bcbunny
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 112
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Post by bcbunny on Feb 11, 2005 7:35:47 GMT -5
Hi
Has anyone ever used rock slabs for tiles?
I want to tile my bathroom wall just around my sink...you know the foot of space between my counter top and the cabinet that sits about it.....is it possible?
I was looking at some small tiles and then got to thinking of why I couldn't use rock slabs. I would not want to cut them square as I think (in my mind) that it woould look so nice to have different rock slabs in different shapes, it would take some fitting that is for sure. But would it work? If it is possible anyone have any ideas if you would do it just like putting up tiles?
Bunny
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Feb 11, 2005 8:05:43 GMT -5
Oh yes it would work- The only diffculty (other than matching up complimentary colors and spacing) is adhesive- The back of Tile is unfinished and porous- to absorb the adhesive You would need to find an adhesive that would bond to the relativly un-porous surface of the slab-
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Post by krazydiamond on Feb 11, 2005 10:41:34 GMT -5
stone is used quite commonly for flooring and is usually set in an epoxy mortar bed depending on the thickness of your slabs. is your subflooring wood or concrete, Bunny?
if it is wood, you will need to lay roofing felt or some sort of polyethelene sheeting over it before you put down the mortar. set the slabs and grout them in with either latex or epoxy water proof grout.
if it is concrete you will still need a vapor barrier between the subflooring and your new mortar bed but basically install as above, tho if it is a large area you may need some reinforcing mesh in the bed. but it sounds like you only intend a small area.
the tricky part is the depth you need to set the slabs, if you don't have the depth then you need to transition from your existing floor to your new finished floor level. and that all has to do with the thickness of your slab and the required depth of mortar bed.
your local Lowes or Home Depot will probably have all you need except for the slabs, and even then they have some very nice marble, granite and other natural pre cut stone tile to choose from. plus, most places have how-to books and usually employ a resident expert for "do-it-yourselfers" like you and me.
good luck and take before and after photos!
KD
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Post by Tweetiepy on Feb 11, 2005 10:54:42 GMT -5
KD, I'm not sure, but I think he wants to use it as a backsplash above his sink. I think the mosaic thing would be nice, now if this is doable I'll leave that up to the experts
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Post by Cher on Feb 11, 2005 11:15:56 GMT -5
Hey Bunny, If they can have tile with grout showing in between, why can't you have rock slabs with a little grout showing in between? I think that would look really neat. If the slabs you get are polished on both sides, you could use your dremel to score the back side and roughen it up a bit so it would provide better bonding. Definitely take pics of before and after too.
Cher
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Post by rockyraccoon on Feb 11, 2005 11:20:50 GMT -5
bunny this is what we do for a living. i would recommend laticrete 255 thin-set - it has non-sag performance which makes it great for walls. we use laticrete spectrolock grout but it is imperative that you work within the time-frame allotted from mixing to clean-up. if you don't get it off the stone within the allotted time you probably never will and the project would be doomed. the trick is proper clean up with lots and lots of water, clean sponges or rags, lots and lots of clean water, wipe and wipe and wipe and did i mention lots and lots of clean water, you cannot use too much clean water but keep in mind you are cleaning the stone not your grout joints - you don't want to wipe them out or cause indentations in them. when my husband is cleaning the grout the other guys are running back and forth with buckets of water - emptying after he's squeezed his sponge a few times and bringing in clean water. we go through lots and lots of big sponges.
good luck and you must take pictures. it will be beautiful.
kim
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WarrenA
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2003
Posts: 1,530
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Post by WarrenA on Feb 11, 2005 20:17:02 GMT -5
I am a commercial painter and the last new home I painted had a rock floor in the shower/steam room it looked OK except it was mostly river rock and there were no shiney rocks. it was just dull I wanted to slip a nice piece of agate in there but it would have gone unappreciated. maybe next time
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