I'm going to install a slate floor in my kitchen. I'm planning:

1. 6mm plywood sheet over existing hardboard.
2. Adhesive
3. Slates
4. Lithofin MN Power-Clean
5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier

I'm planning to use Indian/Chinese style slate. The rough stuff with red
streaks in, anyway. Is this a reasonable sequence? The floor will be a
fraction over 10m2.

Some questions:

1. Is 6mm plywood a good base to start on? Should I PVA it first?
2. What adhesive should I use?
3. How many coats of StainStop and Colour Intensifier should I use?
4. How many litres will I need of each?
5. At what point in the sequence do you grout? (i.e. before, after or in
between coats of the StainStop?)
6. Do I need a particular type of grout? What colour looks good and won't
look manky in five year's time?

Christian.

5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier

P.S. Should I use MN Slate Seal instead of StainStop/Colour Intensifier?

Christian.

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
et...
I'm going to install a slate floor in my kitchen. I'm planning:

1. 6mm plywood sheet over existing hardboard.
2. Adhesive
3. Slates
4. Lithofin MN Power-Clean
5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier

I'm planning to use Indian/Chinese style slate. The rough stuff with
red
streaks in, anyway. Is this a reasonable sequence? The floor will be a
fraction over 10m2.

Some questions:

1. Is 6mm plywood a good base to start on? Should I PVA it first?
2. What adhesive should I use?
3. How many coats of StainStop and Colour Intensifier should I use?
4. How many litres will I need of each?
5. At what point in the sequence do you grout? (i.e. before, after or
in
between coats of the StainStop?)
6. Do I need a particular type of grout? What colour looks good and
won't
look manky in five year's time?

Christian.



Not entirely relevant, but I laid a limestone floor in our kitchen onto
a concrete/screed floor, so obviously I didn't bother with plywood.

I used the flexible adhesive supplied by the stone supplier, Stonell. If
you're installing onto relatively thin ply I imagine you'll need a
flexible adhesive as well.

I used Lithofin's Wexa to clean the tiles after fixing, then a coat of
StainStop. This is before the grout to stop the grout from staining the
tiles.

Then the grout (again, supplied by Stonell) - a flexible product from
the same manufacturer as the adhesive. I forget the name off hand but
I've got the remainder of a bag at home so I can post back later if
you're interested.

Another coat of StainStop to seal the tiles/grout and that was it for
me.

From memory, I has 1 litre of Wexa, 1 litre of StainStop and one litre
of the Lithofin cleaner. I've got loads of the Wexa and StainStop left,
and this was for a floor 7.5 m2 area. The cleaner has lasted about 2.5
years of fairly regular use but we're running low now.

Stonell's HQ is a couple of miles away from me so it was easy to go and
get more adhesive when I ran out, and they refunded the returned grout I
didn't need. They were very helpful with regard to the installation
details and I would recommend them.

HTH

Neil

Christian McArdle wrote:

The previous post from N. Jones has covered most of it, also got our slates
(bamboo) from stonell, who were very helpful and would also recommend mainly
because of their advice, but also cost wise they were reasonably priced
(£3.0+VAT/unit) , and also had the 400x400 slates which we wanted. They also
allowed us to arrange own delivery - (Palletline - £41+VAT/900kg). Our
kitchen was 20m2, (on part wooden floor) so make your own adjustments of
what you'll need (bought 145 slates, 20 or so weren't used as non broken
when arrived)

1. Is 6mm plywood a good base to start on? Should I PVA it first?

Normally the recommended thickness of ply is 18mm, screwed down at 200mm
centres, you may be able to get away with 9mm if your floor is already
solid, a good way to check is fill a glass of water to the brim and put in
into the centre of the floor, then walk / jump around a bit, if you don't
loose any water then you should be okay with 9mm (but I wouldn't go anything
less). We PVA'd the ply using Ardex PVA before applying the slates.

2. What adhesive should I use?

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. Used Ardex mainly cos their technical support / advice line were more
helpful.

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.

5. At what point in the sequence do you grout? (i.e. before, after or
in between coats of the StainStop?)

We 'stainstopped' each tile before laying, then 'stainstopped' once laid,
then grouted, even then it still took more than a day to remove the grout
from the slate, thus remove as much of the grout from the slate when still
wet otherwise you'll regret it. Finally once grouted we 'stainstopped'
again, from recollection you need to reapply every year after that.

6. Do I need a particular type of grout? What colour looks good and
won't look manky in five year's time?

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)

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

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.

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 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?

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.

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

Do you stainstop the grout, too?

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?

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

I hope to be so soon, too!

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?

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?

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 15:25:57 -0000, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

I'm going to install a slate floor in my kitchen. I'm planning:

1. 6mm plywood sheet over existing hardboard.
2. Adhesive
3. Slates
4. Lithofin MN Power-Clean
5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier

I'm planning to use Indian/Chinese style slate. The rough stuff with red
streaks in, anyway. Is this a reasonable sequence? The floor will be a
fraction over 10m2.

Some questions:

I just read Neil's post. I also bought slate from Stonell and echo
his comments on their quality of service.

I'd suggest talking to their technical department and give them a
complete description of what you have and the effect that you would
like to achieve. We used Howtex adhesive and grout, but it was
starting from a concrete floor. I would think but am not certain
that something with flexibility would be good for plywood.




1. Is 6mm plywood a good base to start on? Should I PVA it first?
2. What adhesive should I use?
3. How many coats of StainStop and Colour Intensifier should I use?

We used two of each.

4. How many litres will I need of each?

Lithofin's web site was fairly accurate on coverage. FWIW, Just Tiles
in Woodley has their stuff, although I didn;t check their prices.

5. At what point in the sequence do you grout? (i.e. before, after or in
between coats of the StainStop?)

IIRC, we did it between coats.

6. Do I need a particular type of grout? What colour looks good and won't
look manky in five year's time?

I used a mid grey. I wouldn't go for anything too pale with this
type of slate and definitely not white. Mid grey seems to largely
"disappear" and you are then more aware of the colours of the slate.

Have a look at

http://www.stonell.co.uk/slate.shtml

and click on Sheng Li, and I think you will see what I mean. With
colour enhancer, the colours will be raised but without making the
appearance glossy.

Have you thought about sizes? They need to be in the context of the
area being covered......

Christian.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

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

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Christian McArdle wrote:

I'm going to install a slate floor in my kitchen. I'm planning:

1. 6mm plywood sheet over existing hardboard.
2. Adhesive
3. Slates
4. Lithofin MN Power-Clean
5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier

I'm planning to use Indian/Chinese style slate. The rough stuff with red
streaks in, anyway. Is this a reasonable sequence? The floor will be a
fraction over 10m2.

Some questions:

1. Is 6mm plywood a good base to start on? Should I PVA it first?
2. What adhesive should I use?
3. How many coats of StainStop and Colour Intensifier should I use?


Lots.


4. How many litres will I need of each?


Pass. Provbably only one or two.


5. At what point in the sequence do you grout? (i.e. before, after or in
between coats of the StainStop?)


Grout as the absolutely last thing you do before maybe a final seal coat
or two. Grout is impossibly hard to get off slates, so teh more there is
between teh salet and the grout, the better.

Having dne 55 sq meters of slate, let me tell 6you that THE most
crirtical thing, is to have a bucket of warm water and a kitchen sponge
at all times to INSTANTLY mop up anything yu spill on it of a cement
nature. You have t best 15 muntes with rapid set cement amnd most grouts.

Do NOT assiume ou will be able to grout the whiole lot, let it go off a
bit and clean teh surplus. Clean each slate as soon as laid, then clean
the whole row, then the whole floor.


6. Do I need a particular type of grout? What colour looks good and won't
look manky in five year's time?



Grey is nice. Lay with at least 5mm gaps. I used 3 on a large area nad
regretted it. If the slates are very uneven use even more - 8mm?

Take LOTS of time. I reckon if you can do 10 sq meters in a day, just
layng, thats good going. I'd say youo have maybe 4 days of work there at
least. Because you will lose concentration after about 6 hours. Stop.

The finsihed result, if you are very careful and patient, is stunning tho.

Best of luck.


Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:

5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier


P.S. Should I use MN Slate Seal instead of StainStop/Colour Intensifier?



I used both. Use intensifier to bring it up, and the sealer to seal over
afterwards, and the grout too.


Christian.

Neil Jones wrote:

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
et...

I'm going to install a slate floor in my kitchen. I'm planning:

1. 6mm plywood sheet over existing hardboard.
2. Adhesive
3. Slates
4. Lithofin MN Power-Clean
5. Lithofin MN StainStop
6. Lithofin MN Colour Intensifier

I'm planning to use Indian/Chinese style slate. The rough stuff with

red

streaks in, anyway. Is this a reasonable sequence? The floor will be a
fraction over 10m2.

Some questions:

1. Is 6mm plywood a good base to start on? Should I PVA it first?
2. What adhesive should I use?
3. How many coats of StainStop and Colour Intensifier should I use?
4. How many litres will I need of each?
5. At what point in the sequence do you grout? (i.e. before, after or

in

between coats of the StainStop?)
6. Do I need a particular type of grout? What colour looks good and

won't

look manky in five year's time?

Christian.




Not entirely relevant, but I laid a limestone floor in our kitchen onto
a concrete/screed floor, so obviously I didn't bother with plywood.

I used the flexible adhesive supplied by the stone supplier, Stonell. If
you're installing onto relatively thin ply I imagine you'll need a
flexible adhesive as well.

I used Lithofin's Wexa to clean the tiles after fixing, then a coat of
StainStop. This is before the grout to stop the grout from staining the
tiles.



Actually I forgot to say that descalers work well in getting dried
cement off, and brick acid is even better.

Just another point Christian, I reckoned that by the tme I had taken my 22 quid

a meter slate, and bought all the oher ******** - cement, grout, sealer stain

stops and so on, it was up to double the slate cost - 44 quid a meter.


At about 2.5 meters per day and a rough labour cost of say 100 quid a
day, I reckon the laid price would have been about 80-100 quid a square.


Main regrets are not using intensifier everywhere, and not using wide
spacing



I used ardex pretty much everywhere - rapid set, as I was laying thick
beds to take up crap screeding. Its very good stuff is ardex. The
flexible stuff takes longer to set - mix it stiff or teh *******s will
slump.

wrote:

Chris,

pleasingly andy and the natural philosopher have covered it all, so briefly:

Going back to the adhesive, a £22kg bag of ardex was ment to cover 5sqm at
3mm thickness, i.e I should have only used 4 bags!, but maybe this was
because I adopted the suppliers advice of laying the thickest 1st.

More info see http://www.ardex.co.uk/arduflex_range.asp

Cutting: I bought a cheap (£20) diamond angle grinder blade from B&Q, superb
cut the slates like butter.


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


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?

Although we already had a large radiator in the kitchen, we decided to go
for underfloor heating (£400), wished we hadn't bothered as only had it on
once, mainly cos ardex suggested that the heating / cooling of the
timberfloor alters the moisture content eventually causing warping of the
timber, hence cracking of the slate, also its not that cheap to run, and
finally its not cold on your feet anyway.

Good luck
Jon

Stonell are in Paddock Wood in Kent -not a great distance from the
motorway.

They've got a "Stone Centre" near Wantage. I wonder if collections could be
made from there, rather than having to troop round to Kent? Not that I have
any problem with long drives.

What stone did you go for? Looking at the website, Indian Summer and Bamboo
look about right.

I needed more than 50sqm so this was a delivery job anyway.

10sqm shouldn't be too much of a problem, though? That's only a little over
100 tiles.

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 saw the ones in B&Q. They looked fantastic, but probably were just a bit
too rough for trip hazard reasons. I'd like to have a few bumps, though. The
more impurities the better. I want streaks of red and completely random
surfaces.

The main issue when laying is going to be removing the appliances from the
kitchen when I do it. I should probably wait for a nice dry period and stick
them outside. I will probably floor under where the integrated appliances
are to make for easier installation/removal.

Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:


They've got a "Stone Centre" near Wantage. I wonder if collections
could be made from there, rather than having to troop round to Kent?
Not that I have any problem with long drives.

Thats where we went, its worth popping down just to get some ideas, although
its a small unit, the entire floor is made up of their products, you'll also
see that you can use combinations of 0.6, 0.4 & 0.3 tiles, from
recollection they only supply from the warehouse in Kent.


What stone did you go for? Looking at the website, Indian Summer and
Bamboo look about right.

Its all down to your own taste, we went for Bamboo as its very light (we
have a dark kitchen), and only has a few flashes of orange, the Indian
Summer is quite dark and uniform but has a metallic purple look, hence our
friends went for that (they weren't looking for a new floor, only giving me
a lift at the time).

Jon

Its all down to your own taste, we went for Bamboo as its very light
(we have a dark kitchen), and only has a few flashes of orange, the
Indian Summer is quite dark and uniform but has a metallic purple
look, hence our friends went for that (they weren't looking for a new
floor, only giving me a lift at the time).

Hmmm. Just noticed the horizontal scroll bar on their site. The Sheng Li
looks good too. Can you remember if the prices are very different for the
different shades?

It looks like a trip to Wantage is on the cards.

Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:

Hmmm. Just noticed the horizontal scroll bar on their site. The Sheng
Li looks good too. Can you remember if the prices are very different
for the different shades?

I've scanned 2 relevant pages from their price list
http://tinyurl.com/yslnr
http://tinyurl.com/36eyc

Jon

I've scanned 2 relevant pages from their price list

Thanks for that!

The Sheng Li, which looks just like the thing I'm looking for is actually
the cheapest. 14 quid per square metre, just like the B&Q stuff. I'll
probably go along and compare with the other shades, though. I can't get
much of a feel for the stuff from a web site.

The Sheng Li is also wear rated for 6 (heavy interior/exterior commercial
use) rather than 3 (moderate interior/exterior domestic use) for the bamboo.
The large colour variation is an advantage.

Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:

The Sheng Li, which looks just like the thing I'm looking for is
actually the cheapest. 14 quid per square metre, just like the B&Q
stuff. I'll probably go along and compare with the other shades,
though. I can't get much of a feel for the stuff from a web site.

The Sheng Li is also wear rated for 6 (heavy interior/exterior
commercial use) rather than 3 (moderate interior/exterior domestic
use) for the bamboo. The large colour variation is an advantage.

Actually I hadn't noticed that, that would suggest that the Sheng Li is a
much stronger slate, you may get away with thinner / no ply?, certainly one
to ask them.

Jon

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
et...
I've scanned 2 relevant pages from their price list

Thanks for that!

The Sheng Li, which looks just like the thing I'm looking for is
actually
the cheapest. 14 quid per square metre, just like the B&Q stuff. I'll
probably go along and compare with the other shades, though. I can't
get
much of a feel for the stuff from a web site.

The Sheng Li is also wear rated for 6 (heavy interior/exterior
commercial
use) rather than 3 (moderate interior/exterior domestic use) for the
bamboo.
The large colour variation is an advantage.

Christian.



If Sheng Li is the one I remember, one slate might be dark green, the
next bright orange, etc. "Strong colour differences" is an
understatement!

If Sheng Li is the one I remember, one slate might be dark green, the
next bright orange, etc. "Strong colour differences" is an
understatement!

Well, the kitchen units are a little bit uniform, so something to break down
the monotony is desired. I'll overbuy by 15% or so and discard the
particularly lurid ones, I suspect (or use them under the appliances). OTOH,
I haven't seen them in the flesh yet, so I could end up with Bamboo or
Indian Summer. The website picture of Sheng Li laid is exactly what I want
(without the horrible green painted units, though!)

Christian.

Actually I hadn't noticed that, that would suggest that the Sheng Li is
a much stronger slate, you may get away with thinner / no ply?,
certainly one to ask them.

I doubt it would make much difference. I presume the purpose of the plywood
is to make the floor solid enough that the tiles don't ping off when someone
walks on the floor and flexes it. I doubt the wear qualities of the slate
would affect this, although a good quality flexible adhesive might be
indicated.

Christian.

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
et...
If Sheng Li is the one I remember, one slate might be dark green,
the
next bright orange, etc. "Strong colour differences" is an
understatement!

Well, the kitchen units are a little bit uniform, so something to
break down
the monotony is desired. I'll overbuy by 15% or so and discard the
particularly lurid ones, I suspect (or use them under the appliances).
OTOH,
I haven't seen them in the flesh yet, so I could end up with Bamboo or
Indian Summer. The website picture of Sheng Li laid is exactly what I
want
(without the horrible green painted units, though!)

Christian.


On reflection, I realise that any which were too outrageous could be
used under your appliances.

Neil

On reflection, I realise that any which were too outrageous could be
used under your appliances.

Roughly what proportion are too ridiculous to use in the ones you saw? (I
realise this is pretty variable in practice). Obviously, I'm desiring a
reasonable amount of colour difference, but may wish to avoid lime green,
fluorescent yellow and bright pink.

Christian.

Christian McArdle wrote:

I will probably floor under where the integrated appliances
are to make for easier installation/removal.



That is wise. The units can be left - just remove plinths - and tile to
leg edfes, and trim plinths to the correct height.
..


Christian.

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
et...
On reflection, I realise that any which were too outrageous could be
used under your appliances.

Roughly what proportion are too ridiculous to use in the ones you saw?
(I
realise this is pretty variable in practice). Obviously, I'm desiring
a
reasonable amount of colour difference, but may wish to avoid lime
green,
fluorescent yellow and bright pink.

Christian.



No, nothing like that! Clearly, what I may or may not like won't
necessarily coincide with your taste.

Neil

That is wise. The units can be left - just remove plinths - and tile to
leg edfes, and trim plinths to the correct height.

I probably won't even fit plinths until the floor is in place.

Still, this kitchen is taking some time to do.

I've still got to:

1. Finish lighting (one luminaire and switch cable)
2. Install pipework for water softener.
3. Swap plumbing for w/m and t/d.
4. Install fan convector
5. Plasterboard short section of wall
6. Wet plaster outside of chimney breast
7. Design/build/attach fire surround + shelf
8. Plaster chased in cables
9. Renovate & draftproof windows
10. Paint.
11. Cut and fit cornices, pelmets and plinths.
12. Install worktops (will DEFINITELY get pro for this)
13. Tile splashbacks + fireplace internals
14. Lay floor
15. Install range cooker
16. Install breakfast bar.
17. Install open ended wall unit above breakfast bar.

Still, it's looking fairly good already. It's the floor and chimney (bare
breeze block) that let down the appearance. Strangely, the current plywood
worksurfaces (which replaced the previous cardboard ones) don't look as bad
as you'd imagine.

Christian.

but may wish to avoid lime green, fluorescent yellow and bright pink.

No, nothing like that! Clearly, what I may or may not like won't
necessarily coincide with your taste.

Sounds good then. I might try to drive up there on Saturday and take a look
at their stuff.

Christian.

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 09:50:22 -0000, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

Stonell are in Paddock Wood in Kent -not a great distance from the
motorway.

They've got a "Stone Centre" near Wantage. I wonder if collections could be
made from there, rather than having to troop round to Kent? Not that I have
any problem with long drives.

You could ask. At the time, they had a centre in Guildford so we went
there,



What stone did you go for? Looking at the website, Indian Summer and Bamboo
look about right.

We have the Sheng Li. It fits well with the rest of the kitchen
environment - dark granite worktops, tumbled marble wall tiles, oak
furniture and joinery.

I would recommend buying a tile or two and taking them home. If you
can borrow or buy samples of the other bits you intend to use. Put
them together and look at them over a period of a few days.
You can reasonably simulate colour enhancer by wetting the tiles
lightly.



I needed more than 50sqm so this was a delivery job anyway.

10sqm shouldn't be too much of a problem, though? That's only a little over
100 tiles.

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 saw the ones in B&Q. They looked fantastic, but probably were just a bit
too rough for trip hazard reasons. I'd like to have a few bumps, though. The
more impurities the better. I want streaks of red and completely random
surfaces.

that was the attraction to me as well. There are quite a few plant
and animal fossils and imprints also, so I distributed those in
various places.



The main issue when laying is going to be removing the appliances from the
kitchen when I do it. I should probably wait for a nice dry period and stick
them outside. I will probably floor under where the integrated appliances
are to make for easier installation/removal.

We had this issue, although in our case it was a staircase that was
being replaced at the same time. It was dealt with by tiling in the
area involved using a faster setting adhesive that went off in a few
hours.

I would definitely tile underneath and go all the way back as well.
We selected tiles that were relatively free of bumps to go under the
appliances.



Christian.


..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 12:18:29 -0000, "Neil Jones"
wrote:


"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
. net...
I've scanned 2 relevant pages from their price list

Thanks for that!

The Sheng Li, which looks just like the thing I'm looking for is
actually
the cheapest. 14 quid per square metre, just like the B&Q stuff. I'll
probably go along and compare with the other shades, though. I can't
get
much of a feel for the stuff from a web site.

The Sheng Li is also wear rated for 6 (heavy interior/exterior
commercial
use) rather than 3 (moderate interior/exterior domestic use) for the
bamboo.
The large colour variation is an advantage.

Christian.



If Sheng Li is the one I remember, one slate might be dark green, the
next bright orange, etc. "Strong colour differences" is an
understatement!


I don't believe so, Neil.

There are variations between batches, obviously, but there was not a
substantial green in ours at all. The colours range from mid to
dark grey and to oranges and orange browns - pretty much the colours
you expect to see associated with iron.


..andy

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On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 11:45:57 -0000, "Christian McArdle"
wrote:

I've scanned 2 relevant pages from their price list

Thanks for that!

The Sheng Li, which looks just like the thing I'm looking for is actually
the cheapest. 14 quid per square metre, just like the B&Q stuff. I'll
probably go along and compare with the other shades, though. I can't get
much of a feel for the stuff from a web site.

The bigger price variations tend to be with size, especially if you
want a good grade.



The Sheng Li is also wear rated for 6 (heavy interior/exterior commercial
use) rather than 3 (moderate interior/exterior domestic use) for the bamboo.

This was another factor.


The large colour variation is an advantage.

Christian.


..andy

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On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 01:16:52 +0000, The Natural Philosopher
wrote:




Grey is nice. Lay with at least 5mm gaps. I used 3 on a large area nad
regretted it. If the slates are very uneven use even more - 8mm?

You can even have a small amount of variation. That also looks in
keeping.


Take LOTS of time. I reckon if you can do 10 sq meters in a day, just
layng, thats good going. I'd say youo have maybe 4 days of work there at
least. Because you will lose concentration after about 6 hours. Stop.

Not to mention the effect on the back. This is hard work.


The finsihed result, if you are very careful and patient, is stunning tho.

Yes it is...



Best of luck.


Christian.





..andy

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