Marble tiles to a first floor bathroom

[Cappuccino cath]

Hi and thank you for letting me post a question!

I would like to ask anyone out there for comments/advice concerning a small project. I am in the throws of tracking down marble wall tiles that would cover a bathroom area of aprox 26 square metres (allowing for damage/breaks). The intention is to tile a bathroom floor to ceiling in a period property. The walls (below)are load bearing, and the house is in superb condition. What I would like to know is there a total weight limit to a first floor room ( the floor will not be tiled) and at 26 square metres each tile will be 305mm x457mm x 12mm. Obviously there will be the usual bathroom pieces (bath, basin and WC and shower unit). I could do with some help to determine what the weight considerations are allowing for materials etc... Thanks !!!

 

[Cappuccino cath]

Oh and the old plaster is dark grey and grainy texture... hope this info is of use?

 

[Colour Republic]

this thread should help you any problems come back here:smilewinkgrin:

http://www.tilersforums.com/tiling-forum/4632-weight-limits-when-tiling-wall.html

 

[White Room]

Sounds like lime mortor, give the walls a tap and see if sounds hollow.
It's a sort bounce sound on the plaster

 

[Cappuccino cath]

Hiya Colour!
Thank you for your very sound point. I could not say for 100% certainty that the current wall render would be capable of holding such a weight, and having got a correct tile sample (rather than a postage stamp effort sent in the post). I can only assume that we would have to take the render off the exterior walls and construct some type of structure enabling us to anchor tiles to the walls, again we would be compromising the "period" look and feel of the room... so back to square one....

Any suggestions on a lighter tile that does the look and feel of marble but not the weight? Thanks for your patience!

 

[Colour Republic]

Hiya Colour!
Thank you for your very sound point. I could not say for 100% certainty that the current wall render would be capable of holding such a weight, and having got a correct tile sample (rather than a postage stamp effort sent in the post). I can only assume that we would have to take the render off the exterior walls and construct some type of structure enabling us to anchor tiles to the walls, again we would be compromising the "period" look and feel of the room... so back to square one....

Any suggestions on a lighter tile that does the look and feel of marble but not the weight? Thanks for your patience!

Why would you be compromising design? I thought you were tiling floor to ceiling? With that weight you'd have to remove the plaster and fix tile backer boards to the brick work or to an existing timber frame, the architrave and any mouldings in the room do not have to be removed.

In general plaster as old as yours will have lost a lot of its strength and although can take some weight it's really hard to say how much. Have you tried drilling into the wall? Just because the plaster has not blown does not mean it is solid, again not trying to scare you or make you spend money you don't have to but it would be a good idea to get a few tilers round to advise you. It could be that your plaster is very solid and hasn’t deteriorated but better to be safe than sorry, it comes with buying an old house with character I’m afraid

 

[Cappuccino cath]

Hiya Whitebeam and Colour,
Yes...it is lime mortar and have just read your link too colour... lesson learnt... good job I haven't parted with my hard earned cash on the marble. Still ever so disappointed ....could have been worse, marble might have come off the wall and smashed the fab bath suite (would have quickly fallen out of love with said marble ;o( )... thank you both, very much... appreciated

Shall I write off the entire "natural stone" world? or are you able to point me to some lighter alternatives? Thanks again!

 

[Colour Republic]

Off the top of my head I can't think of a tile to point you in the right direction but if you stick around for a few days then somebody who fixes alot more natural stone than I do might be able to help, failing that try your local tile shops who if you explain the situation will be able to help (by the way just becuase some large household name DIY stores stock tiles doesn't mean they know anything about them!).

If you really wanted to go down the natural stone route then i'd get some prices in first before you discount it, it certainly won't be the cheapest option but then anything with any quality and style is never going to be cheap

 

[Cappuccino cath]

Hiya Colour,
Just read your note about the room, yes I agree.. I had honestly not considered stripping the walls down to stone work and the original internal walls are (lath and plaster strips with lime mortar). I have drilled into two of the walls and on those occasions the "plaster" did not break away or was porous, but I could have drilled in the next spot and there could have been a weakness... much as I love old houses (and this one has been a love project) they are a pandoras box! The ceiling (which was not going to be tiled has "curved edges" which I haven't come across before.

I will need to understand what anchor methods would be used for tiles of this size and weight if I were to strip the render/plaster down to bare stone and also what can I utilise as a bond to the original lath and plaster internal wall... Again it's a fair comment, second guessing when I should have a professional to assess the job.

 

[White Room]

The trouble with lath and plaster it can give way at any time, I've seen ceilings after there've let go in living rooms and you would'nt want to be underneath it.

 

[Colour Republic]

Take some pictures and post some up here when you get a chance and we'll see if we can help you along a bit further. Fixing the backer boards and the tiles is the easy part for a professional, the job isn't as big as you may think it is but with lath and plaster you can bet it's going to be a messy one.

Were you thinking of undertaking the works yourself or are you going to get professional help?

Any tradesman worth his salt will help you from the conception to design through to the completed job. If somebody isn't prepared to do that look elsewhere