Marble Basics

    Marble is to the home as diamond jewelry is to women: timeless, classic and undeniably luxurious. Part of marble's lure is due to its romantic history. After all, one of the most famous and perhaps controversial statues was carved from Carrara marble: Michelangelo's David. But as much as we'd like to believe we crave marble for its cultural aspects, in reality we love it for the way it looks.
    Marble is beautiful. Some might even argue that marble is the most beautiful stone we can use in our homes. But before you run out and buy marble tiles for your new bathroom or kitchen, there are a few things you need to know.
   

What is Marble?

     Many people often confuse marble with granite, but the two rocks are very different. On the superficial level, you can easily see the difference between marble and granite. Marble has streaks of color running through it that is known as veining; whereas, granite has flecks of color and no veins.
    In addition to varying in looks, marble and granite vary in chemical structure. Marble is made of calcium carbonate, or in scientific terms CaCO3; whereas, granite is made of magma, according to the director of the Vermont Marble Museum, Robert Pye.
    The differing chemical compositions cause marble and granite to react differently in the home. Many generalize that granite is more durable than marble, but according to Pye that is not completely accurate. Overall, marble is a porous rock that can stain and chip; however, some marbles are much more durable than others.
"Many people make the assumption that marbles are not necessarily suitable for home use particularly in kitchens simply because they are not aware of the Serpentine Class of marbles which are much harder and basically overcome all the objections of staining and scratching," Pye said.
    "The white marbles you can generalize are the softer range of stones but if you, say you wanted to get into something that was extremely durable or almost bulletproof, if you got into the Serpentine class of marbles, that's a marble that you can certainly live with without, well with very little care, I mean everything requires care and maintenance, but the Serpentines are very low maintenance," Pye said.
    Typically the darker the marble or granite, the less likely it is to chip or stain, according to Pye. But to be safe, always consult a stone expert before picking a marble or granite.


Selecting a Marble
    
    Find an Experience Distributor: While a trip to your big box home store may be where you had in mind, an experienced stone distributor probably will be a better bet.
     "You should pick someone who has been in the business for quite a while that can [get stone from] all over the United States or all over the world," Pye said. "They're going to have a broader range of knowledge from their experience. They're also going to be able to offer you what you really want rather than just what they happen to have in stock at that time."
    Being able to choose from a large assortment of marble will make finding a marble that fits both your lifestyle and color scheme much easier.

    See the Marble Slab You're Going to Buy: You may think that seeing a sample of the marble you want is enough, but don't count on it. Two pieces of the same marble can look drastically different.
    "I always advise people to see the very slab they're going to purchase," Pye said. "You'll notice these two adjacent panels are the same stone quarried from the same quarry, but there are some distinct differences in the color as you can see. This one has a lighter green and this has a deeper range and a lot more white intrusion."
    So before you sign off and purchase a marble slab, look at it. Make sure it has the color and veining you like. Otherwise you may come home to a marble you hate.