Buy marble tiles os slabs?

[Marblue]

Hello,
I'm renovating an old apartment and we're going to install a pighes (white marble from Greece) marble floor.

I've got the prices per square meter and the slabs are going to be around 10% more expensive than the 600x600 tiles.

As the rooms are pretty rectangular I think it's going to be much nicer to have big tiles and MAYBE not so much more expensive.

How much do you think would be my loss in the cutting of the slabs into big tiles?

Thanks

 

[Pebbs]

Marblue, you need to find out the exact slab size, before you calculating the loss in the cutting of the slab down to cut to size. That is your first consideration, secondly you have to work out the logistics of getting large format marble into the premises. Also if you are going for large format cut to size slabs then you may have to bring in lifting gear to actually aid the laying of the marble. However you have more control on the quality of the material by buying the marble in slab form, and the results can be spectacular.

Pebbs

 

[Concrete guy]

Ultimately what this will come down to is the size and shape of the block that has been quarried.

If this is a stable marble you may get slabs in the region of 2400 x 1200 - but they won't be square, and the block may taper so that could also determine the maximum size tile viable.

As a general rule of thumb though you're going to lose a minimum of 25% of each slab unless you get lucky.

The advantage of buying the slab though is it would allow a book cut fit - you would have to guarantee to get the whole block and to have all consecutive slabs from that block with none missing (they should all be numbered individually when cut at the factory).