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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 decide to cover all your walls with marble or just 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 traffic or a careless knock from your power tool could lead to an expensive repair bill. Maintain the room clean and tidy, check larger items for instance 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 entails that it should be planned in in the home's design stage as load-bearing joists should be increased in dimensions or even doubled approximately cope with the weight.

Preparing floors

A new concrete screed is the perfect base for stone flooring, as long as the concrete is fully cured. New concrete needs 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 balance out any low spots. Again, leave the compound to fully cure before tiling.

If you're 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 every one 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-steel 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 carpeting should always be pulled up. Look at the floor beneath is dry, flat and strong enough to support the brand 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 isn't any signs of damp, cracking or movement. Prime the old tile surface to provide the adhesive a key' for bonding to make set out your new tiles so that the grout gaps aren't aligned with the existing floor. The exceptions are shower or wet room walls that needs to 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. Look at the manufacturer's instructions for precise laying instructions and always seal the surfaces with 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 aiming, dramatic stone flooring is really 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 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 several places along each wall. It is 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 remaining build isn't delayed.

Finally, plan in any movement joints required. They're 6/8mm wide and full of flexible filler that allows for movement and prevents tile damage. These joints are typically installed where flooring abuts walling, steps, columns or other hard objects on large floor areas and over structural movement joints. Floors less than four meters between walls will not normally need movement joints.

STEP-BY-STEP

1 Get the mid-points of the two longest walls and snap a chalk line across the room between these points. Repeat for that shorter walls but adjust the road so that it passes with 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 ascertain if they look right from the entranceway. If any gaps at the walls are fewer than half a tile wide, shift the road across to make more of a gap. Also move the guide lines so that tiles around a dominant feature (e.g. a fire 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 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 few tiles along the fringe of the longest center line. Gently press the tiles into place, making sure they also line up with the other center line. Add plastic spacers at each corner to keep them the identical distance apart for grouting.

5 Work outwards from your middle of the room until you have 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 all of those other whole tiles. Leave to set for 24 hours.

6 Utilize the tile cutter to trim the extra edge tiles to the right shape. Measure 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 the 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, 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

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 of the area and multiply these together to give the area to be tiled. Divide this figure by the area of a single tile (e.g. a 10x10cm tile comes with an area of 100cm) to give the quantity of tiles you need. Add 10 percent for cutting and wastage. Installation is equivalent to for ceramic tiles but you will need an electric tile cutter using a diamond wheel and the capacity to tackle your selected depth of tile. Easiest stone is easier to reduce than ceramic. The extra weight of real stone also need to be considered use strong battens, no less than 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 for instance a pipe or architrave. If you wish to cut a curve, to match around the side of the basin for example, make a card template the same size as the tile. Make cuts around 10mm spacing along the curve edge and press web site into position. Trim the 10mm strips to fit exactly around the curve and transfer this shape to the tile. Remember to leave at least 2mm for grouting.

STEP-BY-STEP

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

2 Screw a batten to 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, work with a spirit level to make certain it's vertical.

3 Spread the adhesive/grout over most a square meter from the wall, starting inside the corner made by the 2 battens. Use the notched side with the spreader to form even ribbons of adhesive. Many of the important for heavy stone tiles. As a rule of thumb, 6mm notched spreaders can be used for walls and 10mm versions for floors.

4 Begin to tile, pressing the tiles gently on the wall and sliding into position unless 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 an appartment surface. Continue to tile, taking care of about a square meter at the same time until you've fixed all of the whole tiles. Clean off adhesive in the tile surface as you work.

5 Next, lay tiles along the sides and front from the window reveal so 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 in the bottom of the splashback and at leading and sides of the window reveal. Fix set up.

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 of 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

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 space with a bathroom sealant.

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

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

In order to form a pattern, draw an agenda of the room on graph paper to ensure the pattern will look 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 over the bare floor as 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 any given time. It's essential the adhesive continues to be wet when the tiles are increasingly being fixed.

Fireplaces

Stone Fireplaces really 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 should be pre-installed in your self-build project and also the surround really does come at the final stages of the project. Most companies provide a design and install service that's well worth the money for such large and dear objects. Otherwise, look at builder is happy to battle the job. It may need extra lifting equipment nevertheless the installation process isn't complicated. It is possible to choose anything from the clean lines of your contemporary fireplace to a 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 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 a suspended floor baths can weigh from 200 to 500kg or maybe more.

As well as the luxury of a 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 easy to clean and contrasts well with lighter wood carcases. Marble and limestone look good but are softer and will scratch or stain. Whenever you plan your kitchen, make sure the runs of floor cabinets can withstands weights as much as 90kgs per square meter average for any 30mm solid granite top. You can also specify 40mm tops, made 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 may also need a clear work area so all sinks and hobs ought to be removed and kept free from 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 since the stone is slid into place over the units. Depending on the shape and size of each element, the suppliers may suggest 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. 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 used for the jointing. As with sanitary items, composite quartzite can help to eliminate the price of the kitchen but still give some of the solidity and feel of the real stone. In addition, it has the advantage of grain consistency along with a wide range of solid reds, blues, greens plus more neutral tones.

Maintenance and cleaning

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

Wipe up any spills as quickly 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 collect up the dirt. A neutral pH detergent and tepid to warm water will remove grease along with other light stains but ensure the floor is dried using a soft cloth to avoid a film build of residues.

Stone should really need resealing every 3-5 years roughly and some products will never 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 bathroom and kitchen installations, avoid using any wax or soap cleaners not less than the first six weeks. Otherwise, the stone pores will end up clogged and restrict the evaporation from the mortar/adhesive.