On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 17:41:57 -0000, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

you may be able to get away with 9mm if your floor is already solid,

OK, 9mm ply it is. I need to keep the thickness down as it is a wooden
floor. However, it is pretty well solid already and layed with hardboard.

but also cost wise they were reasonably priced (£3.0+VAT/unit), and
also had the 400x400 slates which we wanted.

Hmm. Is that 3 quid per 400mm slate? (i.e. 18.75/m2) I was planning to use
300mm slate at about 1.40 each (15.55/m2), so it would be in the same
ballpark. Is 400mm cheaper, the same or more expensive than 300mm slates? I
think 300mm would look better for us.

Generally the larger sizes are more expensive per unit area if there
is reasonable quality preselection. Look carefully, though,
because some suppliers pass off the junk as 300mm. I saw some real
junk in (I think it was) B&Q.



They also allowed us to arrange own delivery - (Palletline -
£41+VAT/900kg).

Ah, that could make it more expensive. I'd rather collect for free, if
possible. (My personal transport is a 2.8 tonne GVW minibus, so no problems
shifting it in one load).

Stonell are in Paddock Wood in Kent -not a great distance from the
motorway. I wanted to look at the quality of what was normally
delivered rather than selected material in the showrooms.
They said that one should budget about 5% for duds and breakages. If
it's more than that then you can yell.

I needed more than 50sqm so this was a delivery job anyway. There
were three quite large pallets delivered with a HIAB, and the slates
are heavy. I had 600x400 size, but even 300 square are noticable
after a while.


Stonell recommended Howtex SS, however we opted for Ardex Ardu-flex
7001 timber system (approx. £30 / bag ), used 10 bags in the end as
had uneven floor.

Ouch. That sounds expensive. Presumably I'd need around 5 bags, then, or did
you lay it on really thick? Are there cheaper sources that aren't too much
of a compromise?

You don't want to compromise on adhesive - this is a false economy
with slate. The slate will vary in thickness over a range - IIRC
about 9-14mm. You can roughly sort into thicknesses for different
areas so that the adhesive can be laid to different depths as
sppropriate. Obviously this results in greater use of adhesive than
with ceramics.




3. How many coats of StainStop and Colour Intensifier should I use?
4. How many litres will I need of each?

The more the better, we bought 2 litres of stainstop, which did 3
coats.

It sounds like a litre should do me, then.

It goes a long way. The first coat on the grout soaks in a fair
bit, but after that it not too bad. I believe you can get 500ml
sizes if you run out.



Finally once grouted we 'stainstopped' again, from recollection you
need to reapply every year after that.

Do you stainstop the grout, too?

Yes, but that will be during the process of course.



I think I followed the advice given here (andy hall ?) and went for
grey at 8-10mm spacing, certainly looks right. Again use the flexible
stuff, we used Ardex again - 2x11kg bags (£10-15/bag)

Can you get it ready coloured, to avoid matching problems?

Yes. Howtex do two or three greys. 8-10mm is about right. Do keep
in mind that you are handling a natural material and that there will
be small variations.

It's important to avoid significant steps at tile edges (it's a trip
hazard) but you will get small variations across the surface as a
result of the cleaving. These should be no more than 2-3mm on a given
tile.

I did a third StainStop coat after 2 weeks because there is a always a
small amount of delamination - should be no more than small flakes and
gritty bits a few mm across. You can vacuum and wash the floor,
vacuum again and then apply the final sealer. After that, we
experienced no more delamination .



Although it took much longer to do than originally thought, we are
delighted with our slate floor!

I hope to be so soon, too!

Take the time and you will be.



So, cost wise, we've got around:

30 Stainstop
10 PowerClean
15 Colour Intensifier
150 Adhesive
15 Grout
50 Plywood
150 Tiles
-----------
420 Total

Does that sound right? Have I missed anything major?

Can't see anything major.



Christian.

P.S. I think I've given up on the underfloor heating idea in favour of an
under cabinet fan convector. There would only have been room for electric
underfloor, and at around 300 quid to install, too. Is the floor
sufficiently warm (on suspended timber subfloor) to stand walking around in
socks?

We do and our subfloor is concrete. I tend to wear socks in the
winter and not bother in the summer. I'm not sure what the thermal
conductivity of slate is but it doesn't feel as cold as ceramic or
concrete under foot.





..andy

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