I am planning a kitchen floor retile project, I'm initially researching tile selection. I was comparing two tiles and someone at a big box retailer told me that while marble tiles look nicer, they have the disadvantage of being more difficult to maintain.
He said marble tiles are porous, and thus they stain more easily. They are also more prone to chipping.
How true is this?
As far as staining goes, both the porcelain and the marble (marfil actually, unsure if this matters) have a shiny "polished" finish… And thus they seem smooth and at first glance, non penetrable with liquids, i.e., tea/coffee stains, etc.
Best Answer
The guy at the store is correct. If the marble is not taking on any water now it is because they are sealed, it is a maintenance item, that will need to be resealed every 5 years at the least with heavy traffic, 7-10 years with light traffic with a penetrating sealer. A kitchen floor is definitely heavy traffic.
The porcelain tile is non porous, just the grout will need to be sealed as a maintenance item, according to the same guidelines as mentioned above.
FWIW, both will chip or crack if something heavy enough drops on it.