DriskellHeffernan869

stone wall cladding - Stone is a defining feature in almost 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 traffic or a careless knock from the power tool could lead to a costly repair bill. Keep the room clean and tidy, check larger items like 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 may need to be increased in proportions or even doubled as much as cope with the weight.

Preparing floors

A 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 balance 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 to the surface with a flexible adhesive all of the trade adhesive manufacturers have powder mixes meant for timber flooring. For a restoration project, never attempt to tile directly onto old floorboards. Instead, create 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 carpeting should always be pulled up. Check the floor beneath is dry, flat and robust enough to support the newest stone tiling. If you're faced with quarry or ceramic tiles, it is possible to tile directly within the surface as long as there isn't any signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime that old tile surface to offer the adhesive a key' for bonding making 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 needs to be lined with a waterproof lining panel to provide the tile base.

Installing real stone tiles

The porous surface of many natural stone products makes them more vulnerable to staining than glazed tiles. Look into 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 over a tile and not notice. Open the tile packs and work from the 3 major packs to evenly distribute any color variation between packs.

Tiling the ground

With a little planning and careful setting out, 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 before beginning work. In the aiming stages, it's important to make sure the tiles look completely from the entrance to the room. Often walls are bowed or from true so check your measurements in a number of places along each wall. It costs slightly more but a powder mix rapid-setting adhesive is the better option for most floors. It'll reach full strength in as little as 24 hours so the remaining build isn't delayed.

Finally, plan in almost any movement joints required. They're 6/8mm wide and filled up with flexible filler that allows for movement and prevents tile damage. These joints are typically installed where flooring abuts walling, steps, columns or another hard objects on large floor areas and over structural movement joints. Floors lower than four meters between walls is not going to normally need movement joints.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 Discover the mid-points of the two longest walls and snap a chalk line throughout the room between these points. Repeat for your shorter walls but adjust the road 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 possible, even if it means adjusting the grout line width slightly.

2 Lay tiles along the two lines to check if they look right from the doorway. If any gaps on the walls are fewer 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 there are whole tiles at the doorway.

3 Spread about one square meter of tile adhesive/grout into one of many right angles made 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 initial tiles along the side of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles in place, making sure they also line up with the other center line. Add plastic spacers each and every corner to keep them a similar 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 the same level. Now move across towards the other side of the longest center line and add the remainder of the whole tiles. Leave setting for 24 hours.

6 Utilize the tile cutter to trim the 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 between your tiles with the adhesive/grout. Force this mixture into the gaps with a squeegee, working from side to side or more and down the tiles.

8 For wide joint lines, run 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 from 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 quantity of tiles you need. Add 10 % for cutting and wastage. Installation is the same as for ceramic tiles however, you will need an electric tile cutter having a diamond wheel and also the capacity to tackle your best depth of tile. Most natural stone is easier to chop than ceramic. The extra weight of real stone also need to be considered use strong battens, a minimum of 50mm wide and screwed towards the wall, to support the bottom line of tiles.

Work with a saw tile to cut a tile to fit around an awkward shape for instance a pipe or architrave. If you need to cut a curve, to suit around the side of the basin for example, create a card template the identical size as the tile. Make cuts about 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. Remember to leave at least 2mm for grouting.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 To avoid lots of cut tiles or an unbalanced look, constitute a tile gauge (a batten with all the tile dimensions and grout spaces marked along the edge) to plan the positions with the tiles so that the tops with the last row of tiles under any window will be exactly flush with all 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've got marked. Check with a spirit level that it is horizontal. Fix a second 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 most a square meter with the wall, starting within the corner made by the 2 battens. Use the notched side from the spreader to form even ribbons of adhesive. Many of the important for heavy stone tiles. Generally of thumb, 6mm notched spreaders can be 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 across the sides. Press spacers into each corner and hold a spirit level over the tiles to see if they form an appartment surface. Continue to tile, taking care of about a square meter at any given time until you've fixed every one of the whole tiles. Clean off adhesive from the tile surface while you work.

5 Next, lay tiles alongside and front of the window reveal so that they cover the edges from the wall tiles. Wipe off any adhesive before it's dried with a damp sponge.

6 Leave the splashback to dry fully before taking out the timber battens. Now cut the tiles to fit into any gaps in the bottom of the splashback and at the front and sides from the window reveal. Fix in position.

7 When all the tiles are fixed, leave to dry. Force more adhesive/grout in to the gaps between the tiles using a squeegee. Wipe off all the excess grout with a damp sponge, rinsed out regularly in water that is clean. When the surface is dry, polish having a dry cloth.

8 To create a flexible waterproof seal new tiles along with a worktop, run a bead of waterproof sealant round the bottom of the tiles.

TIPS

If you're tiling around an acrylic bath, half fill with water to produce the rim flex to its maximum extent before filling the gap with a bathroom sealant.

Make screw holes for bathroom accessories having a masonry drill bit. To prevent the bit slipping and damaging the top, stick some masking tape within the area to be drilled.

Buy all the tiles you will need at once if possible to avoid any differences between batches.

If you want to form a pattern, draw a strategy of the room on graph paper to make sure the pattern will look in proportion and symmetrical.

To tile a room that has to be used everyday, tile half of the area at any given time so you can still walk across the bare floor even though the tile adhesive sets. If you learn you are working slowly and the adhesive is beginning setting, only spread around half a square meter at any given time. It's essential the adhesive remains wet when the tiles are being fixed.

Fireplaces

Stone Fireplaces are a defining feature for a lounge or living area, 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 and the surround really does come at the final stages from the project. Most companies provide a design and install service that's definitely worth the money for such large and dear objects. Otherwise, look at builder is happy to take on the job. It may need extra lifting equipment but the installation process isn't complicated. You can choose anything from the clean lines of your contemporary fireplace to some reproduction Regency style or contact an architectural salvage yard for a genuine period piece. Most yards will even undertake restoration work on stone and marble fireplaces.

Baths and basins

Baths, basins and washstands can be either stone resin or solid stone. There exists a wide range of colors offered by off-whites to reds, browns and blacks. Bear in mind the loading on the suspended floor baths can weigh from 200 to 500kg or even more.

As well as the luxury of your solid stone basin, a few of the modern designs can also 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 good but are softer and may scratch or stain. Whenever you plan your kitchen, ensure the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights up to 90kgs per square meter average for a 30mm solid granite top. You may also specify 40mm tops, made from two 20mm layers using 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 also need a clear work space so all sinks and hobs ought to be removed and kept clear of the work area. If you're able to, don't install the wall sockets until following the worktop is fitted this will avoid any accidental damage as the stone is slid into position over the units. With regards to the shape and size of each element, the suppliers might point to 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. Be sure to order matching granite up-stands

for the walls. These are around 100m high with polished surfaces and edges. Color-matched silicone sealant is used for the jointing. As with sanitary items, composite quartzite can help to eliminate the price of the kitchen but nonetheless give some of the solidity and feel of a real stone. It also has the advantage of grain consistency plus a wide range of solid reds, blues, greens and more neutral tones.

Maintenance and cleaning

stone wall - Keep a copy from the care and maintenance instructions given your stonework as sealants and care procedures vary. Granite surfaces including worktops don't need a lot of specialist cleaning because the surface doesn't absorb stains in the same manner as a softer travertine stone.

Wipe up any spills as fast as possible, especially liquids including acidic juices and alcohol. Fine grit may be the big enemy of natural stone flooring as ground in particles cause striations than eventually dull the top. Use a mop, soft brush or vacuum to get up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and hot water will remove grease and other light stains but guarantee the floor is dried with a soft cloth to prevent a film build of residues.

Stone should really need resealing every 3-5 years roughly and some products won't ever need resealing. After installing any gemstone, it's essential to clean up any mortar/adhesive residue immediately 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 not less than the first six weeks. Otherwise, the stone pores can become clogged and restrict the evaporation in the mortar/adhesive.