Some questions before I start with Natural Slate - Tile Advice

[mini670]

Hi,

I bought my 9m sq slate yesterday from Wickes.
It is the rough looking stuff with orange/red/yellow impurities on it.
After reading many posts on here im even more confused than i was before!

my plan is:

1 - scrub each tile clean with water (its quite dusty)
2 - seal the top sides of each tile
3 - let them dry
3a - Grade them, thickest to be used in middle.
4 - lay the tiles
5 - seal again
6 - grout
7 - seal again.

Does that sound ok?

Now some of the tiles are out of square (5mm across diagonals) should i persevere with them or return them?

Which sealer for a matt finish, easy clean? When sealing before laying which sealer, I ask as read a thread that someone said sealing before grouting made cleaning the grout up a tedious task.

How do they look with grey or black grout? Thinking white would be hard to keep white.

Cheers

 

[Gazzer]

I dont think they would accept tiles back due to size , they will probably tell you thats the way they are .
Your techniques seems right , I would opt for a grey grout.

What is the substrate you are laying on ?

 

[nybor62]

what size are the tiles , have you thought about laying them on half bond,

 

[mini670]

Cheers
The tiles are going onto a concrete floor.

What is a half bond please?

 

[johnryan]

half bond is when the tiles run like brickwork.

 

[mini670]

Ohh aye, lol. No did not think about that, ill have a look at some examples

The tiles are 300 square

 

[mini670]

Ok, I scrubbed all the tiles. Its amazing how much muck they hold.

Regarding sealer, I think Sealers Choice Gold will be the one, mainly because it is low VOC and some say its far superior to other brands. Any one got any views/advice/nightmares with this choice?

Does the half bond hide some of the out of square tiles?

 

[nybor62]

sealers choice will be fine, its no - sheen natural look finish, if thats the finish your after

on half bond ,the variation in sizes wont be as noticeable .imo

 

[mini670]

Cheers,

Yeah the wife wants natural look so that`l be the stuff then.

 

[BWTiling]

Hi,

I bought my 9m sq slate yesterday from Wickes.
It is the rough looking stuff with orange/red/yellow impurities on it.
After reading many posts on here im even more confused than i was before!

my plan is:

1 - scrub each tile clean with water (its quite dusty)
2 - seal the top sides of each tile
3 - let them dry
3a - Grade them, thickest to be used in middle.
4 - lay the tiles
5 - seal again
6 - grout
7 - seal again.

Does that sound ok?

Now some of the tiles are out of square (5mm across diagonals) should i persevere with them or return them?

Which sealer for a matt finish, easy clean? When sealing before laying which sealer, I ask as read a thread that someone said sealing before grouting made cleaning the grout up a tedious task.

How do they look with grey or black grout? Thinking white would be hard to keep white.

Cheers

Personally I'd go with Grey Grout and wouldn't Seal prior to Laying / Grouting as it will make it a Nightmare to clean the excess off, unless you use an emulsifying pad but will thin the seal and have to be redone anyway!! Give them a thorough clean after grouting / before Sealing and they'll come up a treat and with Grey Grout you shouldn't have any "Bleed" into Slate because of the density! As for Substrate make sure you use a good Flexi Adhesive and Grout regardless of Concrete or Timber and if it's being boarded then make sure that the Ply or Backerboard is thick enough!! Shouldn't have any problems then fella! Let us know how you get on?

 

[tommyzooom]

I also wouldn't seal before laying as you may find when laying, that the underside of the tile will fit better in relation to the tile next to it. ( I presume they are uncalibrated slate, ie double sided). However I usually use a slate seal, which is spirit based, and makes the grout much easier to clean off.

 

[mini670]

cheers guys,

though the tiles are rough and ungraded, some have the backsides linished/ground down or scutch hammered down. 90% if not more of the tiles have one side if you know what i mean.

 

[enduro]

I laid these a while ago for a customer and used sandstone grout.

 

[The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP]

Some slate I laid a few months ago 600x300.

 

[Daz]

Here's some 300 x 300 chinese slate laid in half bond (brickbond) that I did a couple of years ago......