sealing slate tiles

[brett71]

i thought i had seen a post about sealing tiles but cant find it again so i am sorry if its been asked before

i have some 400mm square slate tiles most are second hand but there were 10 brand new ones that haven't been sealed and the old ones have some scratchs so could do with a new coat

should i seal them before i lay them or after?

what size gap would you use for 400mm

Thanks

Brett

 

[prceramics]

some seal before laying some dont but you must seal them before and after grouting, 4mm grout line would be fine make sure they are adhesive, and dust free before sealing

 

[Richard C]

Assuming these are natural slate & not slate effect; clean off the old sealer & re-seal the lot before laying them. Clean again & re-seal before grouting; clean & seal again again when finished. To reduce risk of staining when laying use a non-contrasting adhesive colour, i.e. grey for dark tiles or white adhesive for lighter coloured tiles. IMO floors look better with wide joint grout lines, 4-5mm; walls look better with narrow grout lines, 2-3mm.

Use only quality trade materials of the correct type for your tiles.

 

[brett71]

thanks Richard, i was leaning towards sealing before laying, whats best for cleaning sealer off the old tiles?

they are natural slate, the autumn multi colour so i was thinking gray grout

 

[Richard C]

i was leaning towards sealing before laying, whats best for cleaning sealer off the old tiles?

This; http://www.tiledoctor.co.uk/Remover.html
Followed by this; http://www.tiledoctor.co.uk/TD-StoneSealer.html

Also have a read here, should tell you all you need to know;
http://www.tiledoctor.co.uk/Slate.html

they are natural slate, the autumn multi colour so i was thinking gray grout

Grey adhesive & grout should be OK. Assuming this is a floor, powder cement adhesive only.

 

[brett71]

Thanks for that richard, do you know if this is available to buy locally or will i need to buy it direct from them?

Brett

 

[Richard C]

Not sure if it’s on general sale but your local trade tile outlet will have something similar; the “Lithofin” range of tile cleaners/sealers is pretty good.

 

[barneyrubble]

Not sure if it’s on general sale but your local trade tile outlet will have something similar; the “Lithofin” range of tile cleaners/sealers is pretty good.

Agreed, Lithofin is expensive but good.

 

[brett71]

I have tried some lithofin on 1, do i assume the only thing i will notice is the tiles will look the same sort of colour but the gloss sheen is now dull