Choosing Between Subway Tile and Square Tile for Your Floor: A Comprehensive Guide
Choosing Between Subway Tile and Square Tile for Your Floor: A Comprehensive Guide
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Thank you for your feedback. We’d like to clarify this for future customers.
The item purchased is 2x2 tumbled black marble, which is a natural stone. As clearly noted in the product description, tumbled marble must be sealed to reveal its true, enriched color. When unsealed, black marble will naturally appear lighter, dusty, or grayish—this is normal and expected. Once a sealer is applied, the color deepens significantly and becomes much darker, showing the true black tone of the stone.
A simple way to preview the final color before sealing is to apply a small amount of water to the surface (for example, with a damp cloth). This temporarily shows how the marble will look after sealing.
The material provided was correct, authentic, and consistent with the listing. Because this is a natural stone characteristic—not a defect—and the product was not returned, a refund is not applicable.
We always encourage customers to review installation and care notes carefully, as proper sealing is an essential step for tumbled marble to achieve its intended appearance.
If accuracy matters to you, do not skip getting a sample. I needed a travertine tile matching the specs including the thickness listed on the Surfaces Garlore Website. I swapped messages & chatted to confirm the dimensions & inventory. Thank goodness I also requested the sample, the actual tile was over 1/8" off the listed specs for thickness--a complete disaster if I had actually followed thru to a purchase & ship across the several states from Anaheim to my jobsite. Although the color of the tile, the brushed finish & the edge detail were right, the THICKNESS was very much not right--unfortunately for me, I am now back to my search & frustrated that my questions prior to samples were basically not replied to with accuracy. Travertine is a beautiful natural product & variance between lots happens--this just shows sloppy business practice & really poor custormer service.
Thank you for sharing your feedback and for taking the time to order a sample.
To clarify from the beginning: the item description and specification on our website accurately reflect the production material, and the thickness is clearly stated on the specification page. Samples are provided to show color range, surface finish, and edge detail only. Samples are not intended to represent exact size or thickness tolerances, which are always listed separately under product specifications.
As noted on our product page, all dimensions listed are nominal, which is standard across the natural stone industry. Travertine is a natural material, and variations in thickness, color, surface texture, and edge detail are normal and expected, especially with unfilled, brushed, and chiseled-edge finishes.
For additional clarity, 18x18 travertine tiles are produced at a nominal thickness of approximately 1/2 inch across the industry. A true 3/8' thickness in an 18x18 travertine tile is not an industry-standard production and is generally not available due to structural and handling limitations of natural stone at that size.
This is precisely why we strongly recommend ordering a sample before placing a full order—to physically review the material’s characteristics prior to shipment. In this case, the sample fulfilled its purpose by confirming whether the material met your project requirements before committing to a cross-country order.
The fact that the color, brushed finish, and chiseled edge met your expectations confirms that the sample accurately represents the production material supplied by the quarry and factory.
We understand that exact tolerances can be critical for certain projects; however, natural stone is not a manufactured product, and exact thickness uniformity cannot be guaranteed.
We appreciate your feedback and wish you the best with your project moving forward.
Looks like a great product. I cannot wait to order this for our project.
I like the color and I think it will complement my bathroom.