I read the Oct/Nov 1995 Issue 98, pages 86-89, titled Tiling a Shower with Marble. If you butt the marble tiles together and grout to fill hairline gaps how do you prevent capillary action from wicking moisture between the marble tiles?
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>> ... how do you prevent capillary action from wicking moisture ...
You don't. All tile installations leak, more or less. That's why you have to have a waterproof shower pan with weep holes around the drain, to give the water that gets under the tiles someplace to go.
Thanks,
My tile application is on the wall, what I am worried about is moisture wicking behind the tiles to the cement board and being trapped there against the vapor retarder. Two of the walls that will have tile are on outside walls, R 30 insulation. I was hoping there was an installtion method where I could seal each seam as I set the tile. I have coated the marble with a marble sealer on all sides.
I don't think you have anything to worry about, unless the shower is in use many hours per day or you live in a really damp climate. Any water that wicks between the tiles during a shower will start wicking right back out as soon as the air in the shower is dryer than the cement board.The place to go for authoritative tile answers is the John Bridge forum, http://www.johnbridge.com . I haven't needed to go there myself, but I see knowledgable people at Breaktime recommending it.