Kitchen Marble-Look Floor in Cordillera Ranch
This kitchen floor in a Cordillera Ranch home was tiled with large-format high-gloss white Calacatta-look porcelain, creating a strong visual contrast with the dark gray gloss cabinetry. The tile is a rectified porcelain format, meaning the edges are machine-cut to precise dimensions, which allows for a very tight grout joint of 1/16 inch that keeps the marble-look continuous across the floor.
The slab beneath was checked for flatness using a 10-foot straightedge before tile was set. Minor low spots were filled with floor-leveling compound and allowed to cure before the tile installation began. Back-buttering each large tile ensured full mortar coverage, which prevents the hollow spots that can cause tile to crack under point loads.
Project Details
| Service | Residential Tile Installation |
|---|---|
| Area | Cordillera Ranch |
| Materials | Large-format rectified Calacatta-look porcelain, floor leveling compound, white polymer thinset |
| Scope | Residential |
| Timeline | Multi-day install |
What We Did
- Checked slab flatness and applied self-leveling compound to low areas, allowing full cure time
- Established layout lines from the visual center of the kitchen, avoiding small cuts at the island and main entry
- Set tiles with back-buttering and a large-notch trowel, verifying coverage before each tile was set
- Grouted with tight-joint unsanded grout in a light gray tone matching the tile's veining
The tight grout joint and high-gloss surface make this floor read as a continuous marble slab rather than individual tiles.
