KnowltonBaugh162

stone wall cladding - Stone is a defining feature in a room and adds instant solidity, luxury and grandness whether you decide to cover all your walls with marble or perhaps use it for a simple round basin. Although stone is definitely an tough material once installed, the self -builder should take special care to see the delivery and installation process runs smoothly. Dirt from foot traffic or a careless knock from a power tool could lead to an expensive 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 to allow extra room). The weight of stonework does mean that it should be planned in at the home's design stage as load-bearing joists should be increased in size or even doubled approximately cope with the weight.

Preparing floors

A brand new concrete screed is the perfect base for stone ceramic tiles, as long as the concrete is fully cured. New concrete needs to be at least six weeks old and show no signs of remaining moisture. You may want to use a thin screed of self-leveling compound to smooth out any low spots. Again, leave the compound to completely cure before tiling.

If you are working on new flooring grade T&G chipboard panels, make sure the edges are fixed at 300mm centers and tile onto the surface with a flexible adhesive all the trade adhesive manufacturers have powder mixes designed for timber flooring. For any 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 prior to starting work. Coat it's with thinned PVA to seal the wood.

Old cork and vinyl flooring should always be pulled up. Look into the floor beneath is dry, flat and powerful enough to support the brand new stone tiling. If you're up against quarry or ceramic tiles, it is possible to tile directly on the surface as long as there aren't any signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime the existing tile surface to give the adhesive a key' for bonding to make set out your new tiles so the grout gaps aren't aligned using the existing floor. The exceptions are shower or wet room walls that ought to be lined with a waterproof lining panel to supply the tile base.

Installing real stone tiles

The porous the surface of many natural stone products ensures they are more vulnerable to staining than glazed tiles. Check the manufacturer's instructions for precise laying instructions and always seal the surfaces with the tiles, if recommended, before fixing it's all too easy to spill adhesive over 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 starting off, 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 make sure the tiles look directly from the entrance to the room. Often walls are bowed or away 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'll reach full strength after as little as 24 hours so the remaining portion of the build isn't delayed.

Finally, plan in a movement joints required. They are 6/8mm wide and filled with flexible filler that allows for movement and prevents tile damage. These joints are normally installed where flooring abuts walling, steps, columns or any other hard objects on large floor areas as well as over structural movement joints. Floors under four meters between walls won't normally need movement joints.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 Find the mid-points of the two longest walls and snap a chalk line over the room between these points. Repeat for your shorter walls but adjust the fishing line so that it passes through 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 over the two lines to check if they look right from the threshold. If any gaps in the walls are less than half a tile wide, shift the line across to make really a gap. Also move the guide lines to ensure that tiles around a dominant feature (e.g. a fireplace or French windows) are symmetrical and there are whole tiles on 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 fringe of the trowel across the mix to form ridges of the same thickness.

4 Lay the first few tiles along the side of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles into position, making sure they also fall into line with the other center line. Add plastic spacers at each corner to keep them exactly the same distance apart for grouting.

5 Work outwards from your middle of the room until you have laid all the whole tiles using one half of the floor. Use a spirit level to check the tiles are at exactly the same level. Now move across for the other side of the longest center line and add all of those other whole tiles. Leave setting for 24 hours.

6 Make use of the tile cutter to trim the extra edge tiles to the right shape. Appraise the space at both sides 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 to set for at least 12 hours, then grout between your tiles with the adhesive/grout. Force this mixture into the gaps having 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

Stone tiles add a touch of luxury to any room. There's no special trick to locating out how many tiles you will need, just measure the height and width of the area and multiply these together to offer the area to be tiled. Divide this figure from the area of a single tile (e.g. a 10x10cm tile has an area of 100cm) to give the number of tiles you need. Add 10 percent for cutting and wastage. Installation matches for ceramic tiles however you will need an electric tile cutter using a diamond wheel and the capacity to tackle your chosen depth of tile. Most natural stone is easier to chop than ceramic. The excess weight of real stone ought to be considered use strong battens, at least 50mm wide and screwed to the wall, to support the bottom line of tiles.

Make use of a saw tile to reduce a tile to fit around an awkward shape such as a pipe or architrave. If you wish to cut a curve, to fit around the side of the basin for example, create a card template the identical size as the tile. Make cuts around 10mm spacing along the curve edge and press web site into position. Trim the 10mm strips to suit exactly around the curve and transfer this fit around the tile. Be sure you leave at least 2mm for grouting.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 To avoid 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 over the edge) to plan the positions of the tiles so that the tops with the last row of tiles under any window will be exactly flush with the ledge. You may find you will need to cut the bottom row of tiles.

2 Screw a batten for the wall along the line you've marked. Check with a spirit level that it is horizontal. Fix another upright batten along the left side with 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 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 are used for walls and 10mm versions for floors.

4 Learn to tile, pressing the tiles gently to the wall and sliding into position before you see adhesive squeeze out round the sides. Press spacers into each corner and hold a spirit level across the tiles to see if they form a flat surface. Continue to tile, working on 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 alongside and front from the window reveal so that they cover the edges with the wall tiles. Wipe off any adhesive before it's 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 bottom of the splashback and at the front and sides of the window reveal. Fix in place.

7 When all the tiles are fixed, leave to dry. Force more adhesive/grout in to the gaps between the tiles with a squeegee. Wipe off all 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 create a flexible waterproof seal new tiles and a worktop, run a bead of waterproof sealant round the bottom of the tiles.

TIPS

In case you are tiling around an acrylic bath, half fill with water to produce the rim flex to the maximum extent before filling the gap with a bathroom sealant.

Make screw holes for bathroom accessories using a masonry drill bit. To stop the bit slipping and damaging the outer lining, stick some masking tape on 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 wish to form a pattern, draw an agenda of the room on graph paper to ensure the pattern will appear in proportion and symmetrical.

To tile a space that has to be used everyday, tile 1 / 2 of the area at a time so you can still walk across the bare floor even though the tile adhesive sets. If you discover you are working slowly as well as the adhesive is beginning setting, only spread around half a square meter at the same time. It's essential the adhesive is still wet when the tiles are now being fixed.

Fireplaces

Stone Fireplaces are a defining feature for a lounge or dining room, making the perfect frame to a wood, coal or gas fire. Of course, 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 from the project. Most companies give you a design and install service that's definitely worth the money for such large and expensive objects. Otherwise, check your builder is happy to take on the job. It may need extra lifting equipment however the installation process isn't complicated. You are able to choose anything from the clean lines of your contemporary fireplace to some reproduction Regency style or make contact with an architectural salvage yard to get a genuine period piece. Most yards will even undertake restoration work with 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 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 even more.

As well as the luxury of the solid stone basin, a few of the modern designs can be breathtaking, with open wave forms, travertine mosaic and deceptively thin slab designs.

Worktops

Granite is the most popular of the natural stonework surfaces. It's not hard to clean and contrasts well with lighter wood carcases. Marble and limestone look great but are softer and may scratch or stain. Once you plan your kitchen, ensure the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights approximately 90kgs per square meter average for any 30mm solid granite top. You can also specify 40mm tops, produced from two 20mm layers having a ply central insert to cut back the weight. Your kitchen supplier might need to alter the design and add extra support around sink cut-outs and appliances. The suppliers may also need a clear work space so all sinks and hobs needs to be removed and kept clear of the work area. If you can, don't install the wall sockets until after the worktop is fitted this will 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 as the grain structure can be very vulnerable to cracking if there's any stress over longer lengths or around narrow cut-out areas. Make sure you 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 nonetheless give some of the solidity and feel of a real stone. In addition, it has the advantage of grain consistency plus a wide range of solid reds, blues, greens and much more neutral tones.

Maintenance and cleaning

stone wall - Keep a copy with the care and maintenance instructions supplied with your stonework as sealants and care procedures vary. Granite surfaces including worktops don't need a lot of specialist cleaning as 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 such as acidic juices and alcohol. Fine grit will be the big enemy of gemstone flooring as ground in particles cause striations than eventually dull the top. Use a mop, soft brush or vacuum to gather up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and warm water will remove grease as well as other light stains but make sure the floor is dried having a soft cloth to prevent a film build of residues.

Stone should really need resealing every 3-5 years or so and some products will never need resealing. After installing any 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 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 in the mortar/adhesive.