We choose an artificial stone for interior decoration
"Mountains can be better than mountains" Vysotsky claimed, whose name fully corresponded to the words of his song, which there is no need to prove. Yes, even once visiting the mountains, putting a hand to the heated stone, you already feel that something is missing after arriving home.
And lacks the smallest - the same warm and pleasing with a variety of veins and interspersed stone. And even if not natural materials that are quite expensive, but you can afford artificial stone for interior decoration. So why not, let's come up with a design and plan out every step of the finish.
You can decorate with artificial stone both the floor and the walls, the ceiling is undesirable, in order to avoid its collapsing into one is not a perfect moment( it is not known how good the glue will be).The most organic tile made of artificial stone looks on the walls, this material can also be used to decorate the staircase, giving it a unique color.
Floors are laid with a stone only in some rooms, for example, on the terrace or in the kitchen, and only with tiles with perfectly smooth surfaces and facets. The fact is that it is rather difficult to wash the floor from the texture stone, and it would not be very convenient to walk on it, as on a stone block.
As for the rocks that are embodied in the tile, in any building material store where such a stone is sold, you will be offered a huge choice: granite, marble, quartz, basalt. Moreover, you can find a tile with imitation of decorative rock like stone, such as malachite or turquoise, and if you want something special, for example, agate, you can always make an order, for modern industry there is nothing impossible. In this material, the textures of the tree can also be embodied, which opens up quite ample opportunities for interior decoration.
How is the artificial stone laid?
Knowing exactly the area of the walls, and going to purchase an artificial stone, keep in mind that it can be in the form of two types of tiles: planar and angular, the first being measured in square, and the second with running meters. Accordingly, in the first case, dense packing is possible, and in the second case, because of the curvilinear nature of the faces, the lining is performed in rows with intervals between the elements.
Preparation of the wall is the same as for any finish - thorough cleaning, priming with a dilute adhesive composition, the same one that will be used for facing, instead of a primer, you can cover the wall with a metal mesh with cells of 5 millimeters.
We will process the wall approximately 2 square meters, therefore, selecting such a site, lay out a tile in front of it on the floor to cover the corresponding area( if it is angular elements, it is better to alternate the different shape and thickness from several packages).
Flat plate, which is applied to the wall in a seamless manner, starts to be glued from the bottom upwards, from the plinth, so that the bottom row becomes the support for the next one. For facing with jointing, laying of the stone is carried out from the top down, with the preliminary division of the wall into strips for the straightness of the rows( one centimeter between the rows should be left on the seam).
Try to perform the laying of each tile with a slight offset in relation to the rest, both vertically and horizontally, so that too long seams do not occur, as the lining is most easily collapsed in even rows.
How to glue an artificial stone?
Adhesive is applied to the primed surface with a thick layer, it is obligatory for the lining method to spread longitudinal grooves along the glue mass with a notched trowel, this will increase the depth of indentation of the tiles. Artificial stone is pressed into the glue by light vibrating movements at the same time with strong pressure, starting from the corners and ending with the center of the decorative element.
If the stone tile has a large area or thickness and is heavy enough, the adhesive mass is applied not only to the wall, but directly to the tile on the back side.
If necessary, the stone has to be divided into fragments, where half or a quarter of the tile is missing before the completion of the masonry. Such situations occur when the series ends in a corner or in the top or bottom of the wall. An even trowel flat tile is provided with a hacksaw with a diamond blade or a circular saw, and the angular elements can be broken off by wide cutters.
The splice is made by diluted water with a dry mix of glue, the consistency should be viscous, semi-dry, with some graininess. The seams are spread with a special spreading spatula, and they are spread out with a damp, hard brush.