Tiling Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Natural Stone Tile Company & Shop

Our tiling FAQ continues into week 2, where we focus on some of the more basic aspects of tiling for those who are carrying out their first ever stone tile project. Sometimes the most obvious questions bring about the most useful results!

Q. How do I work out exactly how many tiles I need?

A. To work out the exact number of tiles you need for your designated tiling space, multiply the height by the width of your wall space to get a measurement in square metres. Then find out the measurement of your chosen individual tiles and divide the surface area of your tiling space by that of your chosen tile.

Q. How can I get a neat and organised row of tiles?

A. It’s important to have tiles of equal size to have a perfectly symmetrical set of wall tiles. Place cut tiles of equal size at both ends of your row, using a spirit level to make sure you have them in line. After marking out the positions on the wall, use a batten to trial your row of tiles, putting spaces in between each one. Mark out the tile positions and gaps along the batten and use this as a gauge.

Q. How can I make sure the spaces between the tiles are even?

A. You can make the space between each tile even by putting plastic tile spacers between each one. Try to make sure that each spacer is pushed as far in as possible so they can also be grouted over. Try not to leave any marks on the tiling in the process.

Accidentally damaging a stone tile can be frustrating to say the least, especially if it interferes with the natural stone tiling effect you’ve worked so hard to achieve. A lot of the time, we ignore damaged tiles and accept the fact that there’s little you can do to repair them. Well in fact, there is something you can do. Here’s how to replace a damaged tile…

– Loosen the grout around the edges of the damaged tile using a grout remover. Once you’ve done this you can start to rake out the rest of the grout.

– Drilling holes into the central areas of the tile helps to weaken the surface, so use a small ceramic drill bit and drill four holes in a square shape into the tile. You can increase the size of the ceramic drill bit if necessary.

– Equip yourself with a hammer and chisel and gradually chip away at the central space between the holes you’ve made. This gets rid of the central part of the tile, although you should be careful not to scratch the wall beneath it.

– From here, use the chisel to get underneath the rest of the tile, moving towards the edges until you’ve removed it entirely. This is where you need to be careful not to damage the surrounding tiles. Try and get rid of much of the adhesive as possible as well.

– Check that your replacement tile fits neatly into the new gap and that the adhesive isn’t pushing the tile further out in comparison to the others. Put new adhesive on the replacement tile and position it in the space.

– Use a flat piece of wood with that is larger in length to the tile to push it into place. Fit new tiles spaces so you can fill in the edges with grout. It’s important to wait for the adhesive to dry before doing this.

If you’ve just acquired some natural stone tiles and you’re wondering where to go next, it might help if you know exactly what it is you need to get the tiling process underway. Tiling might seem reasonably straightforward but there are a number of tools that can make the time-consuming process a whole lot easier. Here are 5 essential tiling tools that you should invest in if they aren’t already part of your toolbox collection.

Start by getting hold of a grout float. These are essential if you want the job to be done neatly and efficiently. Use the grout float to press the mortar into the seams created between the tiles.
A trowel is another essential tool that lets you spread the mortar for the tiles to be placed on. They are designed in a pointed fashion to ensure you get the right amount each time.
You’ll need a mallet to tap the tiles into position. Just make sure you use a rubber mallet instead of a wooden one!
If you’ve noticed a build-up of excess mortar on the top of the tiling, you can use the tough, resilient grout sponge to get rid of it.
Finally, make sure you have a bucket to mix the mortar in. It needs to be new and ideally suited to making thinset mortar.

There you have it, 5 essential tiling tools. Make sure they’re available to you the next time you decide to purchase some tiles from us here at the Stone Tile Emporium!

The vast majority of patios take a beating throughout the winter months, so it’s important to make sure your limestone or other mosaic stone patio is restored to its finest condition before the summer. It’s easy to neglect patios as they are often covered in various plants and other garden accessories.

It turns out that cleaning your garden patio isn’t as hard as you probably thought, with plenty of products available online to get the job done effectively. Alternatively, you can have a go at other straightforward cleaning techniques that will have your patio looking in great shape for the summer.

It’s good to start by getting rid of pointless clutter as this can affect the room you have to start cleaning. If you’ve had various plants on your patio throughout the year, you’ll probably need to do a thorough sweep of the patio.

Depending on the type of natural stone your patio is, you can mix a cleaning solution like bleach with water and scrub with a tough outdoor brush to get rid of other stains. It’s also a good idea to get rid of the weeds growing between the stone beforehand if there are any.

Finish the cleaning process with a garden hose, getting rid of the bleach solution that’s remaining and leave it to dry overnight.

When we anticipate putting up a new range of tiles in the bathroom or kitchen, we don’t usually make grout a huge priority. However, grout can have more of an effect on the appearance of your tiles than you’d probably think, so here are some of the best grouting methods you can use when assembling your natural stone tile designs.

If you’re looking for something reasonably neat and simplistic, you’re probably better off going for matching grout. This can really improve the overall finish, so it’s ideal if you don’t want the tiles to look ragged or stand out too much. The grout colour doesn’t have to be identical, though it shouldn’t stand out as much as the primary colour of your tiles.

If you’re thinking of doing the opposite to matching grout, you’ll probably favour contrasting grout. You’ll need to find a grout colour that suits your chosen tiles, whilst it may not be overly necessary if you’ve already got an attractive, natural finish. However, coloured grout works well if you want to hide dirt accumulation.

If you want something a bit more advanced for your porcelain tiles, such as accent grout for instance, you might want to choose a colour that fits the overall style and theme of the entire room. Once you’ve chosen a specific colour scheme it can be difficult to change it, especially when you use accent grout, so keep this in mind when choosing this option.

Category: Tiling

Tiling FAQ – Week 2

Q. How do I work out exactly how many tiles I need?

Q. How can I get a neat and organised row of tiles?

Q. How can I make sure the spaces between the tiles are even?

Replacing Damaged Stone Tiles

5 Essential Tools for Tiling Jobs

Cleaning Your Patio in Time For The Summer

Choosing Grout For Your Next Tile Job

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