Slate, Mosaic / Crazy paving help ! - TilersForums.com

[Leatherface]

Have set myself a project to re tile my kitchen and hall floors in slate, 15 sq m in all. Want to do something a bit different, do not care how long it takes.
Have got the idea of cutting up 30 x 30 and 60 x 60 chinese multi colour slate into odd size pieces and making a mosaic / crazy paving effect.
Spent a couple of hours today experimenting !
Not as easy as I thought !
Question is, do I put pieces down and try to fit to each other ?
Or piece together as best as possible and then cut up smaller pieces to fit the gaps / holes in between ?
All the pieces were cut with a grinder .......
Struggling a bit to make it work !!!

 

[DHTiling]

Nick........heres a great job done by Highlander.......might give you some sort of idea.

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[Leatherface]

Nick........heres a great job done by Highlander.......might give you some sort of idea.

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Thanks, makes more sense, was worried about larger areas of grout in between some of the joints, now see it looks ok

 

[user123]

Aah, you forgot, didn't you - only work two to three pieces ahead - cut three, place, thinking of/considering how to place the next three, cut three, place thinking of the next three, otherwise you'll get yourself in a right pickle.. And remember the grout rivers...the pic of Highlander is a good study, you may want to avoid a couple of things there... depending how finickey you want to be - I'm real finickey...

 

[Leatherface]

yes, tried that, but sadly I am in the "Tilers" mindset - bang em down as quick as poss !
Mosaic artist mindset is a bit different !
Highlanders effect is similar to what I am looking for !
What do you think as a mosaic expert ? :smilewinkgrin:

 

[doug boardley]

why use grout? if onto a concrete screed without ufh ( nowt to say that's what you'll be tiling onto Nick), but what about plain old sand/cement pointing

 

[user123]

Don't get me wrong, Nick I like Highlanders floor there, but if I had done it I wouldn't have been happy with some of the larger gaps and see towards the far corner, where the slate forms a couple of almost path like patterns that seems to make some back pieces break away from the brilliantly mixed middle section?
If you don't watch for that, especially on narrower floor, it can break it all up visually, go for the effect in the middle section and avoid the big gaps, they'll irritate you forever after if you don't have any furniture covering it...

 

[Leatherface]

why use grout? if onto a concrete screed without ufh ( nowt to say that's what you'll be tiling onto Nick), but what about plain old sand/cement pointing

Sadly onto 12mm ply !

 

[doug boardley]

shame then

 

[Leatherface]

Don't get me wrong, Nick I like Highlanders floor there, but if I had done it I wouldn't have been happy with some of the larger gaps and see towards the far corner, where the slate forms a couple of almost path like patterns that seems to make some back pieces break away from the brilliantly mixed middle section?
If you don't watch for that, especially on narrower floor, it can break it all up visually, go for the effect in the middle section and avoid the big gaps, they'll irritate you forever after if you don't have any furniture covering it...

I see it, is that the grout river you were talking about ?
Would not have noticed on photo unless you pointed it out !