Marble Tile - Recommended Grout/ Adhesive (and other q's)

[wibbit]

Good evening all.

I'm in the process of redecorating our bathroom and have chosen Marble tiles for the wall's (and riven slate for inside the shower, may reconsider the use of these).

Glueing to Hardwall?
We've had the walls plastered, and it's been finished with hardwall, as opposed to skimmed. I've had a look online and there seems to be varying opinions on whether or not i can tile directly on to hardwall, one guy that sees to be talking the most sense that though hardwall is not recommended to be tiled upon, so long as the wall is damped first (to stop the glue being sucked dry before setting) then there is no problem at all. Echoed by people here?

Grout Colour
The tiles we've bought are http://www.thenaturaltilestudio.com/products.asp?Product_Id=Crema_Marfil_Select_Marble.htm (but from B&Q so slightly cheaper). The site recommends the use of a grey glue and grey grout, I know it's a judgement/taste call usually but Grey? Really? From people that do this daily, hows that liable to look? What about some thing closer to egg shell white (if you can buy that), so not dark grey but a fairly light grey?

Glue
BAL seems to be mentioned quite a bit in the sticky, I assume this is a good indication that it's a good brand to go with.
This seems to be the glue the recommend for use with natural stone however it's only available in white. http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/natural-stone
This one seems to be for natural stone as well, http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/rapidset-flexible, is this suitable?
Is it worth while using their AD1 additive? http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/admix-ad1

Based on other posts, I know that I'll be putting glue on the back of the tiles as well as the wall to avoid the appearance of shadows.

Grout
I had a look through their grouts and I couldn't find any that seemed to say they were okay to be used with Natural stone, is that because they are not, or that they all are?
Assuming the tiles have been sealed properly, is it okay to apply grout in the usual manner using a grout float?

Sealing Tiles
Assuming we are tidy when putting the glue on, is it required to seal the tile before putting it on the wall, or is it possible to seal once they are stuck to the wall?
I read some where that when sealing the tiles, i have to be careful NOT to seal the edges (I assume allowing the grout to adhere to the tile), however I've now seen conflicting suggestions. So, when sealing a tile, do you seal the entire thing, or just the surface? I can see possible reasons for each

We've done some tiling in the past (kitchen and bathroom), but it's with normal tiles as opposed to marble, and I'm just a little nervous, as their a lot more money

And help/advice would be very much appreciated.

Doug

 

[skitzee2k]

Sealing before sticking is not important....sealing before GROUTING...is.

I would use a white adhesive, flexible, cement obviously.
grout is your call but I would make sure it was flexible. CG2 class.

....as for your substrate...check with the maker...that is a lot of money to fall off the wall if it isn't covered. Sounds cowardly, but it is best to know what you comeback options are first.

 

[Richard C]

Glueing to Hardwall?
We've had the walls plastered, and it's been finished with hardwall, as opposed to skimmed. I've had a look online and there seems to be varying opinions on whether or not i can tile directly on to hardwall, one guy that sees to be talking the most sense that though hardwall is not recommended to be tiled upon, so long as the wall is damped first (to stop the glue being sucked dry before setting) then there is no problem at all. Echoed by people here?

You should not tile directly onto base plaster; damping may help initially but make it too wet & you will have problems getting them to stay up there initially but the main problem is going to be tile adhesion. British Gypsum is quiet specific in stating that tiles should not be applied directly over base plasters except Dr-Coat;
http://www.british-gypsum.com/pdf/WB09_Tiling_02.pdf

If I was going to risk it, I would personally try something like this
http://194.223.92.131/pdf/Technical Data Sheets/B & C Technical Data Sheets/BAL_Bond_SBR.pdf
but I’ve never tried over base plaster so it’s your call. I would skim the base & tile over that but whatever route you take, you could find yourself limited to 20kg/sqm including adhesive & grout; if you’ve chosen large heavy tiles you may have a problem.

There are some combinations that don’t really work but grout colour is largely a question of choice; grey works very well for practically anything on wide joint floors & I would never recommend white; but on narrow grout lines on walls, personally I think white always looks best. BAL are high quality products which, used correctly, should not give you any problems but there are others equally as good; mostly down to personal choice & what you find works but steer well clear of the budget DIY stuff.

I think you’ve set yourself a difficult task for only your 2nd DIY tiling project in terms of both materials & size/weight but you should always check the suitability of the tile base before buying large format or heavy natural stone tiles.

 

[GazBAL]

Glueing to Hardwall?
We've had the walls plastered, and it's been finished with hardwall, as opposed to skimmed. I've had a look online and there seems to be varying opinions on whether or not i can tile directly on to hardwall, one guy that sees to be talking the most sense that though hardwall is not recommended to be tiled upon, so long as the wall is damped first (to stop the glue being sucked dry before setting) then there is no problem at all. Echoed by people here?

You should not tile directly onto base plaster; damping may help initially but make it too wet & you will have problems getting them to stay up there initially but the main problem is going to be tile adhesion. British Gypsum is quiet specific in stating that tiles should not be applied directly over base plasters except Dr-Coat;
http://www.british-gypsum.com/pdf/WB09_Tiling_02.pdf

If I was going to risk it, I would personally try something like this
http://194.223.92.131/pdf/Technical Data Sheets/B & C Technical Data Sheets/BAL_Bond_SBR.pdf
but I’ve never tried over base plaster so it’s your call. I would skim the base & tile over that but whatever route you take, you could find yourself limited to 20kg/sqm including adhesive & grout; if you’ve chosen large heavy tiles you may have a problem.

There are some combinations that don’t really work but grout colour is largely a question of choice; grey works very well for practically anything on wide joint floors & I would never recommend white; but on narrow grout lines on walls, personally I think white always looks best. BAL are high quality products which, used correctly, should not give you any problems but there are others equally as good; mostly down to personal choice & what you find works but steer well clear of the budget DIY stuff.

I think you’ve set yourself a difficult task for only your 2nd DIY tiling project in terms of both materials & size/weight but you should always check the suitability of the tile base before buying large format or heavy natural stone tiles.

Good advice Richard, do not tile to base coat plasters ie: Browning or Bonding coat, they are way too unstable even when primed. Either skim over with finish plaster and tile, or mechanically fix (screws) a cement based backer board and then tile.

Gaz