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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 an extremely 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 the power tool could lead to a pricey repair bill. Keep 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 might need to be increased in proportions 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 ought to be at least six weeks old and show no indications 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.

In case you are 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 all the trade adhesive manufacturers have powder mixes meant for timber flooring. To get a restoration project, never try and 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 before beginning work. Coat the boards with thinned PVA to seal the wood.

Old cork and vinyl floor covering should always be pulled up. Check the floor beneath is dry, flat and strong enough to support the new stone tiling. If you're up against quarry or ceramic tiles, you'll be able to tile directly within the surface as long as there are no signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime that old tile surface to give the adhesive a key' for bonding to make set out your new tiles in order that 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 supply the tile base.

Installing real stone tiles

The porous surface of many natural stone products makes them more vulnerable to staining than glazed tiles. Check the manufacturer's instructions for precise laying instructions and try to seal the surfaces with 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 major packs to evenly distribute any color variation between packs.

Tiling the ground

With a little planning and careful setting out, dramatic stone flooring is as easy as tiling a wall. There's usually less cutting around awkward shapes as compared to wall tiles and you are not fighting against gravity. Remove skirting boards and door thresholds before beginning work. In the starting off stages, it's important to guarantee the tiles look completely from the entrance to the room. Often walls are bowed or out of true so check your measurements in several 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 within 24 hours so the rest of the build isn't delayed.

Finally, plan in any movement joints required. These are 6/8mm wide and filled with flexible filler that allows for movement and prevents tile damage. These joints are usually installed where flooring abuts walling, steps, columns or another hard objects on large floor areas and over structural movement joints. Floors less than four meters between walls is not going to 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 the shorter walls but adjust the line so that it passes from the center of the first line at right angles. Attempt to work with as many whole tiles as possible, 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 doorway. If any gaps on the walls are not even half a tile wide, shift the fishing line across to make more of a gap. Also move the guide lines in order 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 made by the two crossing chalk lines. Scrap the notched side of the trowel across the mix to create ridges of the same thickness.

4 Lay the initial few tiles along the side of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles into place, making sure they also fall into line with the other center line. Add plastic spacers at each and every corner to keep them a similar distance apart for grouting.

5 Work outwards in the middle of the room til you have laid all the whole tiles on one half of the floor. Work with a spirit level to look for the tiles are at the identical 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 extra edge tiles to the right shape. Appraise the space at each side in case the walls are uneven and don't forget to allow for the grouting gap. Always wear goggles and gloves when cutting tiles.

7 Leave the adhesive to create 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

Gemstone tiles add a touch of luxury to any room. There's no special trick to finding out how many tiles you'll need, just measure the height and width with the area and multiply these together to give the area to be tiled. Divide this figure through the area of a single tile (e.g. a 10x10cm tile has an area of 100cm) to give the amount of tiles you need. Add Ten percent 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 best depth of tile. Easiest stone is easier to reduce than ceramic. The excess weight of real stone also need to be considered use strong battens, a minimum of 50mm wide and screwed for the wall, to support the beds base line of tiles.

Make use of a saw tile to chop a tile to fit around an awkward shape like a pipe or architrave. If you need to cut a curve, to fit around the side of your basin for example, make a card template the identical size as the tile. Make cuts about 10mm spacing along the curve edge and press website into position. Trim the 10mm strips to fit exactly around the curve and transfer this shape to the tile. Make sure to leave at least 2mm for grouting.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 In order to avoid lots of cut tiles or perhaps an unbalanced look, make up a tile gauge (a batten using the tile dimensions and grout spaces marked along the edge) to plan the positions from the tiles so that the tops of the last row of tiles under any window will probably be exactly flush using the ledge. You may find you will have to cut the bottom row of tiles.

2 Screw a batten to 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 from the area to be tiled. Again, make use of a spirit level to ensure it's vertical.

3 Spread the adhesive/grout over about 50 % a square meter from the wall, starting within the corner made by the 2 battens. Use the notched side of 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 Begin to tile, pressing the tiles gently onto the wall and sliding into position until you see adhesive squeeze out around 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, focusing on about a square meter at a time until you've fixed all of 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 they cover the edges from the wall tiles. Wipe off any adhesive before it's got 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 at the bottom of the splashback and at the leading and sides from the window reveal. Fix in position.

7 When all of 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 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 produce the rim flex to its maximum extent before filling the space 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 on 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 plan of the room on graph paper to make sure the pattern will look in proportion and symmetrical.

To tile a space that has to be used everyday, tile one half 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 and the adhesive is beginning to set, only spread around half a square meter at the same time. It's essential the adhesive continues to be wet when the tiles are being fixed.

Fireplaces

Stone Fireplaces certainly are a defining feature for any lounge or living area, making the perfect frame to a wood, coal or gas fire. Needless to say, 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 from the project. Most companies offer a design and install service that's definitely 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 a contemporary fireplace to a 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 could be either stone resin or solid stone. There is a wide range of colors provided by off-whites to reds, browns and blacks. Remember 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 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. You can clean and contrasts well with lighter wood carcases. Marble and limestone look great but are softer and may scratch or stain. When you plan your kitchen, guarantee the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights as much as 90kgs per square meter average for a 30mm solid granite top. You can also specify 40mm tops, produced from two 20mm layers having 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 area so all sinks and hobs should be removed and kept clear of the work area. When 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 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 quite 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 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 your real stone. It also has the advantage of grain consistency along with a wide range of solid reds, blues, greens and more neutral tones.

Cleaning and maintenance

stone wall - Keep a copy from the care and maintenance instructions supplied with your stonework as sealants and care procedures vary. Granite surfaces such as worktops don't need an excessive amount of specialist cleaning since 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 for example acidic juices and alcohol. Fine grit will be the big enemy of gemstone flooring as ground in particles cause striations than eventually dull the surface. Use a mop, soft brush or vacuum to get up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and tepid to warm water will remove grease and other light stains but ensure the floor is dried using a soft cloth to stop 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 right away as the resin-based adhesives bond' the stone surface and are extremely difficult to clean up when cured. For kitchen and bathroom installations, avoid using any wax or soap cleaners for at least the first six weeks. Otherwise, the stone pores will end up clogged and restrict the evaporation in the mortar/adhesive.