KnowltonBaugh162
stone wall cladding - Stone is a defining feature in a 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 an extremely 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 the power tool could lead to a pricey repair bill. Maintain the room clean and tidy, check larger items such as a stone bath, can fit through a door entrance (you may need to leave off architrave/frames allowing 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 dimensions or even doubled as much as cope with the weight.
Preparing floors
A brand new concrete screed is the perfect base for stone flooring, as long as the concrete is fully cured. New concrete ought to be at least six weeks old and show no indications of remaining moisture. You may have to use a thin screed of self-leveling compound to even 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, check the edges are fixed at 300mm centers and tile on the surface with a flexible adhesive all of the trade adhesive manufacturers have powder mixes intended for timber flooring. For a restoration project, never try to tile directly onto old floorboards. Instead, develop a new sub-base with 15mm exterior grade plywood, screwed down at 300mm centers with stainless 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 carpeting should always be pulled up. Check the floor beneath is dry, flat and powerful enough to support the new stone tiling. If you're up against quarry or ceramic tiles, it's possible to tile directly within the surface as long as there are no signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime that old tile surface to provide the adhesive a key' for bonding and make set out your new tiles so the grout gaps aren't aligned with all 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 the surface of many natural stone products means they are more vulnerable to staining than glazed tiles. Look at the manufacturer's instructions for precise laying instructions and constantly seal the surfaces of the tiles, if recommended, before fixing it's too easy to spill adhesive on a tile and not notice. Open the tile packs and work from the 3 packs to evenly distribute any color variation between packs.
Tiling a floor
With a little planning and careful aiming, dramatic stone flooring can be as easy as tiling a wall. There's usually less cutting around awkward shapes than with wall tiles and you're simply not fighting against gravity. Remove skirting boards and door thresholds prior to starting work. In the aiming stages, it's important to ensure the tiles look straight from the entrance to the room. Often walls are bowed or from true so check your measurements in several places along each wall. It costs slightly more but a powder mix rapid-setting adhesive is the greatest option for most floors. It's going to reach full strength within 24 hours so the remaining build isn't delayed.
Finally, plan in almost any movement joints required. These are 6/8mm wide and full of flexible filler which allows for movement and prevents tile damage. These joints are normally installed where flooring abuts walling, steps, columns or another hard objects on large floor areas and also over structural movement joints. Floors lower than four meters between walls won't normally need movement joints.
STEP-BY-STEP
1 Get the mid-points of the two longest walls and snap a chalk line over the room between these points. Repeat for the shorter walls but adjust the fishing line so that it passes from the center of the first line at right angles. Try to work with as many whole tiles as you can, even if it means adjusting the grout line width slightly.
2 Lay tiles across the two lines to see if they look right from the doorway. If any gaps in the walls are not even half a tile wide, shift the road across to make much more of a gap. Also move the guide lines to ensure that tiles around a dominant feature (e.g. a hearth 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 created by the two crossing chalk lines. Scrap the notched side of the trowel across the mix to make ridges of the same thickness.
4 Lay the initial tiles along the side of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles into position, making sure they also line up with the other center line. Add plastic spacers at each and every corner to keep them exactly the same distance apart for grouting.
5 Work outwards in the middle of the room til you have laid all the whole tiles on a single half of the floor. Work with a spirit level to check the tiles are at the identical level. Now move across for the other side of the longest center line and add all of those other whole tiles. Leave to create for 24 hours.
6 Make use of the tile cutter to trim the edge tiles to the right shape. Appraise the space at both ends in case the walls are uneven please 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 between your tiles with the adhesive/grout. Force a combination into the gaps having a squeegee, working from side to side and up and down the tiles.
8 For wide joint lines, manage a piece of hosepipe over the grouting surface. Wipe off any grout from the tiles with a damp sponge, before it sets hard.
Wall tiling
Stone tiles add a touch of luxury to your rooms. There's no special trick to locating out how many tiles you'll need, just measure the height and width with the area and multiply these together to provide 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 number of tiles you need. Add 10 % for cutting and wastage. Installation matches for ceramic tiles but you will need an electric tile cutter using a diamond wheel as well as the capacity to tackle your best depth of tile. Easiest stone is easier to reduce than ceramic. The excess weight of real stone ought to be considered use strong battens, a minimum of 50mm wide and screwed for the wall, to support the bottom line of tiles.
Work with a saw tile to cut a tile to suit around an awkward shape like a pipe or architrave. If you wish to cut a curve, to match around the side of a basin for example, produce a card template the identical size as the tile. Make cuts about 10mm spacing along the curve edge and press the template into position. Trim the 10mm strips to match exactly around the curve and transfer this fit around the tile. Be sure you leave at least 2mm for grouting.
STEP-BY-STEP
1 In order to avoid lots of cut tiles or an unbalanced look, constitute a tile gauge (a batten using the tile dimensions and grout spaces marked over the edge) to plan the positions with the tiles so that the tops of the last row of tiles under any window will probably be exactly flush with the ledge. You may find you will have to cut the bottom row of tiles.
2 Screw a batten towards the wall along the line you've got marked. Check with a spirit level that it is horizontal. Fix an additional 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 half a square meter of the wall, starting within the corner made by both battens. Use the notched side with the spreader to form even ribbons of adhesive. This is especially important for heavy stone tiles. As a rule of thumb, 6mm notched spreaders can be used for walls and 10mm versions for floors.
4 Start to tile, pressing the tiles gently to the wall and sliding into position until 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 a flat surface. Continue to tile, taking care of about a square meter at a time until you've fixed all the whole tiles. Clean off adhesive from the tile surface while you work.
5 Next, lay tiles along the sides and front of the window reveal so they cover the edges of the wall tiles. Wipe off any adhesive before it has dried with a damp sponge.
6 Leave the splashback to dry fully before removing the timber battens. Now cut the tiles to match into any gaps at the end of the splashback and at the front and sides of the window reveal. Fix set up.
7 When all 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 water that is clean. When the surface is dry, polish using a dry cloth.
8 To create a flexible waterproof seal new tiles plus a worktop, run a bead of waterproof sealant across 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 space with a bathroom sealant.
Make screw holes for bathroom accessories with a masonry drill bit. To stop the bit slipping and damaging the outer lining, stick some masking tape within the area to be drilled.
Buy every one of the tiles you will need at once if possible to avoid any differences between batches.
In order to form a pattern, draw a strategy of the room on graph paper to make certain the pattern will appear in proportion and symmetrical.
To tile an area that has to be used everyday, tile one half of the area at any given time so you can still walk throughout the bare floor while the tile adhesive sets. If you learn you are working slowly as well as the adhesive is beginning to create, only spread around half a square meter at a time. It's essential the adhesive continues to be wet when the tiles are being fixed.
Fireplaces
Stone Fireplaces are a defining feature for a lounge or dining room, making the perfect frame to some wood, coal or gas fire. Of course, any chimney linings needs to be pre-installed in your self-build project as well as the surround really does come in the final stages of the project. Most companies provide a design and install service that's worth the money for such large and expensive objects. Otherwise, look at builder is happy to take on the job. It may need extra lifting equipment nevertheless the installation process isn't complicated. You can choose anything from the clean lines of the contemporary fireplace to some reproduction Regency style or contact 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 could be either stone resin or solid stone. There is a wide range of colors available from off-whites to reds, browns and blacks. Bear in mind the loading on a suspended floor baths can weigh from 200 to 500kg or more.
As well as the luxury of a solid stone basin, some 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. It's easy to clean and contrasts well with lighter wood carcases. Marble and limestone look nice but are softer and will scratch or stain. Once you plan your kitchen, guarantee the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights approximately 90kgs per square meter average to get a 30mm solid granite top. You can also specify 40mm tops, created from two 20mm layers having a ply central insert to cut back 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 needs to be removed and kept away from the work area. If you can, don't install the wall sockets until following the worktop is fitted this can avoid any accidental damage as the stone is slid into place over the units. Depending on the shape and size of each factor, the suppliers might point to extra joints in solid granite worktops since the grain structure can be extremely 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 the walls. These are around 100m high with polished surfaces and edges. Color-matched silicone sealant is utilized for the jointing. As with sanitary items, composite quartzite is able to reduce the price of the kitchen but still give some of the solidity and feel of your real stone. In addition, it has the advantage of grain consistency and a wide range of solid reds, blues, greens and more neutral tones.
Cleaning and maintenance
stone wall - Keep a copy of the care and maintenance instructions provided with your stonework as sealants and care procedures vary. Granite surfaces for example worktops don't need an excessive amount of specialist cleaning since the surface doesn't absorb stains in the same way as a softer travertine stone.
Wipe up any spills as soon as possible, especially liquids including acidic juices and alcohol. Fine grit may be the big enemy of gemstone flooring as ground in particles cause striations than eventually dull the outer lining. Use a mop, soft brush or vacuum to gather up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and tepid to warm water will remove grease and other light stains but guarantee the floor is dried having a soft cloth to avoid a film build of residues.
Stone should just have resealing every 3-5 years roughly and some products will never need resealing. After installing any stone, it's essential to clean up any mortar/adhesive residue straight away as the resin-based adhesives bond' the stone surface and so are extremely difficult to clean up when cured. For kitchen and bathroom installations, avoid using any wax or soap cleaners for around the first six weeks. Otherwise, the stone pores will end up clogged and restrict the evaporation from the mortar/adhesive.
