a narrow joint, 1–2 mm, and a grout that matches the stone. A wide joint chops the pattern up into squares.

We cut with a wet saw and a diamond blade: on a dry cut the edge of soft stone crumbles, and the pores of travertine break out. We try not to leave a narrow strip at a cut running along a vein, as a strip like that often snaps along the vein. We order steps with a ready-made rounded edge to our measurements, and mitre the corners of niches and reveals.

Grinding, polishing and sealing after laying

Stone tiles are less precisely calibrated than porcelain, and lips of a fraction of a millimetre remain between neighbouring tiles. On a floor, grinding removes them: once the adhesive has gained strength, the floor is gone over with a machine fitted with diamond pads, from coarse grit to fine, and the joints disappear.

Then we polish the surface to a shine or leave it matt. In an apartment by the sea we more often recommend matt: scratches from sand and acid marks show less on it, and when wet it is less slippery than polished stone.

An impregnating sealer soaks into the pores and doesn't form a film on the surface. We seal travertine and light marble before grouting, so that the grout pigment doesn't get into the pores, and seal them again after grinding.

What damages stone in an apartment

In the bathroom, the main acids come in bottles: limescale removers, toilet cleaners and products for glass shower screens. In the kitchen it is lemon, wine and vinegar, and on the hallway floor, sand. A sealer protects against stains but not against acid: a dull mark is left even on sealed marble. If a cleaner looks after the apartment, the stone needs a note on how to clean it and a pH-neutral product kept nearby, which is what we do for cleaning between guests as well.

For a short-term rental apartment, we recommend stone for walls only. For the floor and the worktop, marble-look porcelain is the better choice: guests don't read notes, and a glass of wine on polished marble leaves a mark within an evening.

How to sign off stonework

We sign off stone in daylight and with a torch:

• light stone has no grey shadows from the adhesive and no rust stains;
• after grinding, the floor is smooth at the joints, and the shine or matt finish is even across the whole area;
• the joints are narrow and straight, the grout matches the stone, and there is no cloudy haze in the pores of travertine;
• tapping reveals no hollow areas, especially at the corners and on steps;
• a drop of water on the sealed surface beads up and doesn't darken the stone.

How much natural stone installation costs in Batumi

Laying marble and travertine costs from 93 to 145 ₾ per m². That is labour only: the stone, adhesive and polishing are not included. Stone grinding, polishing and sealing after laying is a separate line, from 51 to 72 ₾ per m².

Material prices vary widely: travertine costs from 81 to 110 ₾ per m², and marble from 310 to 420 ₾ per m². The laying price goes up with walls and steps, large slabs, book-matching and work with reactive adhesive. A floor in a rectangular room in calibrated tiles with a bevelled edge, which don't need grinding, comes out cheaper. The final cost is set after the site measurement and once the estimate is agreed.