Pebble tiles

[tigsmom]

So ive been on the website for the pebble tiles and it says i may need a reinforced waterproof membrane under the border. No idea what or where to find this. It also says to use an high quality thinset mortar adheisive (I have chosen Mapei Keraquick because it says its ok for natural stone - is that ok?) and that stones be sealed before and after grouting (?). Finally it says to use a sanded grout (??).

Can anyone put these terms into actual product names for me please? The pebbles are just as a border with glossy white tiles so I'd prefer a white grout if possible. Thanks.

 

[Jasonb]

Because no "waterproof" grout will totally stop the passage of water and yoy will have a lot of grout around the pebles it is neccassary to provide a waterproof barrier behind the pebbles when used in wet areas.

A 12" wide strip of a tanking membrain such as BAL WP1 or the Dunlop equivalent will do, though if in a wet area I would be tanking all the wall.

I've not used the Keraquick but it should be OK, I tend to use BAL Mosaicfix.

Due to the large areas of grout, regular grout will shrink and crack so you need one for wide joints, I usually go for BAL Widejoint (superflex widejoint if on plasterboard walls) The Mapei Ultracolour plus would also be suitable as you can use this on joints upto 20mm but its a bit slower going off so you have to watch that you don't wipe too much out.

Seal as they say before & after, if you like the matt look then use an impregnator, if you like how the tiles look when wet then go for an intensifier, I use Lithofin products.

Jason

 

[tigsmom]

Thanks fo that Jason it all makes sense now! We are having the bathroom plasterboarded (dot and dab) so will probably need to tank the area around the bath/shower anyway before tiling with the standard type white gloss tiles. Will this be enough for the pebble border areas too?

 

[Jasonb]

Yes that will be fine, no need for anything behind the pebbles in the rest of the bathroom, just the wet areas.

Jason

 

[tigsmom]

Thats great, thank you.