Fitting Limestone tiles can be difficult but below you will find instructions on how to cut, drill and fix limestone tiles. Limestone tiles are expensive and so it is important that you know what you are doing. Hopefully you will have some previous experience of tiling before attempting to tile using limestone tiles, if not it may be better if you employ a professional tiler.
Honed or Polished Limestone?
The two Limestone tiles on the left are identical except the one on the left is honed and the one on the right has a polished finish. It is important that you know which finish you require before ordering any tiles.
Limestone tiles are a Natural product and will require sealing after it has been fixed.
Limestone Adhesive
The adhesive you use is as much Dependant on what the Limestone is to be fixed too as much as the stone itself. As a general rule of thumb if the Limestone you are fitting is white, light or anything other than a very dark colour it’s important to use a white cement based adhesive suitable for natural products. This avoids the possibility of the stone staining from any dyes or colours in the adhesive. If it happens to be a black marble then a dark Grey adhesive is more suitable. A solid bed trowel should be used in any situation where you consider the stone will be translucent. Providing a full coverage on the back of the stone will not stop discoloration but will discolour the tile as whole if it does happen, therefore reducing the possibility of seeing a row of lines from a serrated trowel if the adhesive happens to discolour the stone very slightly.
Cutting Limestone tiles
Limestone tiles are best cut with a diamond wheel cutting machine, although a diamond blade and angle grinder can be used. Wet tile saw
Fixing Limestone tiles
For wall tiling please see here- Tiling a wall If you are tiling a floor please see here- Tiling a floor
Drilling Limestone tiles
Drilling can be difficult, you might be able to drill a small hole using a masonry drill bit but for best results Diamond coated hole saws are recommended
Limestone Finishing
You’ve fitted your Limestone and now it’s time to grout. The first thing you must do is seal the stone thoroughly with a quality sealant, we generally recommend Lithofin Stain Stop MN. This should be done 24 hours after the stone has been fitted, this delay allows for a large percentage of the moisture in the adhesive to evaporate and not be trapped in by the impregnating sealer. Allow this to dry for at least an hour and mix your grout. Always test the grout on an off cut of marble before you go ahead and start grouting your newly tiled wall. This is very important as many grouts (particularly dark or coloured) can contain pigments that react adversely with the Limestone itself. Once you’re satisfied that the grout is acceptable, grout your finished tiling and carefully wash and polish the residue as normal. 24 hours later once the grout has dried, the completed tiles and grout all require another one or two coats of sealant.
