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https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl DIY Forum >> Painting, Decorating & Tiling Questions >> Please can someone help me..... https://www.askthetrades.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1150111804 Message started by MissB on Jun 12^th, 2006, 12:30pm

Title: Please can someone help me.....
Post by MissB on Jun 12^th, 2006, 12:30pm

Dear All,

Okay I admit it, I have done a very daft thing. I bought some lovely tiles for my bathroom and shower unit from Homebase and didnt realise that they were porous! They are stone tiles with small holey bits in them. Having only just worked this out, I understand I need to seal them with something. I should point out here, I'm not the brightest tool in the box but I really want to do this, so any help is very much appreciated. Please can you tell me the following:

1. Should I ditch the tiles I've bought and buy something that isnt porous?
2. How many times should I seal the tiles before putting them on the wall?
3. What is the best stuff to seal them with?
4. Will they go all mouldy and horrible looking in a few months? Will it make my walls fall down?
5. Am I making a very big mistake?

Thank you very much for your help in advance and I'm sorry these are all such silly questions.

Thank you, Emma ???

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by MarkS on Jun 12^th, 2006, 2:40pm

What do you mean by 'small holey bits' ?

Are they going to get mold in them and look dreadful?

Sounds like a bad idea to me.

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by MissB on Jun 12^th, 2006, 2:46pm

Well it looks like natural stone. The holey bits are more on the edges and look like they have been put there for effect. Do you think I should just give up? I really dont want to because they are so lovely and different.

Thank you for your time though,

Emma

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by CWatters on Jun 12^th, 2006, 3:42pm

It sounds like these are Travertine stone tiles. If this is right then the holes are natural. You can also buy Travertine with the surface "Honed" (made flat) and "filled" (holes filled with matching resin) but not from Homebase.

There seems to be several different ways to fix these. I think it goes something like this..

Clean tile with damp cloth to remove any dust and allow to dry overnight. They must be really dry before you apply sealer.

Before fixing on the wall seal with Lithofin "Stain Stop" sealer (or use their "Colour Enhancer" first then the sealer) - just one or two thin coats. You don't really want to flood the holes. Allow to dry. Sealing the tiles before fixing stops the adhesive and grout staining the tiles.

Fix tiles on wall - follow instructions with adhesive (special adhesive for stone?)

Grout joints and fill the little holes (remove all excess grout).

When the grout is dry (2-3 days?) add more coats of sealer.

.. at least that's my understanding. I've not done it yet but I will be in a few months.

Edit: You should be able to get sealer locally but it's also on the web from lots of places..

http://www.stonehousetiles.co.uk/sealers.lasso?-session=STN:51AE969B0ef1625B9Dgnl1C970D6

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by CWatters on Jun 12^th, 2006, 3:58pm

I forgot to add...

Experiment with the colour of the grout. I know Homebase do a cream grout in a tube thats a reasonable match to the colour of travertine. It might be worth experimenting on a tile to see if filling the holes with that looks better than using the regular white grout you use for the joints. Just a thought.

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by MissB on Jun 12^th, 2006, 3:58pm

;D Thank you so much! I really wanted to keep my lovely tiles so hopefully, if I follow your instructions carefully, they will look great! Thank you so much for you time, it really is very much appreciated.

Many thanks and have a lovely day,

Em

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by WOLF on Jun 12^th, 2006, 4:39pm

Welcome to the forum MissB..
and i agree whole heartedly with CW, on the methodology for this task! the sealing prior to actually applying the tiles, is definately right!
personaly i would leave it at least 3-4 days before applying the sealer once upon the wall!!...takes away any doubt of there being even the smallest amount of moisture!!

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by jasonB on Jun 12^th, 2006, 5:38pm

If these are indeed travatine you must use a white adhesive as gray will possibly bleed through the tile, Thats for powdered adhesive not readymixed, most readymixed will not be suitable for natural stone.

How thick are the tiles, work out what 1 square meter weighs as your walls may not be upto taking the weight, what are your walls made of?

You will also have to cut with a wet diamond electric cutter as a manual one won't work.

I would seal after fixing but if you feel you are likely to get the tiles messy then sealing before may be better.

Mudster will hopefully be along soon, he's the natural stone expert.

Jason

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by mudster on Jun 12^th, 2006, 9:21pm

Firstly, don't seal the tiles before you fit them, they should be a fitted raw with a white powdered adhesive and allowed to dry. 24 hrs is generally enough. This is actually because sealing the tiles first doesn't completely stop moisture ingress but it does stop the stone drying out completely, effectively it actually traps moisture in the stone as it doesn't allow it to breathe.

If the stone is 10mm thick or less it is suitable for use on regular domestic walls, if it's 12mm or thicker it sin't unless the walls are constructed in a certian way.

*Technical bit* Ardex produce a specialist adhesive called S20W designed for fast track stone installations, it traps all the moisture in the adhesive and doesn't allow it to seep into the stone, ironcially though it can't be used in wet areas so is no good for bathrooms.*End of technical bit*

Then seal with Lithofin Stain Stop MN once everything is dry. Theres no hard and fast number of times to seal it, you simply keep applying sealant until the stone stops soaking it in. Allow to dry overnight - keep the room well ventilated.

Grout, using a 50/50 mix of wall and floor grout, personally I'd use BAL Ivory wall+ BAL Ivory wide joint fill the holes with grout as much as possible and clean as you go.

Leave for 24 hrs then resael making sure you seal the grout as thoroughly as the stone, any sealant or grout resdue can be removed with a soft cloth damned with the sealant itself then a qucik wipe witha cotton cloth after that.

For the sealants, click on my site in the link below and click on "Order Sealants and Cleaners" this will direct you to the distributors website of the sealant product, it's available there cheaper than anywhere else on line, you're not buying from me, but directly from the distributor.

1 Ltr will be enough for a single shower, but I'd also advise you buy a bottle of Easy care to take care of the stone, you can get chemical reactions from the bleach laden cleaners sold in the supermarkets.

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by WOLF on Jun 12^th, 2006, 9:35pm

i stand corrected, and rightly so!!!

nice one Mudster!!!

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by Twobarrows on Jun 15^th, 2006, 2:12pm

>Grout, using a 50/50 mix of wall and floor grout, personally I'd use BAL Ivory wall+ BAL Ivory wide joint fill the holes with grout as much as possible and clean as you go. <
I've never heard that one before your Muddiness, what's the reason for that ?
Cheers.........

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by mudster on Jun 15^th, 2006, 8:36pm

The natural make up of travertine means it's pitted, the size and depth of these holes can vary from pin pricks to holes completely through the stone.

A normal wall grout is good for 3mm, more than that it shrinks, too much more and it gradually cracks up.

Wide joint grout is good for 3mm plus, but it's much more coarse and sandy than a wall grout, doesn't look as nice and is an absolute pig to use on walls, you end up with more on your feet than in the joints/holes.

So I used to mix the two togther about 50/50 , mix the powders first then add the result to clean water and whisk mechanically. It give a slightly thick creamy grout that's easier to apply for walls, copes with some of the larger holes in the surface of the stone and doesn't crack or shrink.

I also used to use a mix in this way when fitting hand made ceramics with irregular joints, easy to finish which means you produce a nice looking job.

Title: Re: Please can someone help me.....
Post by Twobarrows on Jun 16^th, 2006, 9:12am

Life's an education here, thanks for that Your Muddiness :-)