sealing natural stone

[Pierre]

Hi Guys,

just a quick question on sealing travertine or limestone etc - when sealing prior to grouting should i be trying to seal the tile edges or avoid them?
I have seen pictures of tile staining adjacent to grout lines where something from the grout has migrated into the tile. This tells me that maybe I should seal the edges, but does this affect how the grout will hold in the joint...don't want it to fall out!
Any advice appeciated.

Cheers,
Pete

 

[White Room]

I would'nt seal the edges, can you get hold of mapei ultra grout which is a lot faster drying than some other standard grout

 

[doug boardley]

personally, I would seal after grouting

 

[Daz]

Only seal the face of the stone. Use a rapid setting adhesive so that moisture absorbtion is limited & use a rapid setting grout for the same reasons. I often use Ardex as they have products designed for fixing stone which are "moisture locked".

I usually seal once before grouting and then as many times as is needed after it has been cleaned and fully dried.

Good luck.

 

[DHTiling]

If the stone is supect to picture frame wetting then you need a grout suitable for use with stone...

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Pierre -It's an interesting Question which I'am sure has been answered on many occassions and no doubt with a lot of different answers as tilers have their own 'ways'.
As materials vary from Travertine to Limestone as in your case it is not possible to give one answer suits all.

Travertine - it is often possible with filled/honed/polished to grout and then seal - However I seal 1st/grout/clean/let dry/seal/seal.
Limestone - I handle with gloves/seal/fix/grout/clean/let dry/seal/seal .

As for staining - always do a test area first - don't use a darker grout than the colour of the tile. That applies to adhesive as well.

But the question was the edges - I've never intentionally sealed the edges

Timeless John.

 

[Pierre]

thanks guys, much appreciated. I did spot the "moisture locked" grouts in the ardex brochure, so this is probably the way to go.
Cheers,
Pierre