Decorating kitchen walls with decorative stone

A stone is one of the best finishing materials, which is used to this day often enough. Often a stone is used to decorate facades, fountains, porches, and other objects located outside the interior of the dwelling. The thing is that this natural material is best combined with other objects. Moreover, over time, the stone begins to build up with moss. This creates a peculiar atmosphere, which is difficult to implement by many specialized materials.

However, today we are talking about a decorative stone that is often used within a home. Given that this material is artificial, you can get a wide variety of product variations. Thus, we can transform the living room, make it more cold, or vice versa - warm and attractive for the tenants and guests of the apartment. In a home interior, a stone can be used almost everywhere, especially if this product has a neutral appearance.

In this article we will talk about the use of decorative stone for finishing the walls of the kitchen. The trend for similar design solutions has appeared relatively recently, but has already conquered the hearts of many owners of apartments. The thing is that with proper approach we get a truly unique design, in which the stone emphasizes the solidity and inviolability of the kitchen space.

Features of using decorative stone for wall decoration

Many people mistakenly believe that on the basis of a decorative stone there are only a couple of options for decorating the walls. However, this is completely wrong. You can find hundreds of sites on which thousands of variants of walls are presented, and this without the slightest exaggeration. The thing is that you can find in the sale a huge amount of various decorative stones. Accordingly, we have the opportunity to create an original design using this or that form of stone, its color, and also a unique texture.

Also, many people think that when finishing it is necessary to cover the entire wall with a stone. Obviously, this is a serious misconception, since it is more advisable to perform stone installation only in certain sections of the wall. This will emphasize the subtlety of the design solution being created. However, there may be exceptions. Everything depends on the chosen design or the scale of the work.

As for the living rooms, decorative stones often emphasize fireplaces, aquariums, doorways, as well as places where houseplants are located. In approximately the same way, you can decorate any other object located in the room. The main thing - do this in moderation, so as not to spoil the room.

There are some limitations to the use of decorative stone, and first of all it concerns the kitchens. The bottom line is that narrow rooms are very poorly combined with large decorative stones. In such cases, it is better to confine yourself to the usual finishing materials. A large stone in a modest room can significantly reduce space( visually), after which the room will look even more compact, and, therefore, uncomfortable and limited.

Advantages and disadvantages of decorative stone

Positive aspects:

• Original appearance. It is possible to talk with the manufacturer about the creation of a decorative stone based on their own ideas. This is a great solution, because in the end we can get a unique style of cuisine. In any case, each company has a huge wheelchair, which presents a variety of varieties of decorative stone.
• Shock resistance. Even the decorative stone, unlike many other finishing materials, practically does not react to blows. On the material there are no scratches, no dents. Even if the stone will be damaged, it does not affect the appearance of the room. It is likely that some people will perceive the damage as a successful design move. Surely this is the main advantage of the stone - it looks great in any condition.
• Environmentally friendly. It is obvious that the stone is a safe material that can be used in completely different rooms. This can not but rejoice, since many finishing materials have many shortcomings in this matter.

Negative aspects:

• Service life. In this case, many compare decorative stone with natural material. Indeed, an artificial stone will serve much less than the present. However, do not think that the lifetime is too limited. This can be dozens of years, while natural stone has no limitations in terms of the period of use. But do not forget that natural stone is not so cheap.

Other drawbacks of decorative stone are not so serious. However, it must be said that in many respects the artificial product is inferior to natural stone, and this must be remembered.

Pre-treatment of

surface Before starting the laying of the decorative stone, it should be borne in mind that first we will need to thoroughly clean the surface of the wall. At this stage, the process is no different from what we have during the cladding of walls with ceramic tiles. Accordingly, first you need to level the surface of the wall.

As we carry out repairs in the kitchen, we must keep in mind that the leveling is not necessary to the whole wall, but only those areas that will be finished with a decorative stone.

In this case, many builders allow some curvature of the surface( small), which positively affects the final result of the work. In addition, you need to pay attention to the strength and reliability of the wall, because under the weight of stones, the created finish can simply collapse.

First you need to plaster the walls. It is recommended to use reinforcement in the form of a building mesh. This solution will significantly strengthen the wall. Accordingly, you can not be afraid of the weight of stones, there should not be any special restrictions in this regard.

It is also possible to cover the wall with plasterboard, but the thickness of the material should not exceed 12.5 mm. Fasten sheets of material should be immediately in three places, this will significantly increase the reliability.

As for fixing the most decorative stone, then most often for this use tile glue, which without problems retains a considerable weight of the material. You can also look at the silicone adhesive, which has recently been used in construction more often. Liquid nails are particularly effective. Many people know that this glue practically tightens the building elements, so there are no restrictions in terms of using liquid nails.

In many cases, you can observe the use of a classic cement slurry. This is also a good option, but only if the stones used in the process are relatively small. Often, various plasticizers, as well as PVA glue( construction), are added to the mixture. This solution significantly increases the strength of cement. If everything is done correctly, the solution turns out to be homogeneous and sufficiently thick.

Other preliminary actions:

• We need to create a small sketch, with which we will approximately orientate with the existing volumes of work. Obviously, it is better to take care of this in advance, since the amount of necessary stone, as well as building materials, depends on this. Also at this stage it is necessary to decide what kind of finish the finish will have. In some cases, the stones are butt-end, and sometimes a small seam is created. On this depends a lot, for example, the number of necessary stones. To put it bluntly, the second option looks a bit nicer externally. Moreover, it is really a reliable option for fixing a stone on a wall.
• Also the sketch will not prevent you from transferring to the wall itself. It should be borne in mind that the most important thing here is the accuracy and correctness of applying all components of the finish, otherwise unexpected problems may arise in the future process.
• It is also necessary to limit those places where the finish of the wall ends. For example, in the field of plinth decorative stone should not be, so you need to create a small border, in order not to make a mistake. Often, special profiles are used for this, which are located around the entire workspace. In this situation, it certainly will not work. The profiles are fixed directly to the wall, and after the end of the work they can be easily removed.

Then we proceed to finish the wall.

Decorating the wall with decorative stone

In this case, the minimum required tools and materials will be required. First of all, we are talking about a spatula, with which we will apply a cement slurry to an artificial product.

In the event that there is a stowing of the stone, it is necessary to tightly press the building elements to each other, while you can turn the stone a little, so that it is tightly located in a particular place.

If it is decided to create a small seam between decorative stones, for this it is best to use plastic crosses. For sure, many used such during the cladding of tiles. Here everything is approximately the same, but the sizes of crosses should be larger, otherwise it will not be very harmonious. Of course, one should control that the distance between the stones is the same, otherwise it will negatively affect the overall composition.

The process of finishing the wall with a decorative stone starts from the very first row, which should be located below. Accordingly, to begin with, it is necessary to apply a cement slurry to the width of the row.

The subtleties of the process of laying decorative stone:

• It should be borne in mind that decorative stone often resembles a brick, so the laying should be done approximately by the same principle. Accordingly, the rows are located with a small offset, which is very good looks within the home.
• If the decorative stone reminds a natural material, you should also trim the wall with a slight offset. It should be borne in mind that the dimensions of the elements of the series should be approximately the same. Only in this case it is possible to be assured of a qualitative result.
• It is often necessary to cut a stone. Here you need to use the most ordinary Bulgarian. It should be ensured that the cut of the material does not negatively affect the overall decorative component of the created finish. It is advisable not to resort to such manipulations too often, as the appearance of the finish can significantly change.

The stone is laid in rows, but it should be borne in mind that the prepared cement slurry is sufficient for about 15-20 minutes, and then it becomes unusable. Therefore, cement should be mixed in small volumes.

Especially seriously it is necessary to concern to stacking of a decorative stone with the big weight. In this case, the rows can be displaced somewhat under the influence of a large weight of the material, so the process must not be carried out too quickly. It is best to mason the two rows and stop. Only then, when the cement seizes, you can continue the process.

After all the rows of decorative stone have been laid, it is necessary to wait a while before the cement slurry dries. Often it takes 2-3 days. Next, you can safely remove the retaining profile that held the first row, as well as the crosses needed to create the seams.

Accordingly, the last stage of work is the grouting of seams. For this, it is best to use a grout of approximately the same color as the stone. The application of the material takes place using a sponge( the simplest and most reliable option).Of course, you should not allow the presence of any gaps or gaps between the stones. It also does not hurt to apply a primer to the decorative stone, since this material is not protected from external negative influences.