Gray Marble Living Room Floor in Harbor Gateway

About This Project

A living room floor replacement in a Harbor Gateway home, replacing original 1960s tile with large-format 24x24 dark gray polished marble-look porcelain in a stacked grid pattern. The floor runs continuously from the entry through the living area.

Harbor Gateway's slab homes from this era often have original adhesive residue from previous vinyl flooring layered over the concrete. We ground down the adhesive before applying self-leveling compound to bring the slab to within 1/8 inch flatness over 10 feet. Large-format polished tile amplifies any variation in the substrate — even a 1/4 inch low spot will show as a visible bow in a 24-inch tile. The leveling step is not optional on a job like this.

The tile was set in large-format thinset with back-butter on every piece. Joints are kept to 1/16 inch for a near-seamless look that suits the polished surface.