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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 just 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 the power tool could lead to a costly repair bill. Maintain the room clean and tidy, check larger items such as a stone bath, can fit through a door entrance (you may have 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 should 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 signs and symptoms 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 fully 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 onto the surface with a flexible adhesive all the trade adhesive manufacturers have powder mixes intended for timber flooring. To get a restoration project, never try to tile directly onto old floorboards. Instead, produce 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 at the floor beneath is dry, flat and robust enough to support the brand new stone tiling. If you're up against quarry or ceramic tiles, you'll be able to tile directly over the surface as long as there isn't any signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime that old tile surface to give the adhesive a key' for bonding and make 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 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 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 packs to evenly distribute any color variation between packs.

Tiling a floor

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 compared to wall tiles and you are not fighting against gravity. Remove skirting boards and door thresholds before 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 many places along each wall. It is slightly more but a powder mix rapid-setting adhesive is the best option for most floors. It will 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. These are 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 any other hard objects on large floor areas as well as over structural movement joints. Floors less than four meters between walls will not normally need movement joints.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 Find the mid-points of the two longest walls and snap a chalk line across the room between these points. Repeat for your shorter walls but adjust the road 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 across the two lines to check if they look right from the threshold. If any gaps in 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 hearth or French windows) are symmetrical where 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 few tiles along the fringe of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles into place, making sure they also lineup 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 from the middle of the room in anticipation of having laid all the whole tiles on a single half of the floor. Use a spirit level to check the tiles are at exactly the same level. Now move across towards 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 advantage tiles to the right shape. Appraise 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 having a squeegee, working from side to side or more and down the tiles.

8 For wide joint lines, operate 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

Natural stone tiles add a touch of luxury to any room. There's no special trick to finding 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 posseses an area of 100cm) to give the amount 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 using a diamond wheel and the capacity to tackle your selected depth of tile. Most natural stone is easier to cut than ceramic. The extra weight of real stone also need to be considered use strong battens, at least 50mm wide and screwed towards the wall, to support the bottom line of tiles.

Use a saw tile to chop 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 a basin for example, make a card template exactly the same size as the tile. Make cuts at around 10mm spacing along the curve edge and press web site into position. Trim the 10mm strips to match exactly around the curve and transfer this fit around the tile. Make sure to leave at least 2mm for grouting.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 To avoid lots of cut tiles or 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 of the last row of tiles under any window will 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's horizontal. Fix a second upright batten along the left side from the area to be tiled. Again, use a spirit level to make certain it's vertical.

3 Spread the adhesive/grout over about half a square meter from the wall, starting inside the corner made by both battens. Use the notched side with the spreader to form even ribbons of adhesive. Many of the important for heavy stone tiles. Usually of thumb, 6mm notched spreaders can be used for walls and 10mm versions for floors.

4 Start to tile, pressing the tiles gently on 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 across the tiles to see if they form a flat 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 your tile surface when you work.

5 Next, lay tiles along the sides and front of the window reveal so 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 detaching the timber battens. Now cut the tiles to suit into any gaps at the bottom of the splashback and at the front and sides from the window reveal. Fix in place.

7 When every one of the tiles are fixed, leave to dry. Force more adhesive/grout to the gaps between the tiles having 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 with a dry cloth.

8 To form 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 are tiling around an acrylic bath, half fill with water to create 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 avoid the bit slipping and damaging the surface, stick some masking tape on the area to be drilled.

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

If you wish to form a pattern, draw a plan of the room on graph paper to make sure the pattern will appear in proportion and symmetrical.

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

Fireplaces

Stone Fireplaces certainly are a defining feature for any lounge or dining area, making the perfect frame with a wood, coal or gas fire. Needless to say, any chimney linings ought to be pre-installed in your self-build project and the surround really does come in 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, check your builder is happy to take on the job. It may need extra lifting equipment however the installation process isn't complicated. It is possible to choose anything from the clean lines of the contemporary fireplace with a reproduction Regency style or make contact with an architectural salvage yard for a genuine period piece. Most yards will also undertake restoration focus 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 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 maybe more.

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

Worktops

Granite is easily the most popular of the natural stonework surfaces. It's easy to 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, ensure the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights up to 90kgs per square meter average for a 30mm solid granite top. You can even specify 40mm tops, made from two 20mm layers using 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 also need a clear work space so all sinks and hobs ought to be removed and kept away from the work area. When you can, don't install the wall sockets until after the worktop is fitted this may avoid any accidental damage since the stone is slid into position over the units. With regards to the shape and size of each factor, the suppliers may suggest extra joints in solid granite worktops as 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 that 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 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 and much more neutral tones.

Maintenance and cleaning

stone wall - Keep a copy from the care and maintenance instructions provided 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 such as 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 top. Use a mop, soft brush or vacuum to get up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and hot water will remove grease along with other light stains but guarantee the floor is dried having a soft cloth to avoid a film build of residues.

Stone should only 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 so 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 can become clogged and restrict the evaporation in the mortar/adhesive.