Grout Archives - Natural Stone Tile Company & Shop

Natural slate flooring in bathroom

Tiling a shower can be quite a challenging procedure if you’ve never done it before, though it shouldn’t stop you from integrating your own specifically chosen natural stone tiles into your bathroom. Here are some of the tools and materials that you’ll need to start the job:

Grout
Rubber Float
Tile Spacer
Sponge
Haze Remover
Silicone Caulk
Trowel
Tiles
Mortar

With all of these products equipped, you can start focusing on the job itself. Here are some useful tips to follow during the tiling process that will help you get started.

Tip 1 – Strip Shower Area Before Starting

Make sure you’ve stripped the entire space down to just the floor plan, so that’s the ceiling hardware and the walls. It can be challenging to do this and you might be worried about the whole demolition process, so seek professional advice if needs be.

Tip 2 – Marking Out the First Row & Mortar

Use a pencil to mark out where your first row of tiles will be going. Make sure the bottom edge of the tiles isn’t directly touching the surface of the cement board. Try and leave a couple of centimetres between the two. The best mortar to purchase is definitely the premixed option, as the powdered option can be quite difficult to mix yourself.

Tip 3 – Leave Some Time Before Tiling the Rest

Leave around 8-12 hours before continuing with the tiling after the first row. This is so that you’ve got a solidified platform of tiles for the rest to sit on. Al the other rows going upwards from this point will rely on the bottom row, so we advise you not to take any chances here!

Mosaics can offer your garden patio vibrant, complex colours as well as a little something different to your standard patio tiling structure. We’re set to experience some beautiful weather this weekend, so there’s no better time to start a fun DIY job with stone mosaics.

Not only is it something that will benefit your garden, it’s also an enjoyable activity for the whole family to get involved in. Here’s what you’ll need:

– Mosaic Tiles/ Broken-up Tiles

– Pliers

– Diluted Glue

– Grout

– Measuring Tools i.e. sketch, spirit level

Step 1

Depending on your preferred shape, use a template such as a circular bucket to sketch a design

Step 2

Start placing your natural stone tiles or mosaics onto the paper and glue down when satisfied with your design

Step 3

Place the mosaic template you have made face down in an oiled bucket and pour the mixture of water and cement in afterwards until your each your desired thickness

Step 4

Make sure the surface of the cement mixture is flat and leave to dry for a couple of days

Step 5

After two days, remove the mold with some pliers and you should be left with a beautiful garden mosaic for your patio or garden path!

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: Grout

Tips for Tiling a Shower

Grout

Rubber Float

Tile Spacer

Sponge

Haze Remover

Silicone Caulk

Trowel

Tiles

Mortar