Travertine 1st timer....

[Andy T]

Hi all,
I am doing my bathroom and have decided on a Travertine honed and filled tile 12mm thick.
The tile is 300mm x 450mm.I am doing the walls and the floor in the same tile.
My bathroom is solid brick construction with a sand and cement render in rather good solid condition.
What would be the best way to prepare the walls ready for tiling? Do i need to seal the wall with a type of primer
and what would you recommend for filling the small areas in the wall(somebody told me to use rapidset adhesive as a filler)
Thanks for your help
Andy

 

[bugs183]

Hiya!
A well rendered surface is great to tile too,and it shouldn't need sealing so long as you use a quality cement based adhesive, which needs to be white, so that the grey doesn't leach through the tile. I tend to use slow drying adhesives with stone as its much nicer to use, and is easier to wash off during the tiling process. Manufacturers such as BAL, Dunlop and Mapei all make ideal adhesives, but i have heard really good things about Mapei Keraflex, and Keraflex Maxi, as they really hold the tile in place, and offer good value for money. These could also be used to fill your voids, as you don't want an adhesive that will slump when used, as good as Dunlop is, it does slump. And do not use any porable adhesive any where on the walls as it will go everywhere (but some stockists love selling it anyway!!).
Good luck!

 

[Ian]

Hello Andy, have you done much tiling before? Stone tiling requires a lot of skill and some specialist tools, I'm not saying you couldn't do the job but, by the time you have all the necessary equipment you may be better off employing a pro tiler to do the job. If you do wish to do it yourself, the members on here will gladly take you through your install step by step.

 

[Andy T]

Thanks for the quick responses, i have done a bit of tiling before using ceramic tiles never natural stone. I have most of the gear including tile saw(elec) . Do you reccommend that i fill any gaps/holes/voids in the wall as i tile? Or should i do them a day before? On the floor i am laying a hardibacker onto wooden floorboards.
Andy