I want to use Natural Stone in my bathroom is this ok?
Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 3:17 pm
Absolutely, but make sure your choice of stone is suitable for use in showers, some limestones are quite soft and not really suitable even when thoroughly sealed.
Weight is an issue often overlooked, there are technical specifications for this as follows, these are guides and assume everything is well made an fitting to comply with Building regulations.
A skim plastered solid wall, or plasterboard with a skim coat - 20kg per sq/m (approximate weight of 10mm thick stone)
Plasterboard without a plaster skim or sand cement render - 32kg per Sq/m (approximate weight of 15mm thick stone)
Correctly braced Aquapanel - 50 kg /sqm (approximate weight of 20mm thick stone)
Adhesives and Sealant
Always use a powdered based adhesive with a colour similar to the stone your're fitting. Don't use Grey Adhesive with white marble, it will stain the stone.
Your choice of adhesive depends on what the stone is being fitted too as well as what stone you are fitting. Always check to make sure you have the right product.
Fit the Stone in it's raw state being careful to keep it clean. Once you have all the stone fitted it will need to be coated with an impregnating sealer. This isn't a polish that sits on top, it's a chemical designed to soak into the stone to reduce the chances of it being stained.
I prefer to Use Lithofin Stain Stop MN, it smells and it's expensive, but in my experience it beats most other products hands down for effectiveness an longevity.
There is no hard and fast rule about how many coats it should have, just paint it on until the stone stops soaking it in.
Once dry and sealed you need to grout, choose a suitable grout, stay away from strong colour with light stone, it will stain, pick a grout as lose to the colour of the stone as possible for the best effect and least likely probability of staining.
Once your grout is dry re seal the stone again and the grout. After three days your new stone tiles will be ready to use as a normal bathroom.
Weight is an issue often overlooked, there are technical specifications for this as follows, these are guides and assume everything is well made an fitting to comply with Building regulations.
A skim plastered solid wall, or plasterboard with a skim coat - 20kg per sq/m (approximate weight of 10mm thick stone)
Plasterboard without a plaster skim or sand cement render - 32kg per Sq/m (approximate weight of 15mm thick stone)
Correctly braced Aquapanel - 50 kg /sqm (approximate weight of 20mm thick stone)
Adhesives and Sealant
Always use a powdered based adhesive with a colour similar to the stone your're fitting. Don't use Grey Adhesive with white marble, it will stain the stone.
Your choice of adhesive depends on what the stone is being fitted too as well as what stone you are fitting. Always check to make sure you have the right product.
Fit the Stone in it's raw state being careful to keep it clean. Once you have all the stone fitted it will need to be coated with an impregnating sealer. This isn't a polish that sits on top, it's a chemical designed to soak into the stone to reduce the chances of it being stained.
I prefer to Use Lithofin Stain Stop MN, it smells and it's expensive, but in my experience it beats most other products hands down for effectiveness an longevity.
There is no hard and fast rule about how many coats it should have, just paint it on until the stone stops soaking it in.
Once dry and sealed you need to grout, choose a suitable grout, stay away from strong colour with light stone, it will stain, pick a grout as lose to the colour of the stone as possible for the best effect and least likely probability of staining.
Once your grout is dry re seal the stone again and the grout. After three days your new stone tiles will be ready to use as a normal bathroom.