Cultured Marble

STUNNING CULTURED MARBLE

Cultured marble is a uniquely beautiful material for your countertop. If you are considering hiring a designer, you should weigh the collective costs of such services combined with those of a fabricator plus a contractor. When you entrust your countertop needs to Emco-Williams, you need only deal with us for each step of the process. We make your counter from the highest quality slab available and install it professionally in your home. Little maintenance and great versatility make it a popular choice. We serve commercial, residential and industrial clients, so no matter what your granite needs entail, we are at your service.

Cultured marble is a combination of crushed marble (mined from the mountains of Alabama and Georgia) and a specially formulated, high strength polyester resin. Then mixed together and poured into a mold to form your finished product. All cultured marble products have a protective polyester gel coat on the surface that protects it from stains and gives it the high-gloss finish. Marble shines best in the bathroom. You can use it on almost every surface, including shower walls, tub decks and flooring. Cultured marble is a manufactured product, and like natural marble and granite, it varies in shade and color.

Some cultured marble products we offer are:

Custom shower enclosures & low-threshold showers
Tub enclosures
Tub decks and aprons

Some advantages are:

Beauty – Elegant, luxurious appearance
Durability – High strength, resistant to denting, chipping, abrasion and staining (with normal use and proper maintenance)
Lower cost – The casting process enables the manufacturer to produce cultured marble substantially lower than quarried marble
Seamless construction – Vanity tops can be cast in one piece (up to 12 feet in length) with integral bowls and back splash, minimizing seams
Water and mildew resistant – Silicone is used to seal the seams, and it is much less likely to leak or mildew than ceramic tile installations that use porous grout. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to inspect and maintain all silicone joints. As houses settle and move, there is the opportunity for the joints to separate. This situation should be corrected as soon as possible so that more serious problems do not develop.
Low-threshold handicap showers – custom-designed to suit your needs

Beauty – Elegant, luxurious appearance
Durability – High strength, resistant to denting, chipping, abrasion and staining (with normal use and proper maintenance)
Lower cost – The casting process enables the manufacturer to produce cultured marble substantially lower than quarried marble

Water and mildew resistant – Silicone is used to seal the seams, and it is much less likely to leak or mildew than ceramic tile installations that use porous grout. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to inspect and maintain all silicone joints. As houses settle and move, there is the opportunity for the joints to separate. This situation should be corrected as soon as possible so that more serious problems do not develop.
Low-threshold handicap showers – custom-designed to suit your needs

Uses and Benefits

Where can cultured marble be used?

Cultured marble can be used just about anywhere inside a building. It's primarily designed for use in residential bathrooms as shower and tub wall linings.

Cultured marble has been used as flooring in some bathrooms, however it is not totally suited for frequent foot traffic. Nor is it really designed for kitchen countertops.

Commercially

Cultured marble is used in many hotels, motels, fitness centers, nursing homes, hospitals and restaurants. The main benefit of cultured marble over other products is the ability to eliminate most seams. This means there are fewer areas for mildew to grow, and leaks to start. Cultured marble baths are not totally seamless but compare 247 inches of smooth 25-year silicon to the 4000 inches of rough and porous grout line found in the average tub-shower walls.

Aside from the technical aspect, cultured marble gives you, unlike any other product, the ability to coordinate your bathroom the way you want to. Choose items in matching or contrasting colors from the sink to tub or shower and surrounding walls, all sized and shaped to fit your particular needs.

Caring for and Maintaining Cultured Marble

Regular cleaning with generally available nonabrasive liquid or foam cleaners is all that is needed to maintain the beauty of our products. Just using a squeegee on shower walls after each shower keeps the walls spotless! If you’d like, try some of the newest products on the market, such as Clorox Bathroom Cleaner with Teflon® or Tilex Fresh Shower Daily Shower Cleaner®. Be sure you read and follow the manufacturer application directions carefully.

To remove soap buildup, use Tilex Soap Scum Remover™ Hard water buildup comes clean with a mild solution of vinegar and water. Very difficult stains can be treated with most lime and rust stain removers. Be sure to rinse the cultured marble well after using any of these cleaning products.

A whirlpool tub used on a regular basis helps prevent buildup in the water lines. Mineral baths and oils are not recommended. Use a spa and tub cleaner periodically to prevent residue in the system. This product is available at spa and pool companies. Follow the instructions for cleaning whirlpool tubs.

Shower floors can be cleaned with any of the nonabrasive cleaners: spray and leave on for five minutes, then scrub with a soft-bristled brush to remove soap residue. Rinse thoroughly.

Polish your shower walls at regular intervals with a nonabrasive liquid auto wax or Gel Gloss™. This will maintain the lustrous finish and make your marble products even easier to clean.

Minor surface scratches may be buffed out using a polishing compound and a buffer. A professional repair company should repair a deep scratch or chip.

Recommended Cleaning Products:

If you don’t see your favorite cleaning product on this list, be sure to check the back label to see that the product is safe for use on synthetic marble. Make sure not to use any abrasive cleaners. Products that contain grit or sand can harm the finish on your new marble and may void your warranty.

Product Warranty

Emco-Williams, Inc. warrants that all of its Cultured Marble and Cultured Granite products (“product”) will be free from defect in material and workmanship for a period of 1-year from the date of sale if the product is put to Residential use (Single Family Residences) and 1-year from the date of sale if the product is put to Commercial and multiResidential use (Apartments, Condos, Business). If any product is found to be defective within the applicable period referred to in the previous sentence, we will, at our sole discretion, either repair or replace the defective product at our place of business. Emco-Williams Inc. is by no way responsible for costs associated with removal, installation, transportation, or any other costs or damages associated with the repair or replacement of our product under this warranty.

Emco-Williams, Inc. samples are shown only as a guide, with variations in shading and veining occurring from batch to batch. Our product is made from mined material which has slight variations in colors, and therefore we cannot and do not guarantee that our product will exactly match the color or veining of our color samples.

Our warranty does not cover damage to the product due to abnormal use of the product, transportation of the product, installation of the product, use of excessively hot water on the product, or use of harmful cleaning products on the product. If damage is due to any of the reasons outlined in the previous sentence, this warranty shall automatically be voided. Our warranty is non-transferable.

Serving East Tennessee

If you are considering updating your home or commercial space with stone and are wondering which material to choose, there’s a reason cultured marble may be at the top of your list. This material offers a uniquely beautiful effect in your bathroom or kitchen, and there’s no better supplier in East Tennessee than Emco-Williams. If you want to put an impressive finish on your home in Knoxville, we can help you do so with granite shower enclosures and counters. You can schedule an appointment by reaching out to us at 865-453-8545.