KnowltonBaugh162
stone wall cladding - Stone is a defining feature in any room and adds instant solidity, luxury and grandness whether you choose to cover all your walls with marble or simply use it for a simple round basin. Although stone is definitely a tough material once installed, the self -builder should take special care to see the delivery and installation process runs smoothly. Dirt from visitors or a careless knock from your power tool could lead to a costly repair bill. Keep the room clean and tidy, check larger items for instance a stone bath, can fit by way of a door entrance (you may have to leave off architrave/frames to allow extra room). The weight of stonework entails that it should be planned in in the home's design stage as load-bearing joists may need to be increased in size or even doubled as much as cope with the weight.
Preparing floors
A fresh concrete screed is the perfect base for stone floor tiles, as long as the concrete is fully cured. New concrete needs to be at least six weeks old and show no indications of remaining moisture. You may need to use a thin screed of self-leveling compound to smooth out any low spots. Again, leave the compound to totally cure before tiling.
If you're working on new flooring grade T&G chipboard panels, double check the edges are fixed at 300mm centers and tile to the surface with a flexible adhesive every one of the trade adhesive manufacturers have powder mixes intended for timber flooring. To get a restoration project, never attempt to tile directly onto old floorboards. Instead, develop a new sub-base with 15mm exterior grade plywood, screwed down at 300mm centers with stainless-steel screws. Stagger the board joints and adjust any uneven floorboards before starting work. Coat the boards with thinned PVA to seal the wood.
Old cork and vinyl floor covering should always be pulled up. Look into the floor beneath is dry, flat and strong enough to support the brand new stone tiling. If you're faced with quarry or ceramic tiles, it's possible to tile directly over the surface as long as there are no signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime the old tile surface to give the adhesive a key' for bonding making set out your new tiles so the grout gaps aren't aligned with the existing floor. The exceptions are shower or wet room walls that should be lined with a waterproof lining panel to provide the tile base.
Installing real stone tiles
The porous surface of many natural stone products ensures they are more vulnerable to staining than glazed tiles. Look into the manufacturer's instructions for precise laying instructions and always seal the surfaces of the tiles, if recommended, before fixing it's too easy to spill adhesive on the tile and not notice. Open the tile packs and work from the 3 packs to evenly distribute any color variation between packs.
Tiling the ground
With a little planning and careful setting out, dramatic stone flooring is really as easy as tiling a wall. There's usually less cutting around awkward shapes compared to wall tiles and you're simply not fighting against gravity. Remove skirting boards and door thresholds prior to starting work. In the starting off stages, it's important to make sure the tiles look completely from the entrance to the room. Often walls are bowed or away from true so check your measurements in many places along each wall. It is slightly more but a powder mix rapid-setting adhesive is the greatest option for most floors. It will reach full strength within 24 hours so the remaining portion of the build isn't delayed.
Finally, plan in any movement joints required. They're 6/8mm wide and filled up with flexible filler which allows for movement and prevents tile damage. These joints are typically installed where flooring abuts walling, steps, columns or any other hard objects on large floor areas as well as over structural movement joints. Floors less than four meters between walls is not going to normally need movement joints.
STEP-BY-STEP
1 Get the mid-points of the two longest walls and snap a chalk line throughout the room between these points. Repeat for the shorter walls but adjust the line so that it passes with the center of the first line at right angles. Make an effort to work with as many whole tiles as you possibly can, even if it means adjusting the grout line width slightly.
2 Lay tiles over the two lines to ascertain if they look right from the entranceway. If any gaps in the walls are not even half a tile wide, shift the line across to make more of a gap. Also move the guide lines to ensure that tiles around a dominant feature (e.g. a fire or French windows) are symmetrical and there are whole tiles at the doorway.
3 Spread about one square meter of tile adhesive/grout into one of many right angles produced by the two crossing chalk lines. Scrap the notched edge of the trowel across the mix to create ridges of the same thickness.
4 Lay the initial tiles along the edge of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles in place, making sure they also lineup with the other center line. Add plastic spacers each and every corner to keep them exactly the same distance apart for grouting.
5 Work outwards from your middle of the room in anticipation of having laid all the whole tiles on one half of the floor. Make use of a spirit level to determine the tiles are at exactly the same level. Now move across for the other side of the longest center line and add the remainder of the whole tiles. Leave to create for 24 hours.
6 Utilize the tile cutter to trim the extra edge tiles to the right shape. Look at the space at both ends in case the walls are uneven and remember to allow for the grouting gap. Always wear goggles and gloves when cutting tiles.
7 Leave the adhesive setting for at least 12 hours, then grout involving the tiles with the adhesive/grout. Force the mix into the gaps with a squeegee, working from side to side or over and down the tiles.
8 For wide joint lines, operate a piece of hosepipe over the grouting surface. Wipe off any grout in the tiles with a damp sponge, before it sets hard.
Wall tiling
Gemstone tiles add a touch of luxury to your rooms. There's no special trick to locating out how many tiles you will require, just measure the height and width with the area and multiply these together to offer the area to be tiled. Divide this figure by the area of a single tile (e.g. a 10x10cm tile posseses an area of 100cm) to give the quantity of tiles you need. Add 10 % for cutting and wastage. Installation is equivalent to for ceramic tiles however, you will need an electric tile cutter having a diamond wheel and the capacity to tackle your chosen depth of tile. Most basic stone is easier to reduce than ceramic. The extra weight of real stone ought to be considered use strong battens, at least 50mm wide and screwed towards the wall, to support the beds base line of tiles.
Use a saw tile to cut a tile to fit around an awkward shape such as a pipe or architrave. If you wish to cut a curve, to match around the side of a basin for example, make a card template exactly the same size as the tile. Make cuts about 10mm spacing along the curve edge and press website into position. Trim the 10mm strips to suit exactly around the curve and transfer this contour around the tile. Remember to leave at least 2mm for grouting.
STEP-BY-STEP
1 To prevent lots of cut tiles or even an unbalanced look, make-up a tile gauge (a batten with all the tile dimensions and grout spaces marked across the edge) to plan the positions with the tiles so that the tops with the last row of tiles under any window is going to be exactly flush with the ledge. You may find you will have to cut the bottom row of tiles.
2 Screw a batten for the wall along the line you have marked. Check with a spirit level it's horizontal. Fix another upright batten along the left side of the area to be tiled. Again, work with a spirit level to ensure it's vertical.
3 Spread the adhesive/grout over about 50 % a square meter with the wall, starting within the corner made by the two battens. Use the notched side from the spreader to form even ribbons of adhesive. This is particularly important for heavy stone tiles. Usually of thumb, 6mm notched spreaders bring walls and 10mm versions for floors.
4 Begin to tile, pressing the tiles gently on the wall and sliding into position unless you see adhesive squeeze out across the sides. Press spacers into each corner and hold a spirit level throughout the tiles to see if they form an appartment surface. Continue to tile, working on about a square meter at the same time until you've fixed all the whole tiles. Clean off adhesive from your tile surface as you work.
5 Next, lay tiles along the sides and front with the window reveal in order that they cover the edges from the wall tiles. Wipe off any adhesive before it has dried with a damp sponge.
6 Leave the splashback to dry fully before detaching the timber battens. Now cut the tiles to fit into any gaps in the bottom of the splashback and at the leading and sides with the window reveal. Fix in position.
7 When all of the tiles are fixed, leave to dry. Force more adhesive/grout to the gaps between the tiles using a squeegee. Wipe off all of the excess grout with a damp sponge, rinsed out regularly in clean water. When the surface is dry, polish having a dry cloth.
8 To make a flexible waterproof seal new tiles plus a worktop, run a bead of waterproof sealant around the bottom of the tiles.
TIPS
If you're tiling around an acrylic bath, half fill with water to make the rim flex to the maximum extent before filling the gap with a bathroom sealant.
Make screw holes for bathroom accessories with a masonry drill bit. To avoid the bit slipping and damaging the outer lining, stick some masking tape within the area to be drilled.
Buy all of the tiles you will need at once if possible to avoid any differences between batches.
If you want to form a pattern, draw an agenda of the room on graph paper to ensure the pattern can look in proportion and symmetrical.
To tile an area that has to be used everyday, tile half of the area at the same time so you can still walk over the bare floor as the tile adhesive sets. If you discover you are working slowly and also the adhesive is beginning setting, only spread around half a square meter at a time. It's essential the adhesive is still wet when the tiles are increasingly being fixed.
Fireplaces
Stone Fireplaces are a defining feature to get a lounge or dining room, making the perfect frame to a wood, coal or gas fire. Obviously, any chimney linings ought to be pre-installed in your self-build project as well as the surround really does come at the final stages with the project. Most companies offer a design and install service that's worth the money for such large and dear objects. Otherwise, look at your builder is happy to defend myself against the job. It may need extra lifting equipment but the installation process isn't complicated. You can choose anything from the clean lines of the contemporary fireplace to some reproduction Regency style or make contact with an architectural salvage yard for any genuine period piece. Most yards will also undertake restoration work on stone and marble fireplaces.
Baths and basins
Baths, basins and washstands may be either stone resin or solid stone. There is a wide range of colors provided by off-whites to reds, browns and blacks. Keep in mind the loading on a suspended floor baths can weigh from 200 to 500kg or even more.
As well as the luxury of a solid stone basin, a few of the modern designs may also be breathtaking, with open wave forms, travertine mosaic and deceptively thin slab designs.
Worktops
Granite is regarded as the popular of the natural stonework surfaces. You can clean and contrasts well with lighter wood carcases. Marble and limestone look good but are softer and will scratch or stain. When you plan your kitchen, ensure the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights as much as 90kgs per square meter average to get a 30mm solid granite top. You can also specify 40mm tops, produced from two 20mm layers with a ply central insert to lessen the weight. Your kitchen supplier should alter the design and add extra support around sink cut-outs and appliances. The suppliers will even need a clear work space so all sinks and hobs should be removed and kept clear of the work area. If you can, don't install the wall sockets until following the worktop is fitted this may avoid any accidental damage as the stone is slid into position over the units. With respect to the shape and size of each factor, the suppliers may suggest extra joints in solid granite worktops since the grain structure can be very vulnerable to cracking if there's any stress over longer lengths or around narrow cut-out areas. Don't forget to order matching granite up-stands
for your walls. These are around 100m high with polished surfaces and edges. Color-matched silicone sealant can be used for the jointing. As with sanitary items, composite quartzite can reduce the price of the kitchen but nevertheless give some of the solidity and feel of a real stone. In addition, it has the advantage of grain consistency and a wide range of solid reds, blues, greens plus more neutral tones.
Cleaning and maintenance
stone wall - Keep a copy from the care and maintenance instructions given your stonework as sealants and care procedures vary. Granite surfaces for example worktops don't need too much specialist cleaning because the surface doesn't absorb stains in the same manner as a softer travertine stone.
Wipe up any spills as quickly as possible, especially liquids including acidic juices and alcohol. Fine grit will be the big enemy of natural stone flooring as ground in particles cause striations than eventually dull the outer lining. Use a mop, soft brush or vacuum to collect up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and tepid to warm water will remove grease and other light stains but make sure the floor is dried using a soft cloth to stop a film build of residues.
Stone should only need resealing every 3-5 years approximately and some products won't ever need resealing. After installing any natural stone, it's essential to clean up any mortar/adhesive residue right away as the resin-based adhesives bond' the stone surface and therefore are extremely difficult to clean up when cured. For bathroom and kitchen installations, avoid using any wax or soap cleaners for at least the first six weeks. Otherwise, the stone pores will become clogged and restrict the evaporation from your mortar/adhesive.
