Preparing for Installation

• Purchase the marble tiles from a stone supplier. They are normally sold cut into one-foot squares. You also need a wet saw, thinset adhesive, a trowel, a squeegee, and cement or non-sanded grout. You can find these supplies at hardware stores.
  
  If any flooring is currently in place, completely remove it, along with the baseboards, which can be pried from the wall. If you have hardwood floors, you can also remove the flooring by prying it up. Carpet should be cut along the edges, and then pulled up. Make sure to remove any nails, staples, or tacks in the floor.
  
  Once the current flooring is removed, lay the tiles along the floor to see how they fit. Leave a small gap between the tiles, less than 1 centimeter wide. You can use tile spacers to ensure uniform gaps. Along the walls, some of the tiles will not fit. Use the wet saw to cut these tiles to the correct shape. Once you have found an arrangement for the tiles, and cut the tiles lining the wall, you can remove them. You may want to take a picture so you can remember the placement.
  
  

Installation

• Cover the floor with thinset adhesive. Use the trowel to smooth it out across the floor. Then place the tiles back in the arrangement you created earlier. If you want to make sure the spacing is equal between the tiles, use the tile spacers again. After placing the tiles, wait one day for the thinset to dry.
  
  After the thinset has dried, you can fill the gaps between the tiles with either cement or non-sanded grout. Do not use sanded grout, or you risk leaving scrapes on the edges of the marble tiles. The squeegee will allow you to wipe away excess cement or grout and to spread it evenly through the cracks. Wipe away any cement that spills onto the top of the tiles before it dries.
  
  It is best to get the cement smoothed out completely before it dries. Trying to sand the cement later could damage the marble.