Than Saw Artificial Stone Countertops

Decorative stone often has bumps on the front surface. Because of this, it can be somewhat difficult to lay and glue artificial stone on the wall, regardless of what it is made of. Drywall, concrete, brick, even if you glue directly on mdf or wallpaper. In the traditional way (as when facing the walls with tiles), using the building level to level the surface with artificial stone is more difficult. Therefore, before deciding how to glue artificial stone on the wall, you need to prepare the working surface in advance. Align the wall in front of the cladding.

How to level the walls before you start gluing artificial stone

To align the wall before finishing with artificial stone, you need to plaster the surface or close it with drywall. Before gluing an artificial stone to the drywall, the walls need to be primed. Thanks to this, the adhesion of the stone to the surface will be strong.

Next, do the markup. Draw a horizontal line at the bottom of the wall at a height of 2-3 cm from the foot (floor, foundation, bottom plate, etc.). If you glue an artificial stone from the outside, then raise the level to 5-6 cm from the ground. After the completion of laying work in the room, the gap will be closed with a plinth. Outside, the gap cannot be closed with anything, since during cold weather the tile can swell under the influence of low temperature. That is, rise. If you do not make this necessary gap, under the influence of pressure, the tile may break from the solution or crack.

To solve the question of how to glue an artificial stone on a wall, you need to understand a simple technology. Before you start finishing, you need to clean the surface of dust, then cover with a layer of primer. You also need to calculate the artificial stone, that is, accurately form the future masonry. To do this, just lay the stone on the floor or ground. Then you just have to transfer it to the wall.

And only after you are finished with the preparation, you can begin to connect artificial stones directly on the wall. Apply adhesive with a comb spatula.

Before laying or gluing an artificial stone on a wall, decide which masonry technology you will use, what you will glue. In other words. You need to know the principle of work in advance in order to avoid further difficulties and confusion.

3 ways. How to glue artificial stone on the wall

Seamless masonry. Stones are glued tightly to each other, without gaps

Medium-sized seams. Stones are glued at a short distance from each other, which looks interesting in combination with contrasting color seams

Large-sized seams. Stones are glued at a great distance from each other, which ensures the creation of additional decorative trim elements from the seams

The width of the joints when laying artificial stone on the wall usually depends on the size of the tiles themselves. For medium-sized stones, seams of 5-8 mm are suitable, and for large stones, you can make seams larger. 15-20 mm. However, it is now possible in any case to glue the stone correctly. As modern materials create durable structures from any design idea.

We recommend laying the stone on an already prepared mixture. You do not need to cook it yourself. It is on sale in any building supermarket. Apply an adhesive layer with a thickness of no more than 10 mm. You do not need to moisten the walls before application. Just ground all surfaces intended for masonry well.

During the work, the temperature should be in the range of 5−28 ° C. If the temperature drops lower, the adhesive ability of the mortar for laying artificial brick on the wall also drops. And the heat dries the solution before it sets. Such a masonry will not last long. To avoid this in conditions of elevated temperature, for example, in the summer heat, be sure to moisten the wall from time to time, and dip the stone into water before putting it on the masonry mortar.

When you have completely prepared all the walls, material, tools for work, it is time to start laying artificial stone. If necessary, the stone can be cut with an angle grinder with a diamond disk. It is better to cut artificial stone on the street, as this will generate a lot of dust. Indoors, it will be difficult for a person to work under such conditions. You will have to constantly wait for the dust cloud to settle. In addition, it is difficult to glue artificial stone in an apartment after such work. The dust is very fine, and it will not be possible to clean it everywhere. Dust residues can form pores in masonry glue, and this directly affects the life of the walls with artificial stone.

Examples of wall decoration with artificial stone in the apartment with your own hands:

These are the most common types of using decorative stone in the interior of a house. As well as on the walls, you can put an artificial stone on the ceiling. It is correct to use gypsum stone in this case, since it is lighter than concrete.

Artificial stone differs in shape, texture and color. Thanks to this, the surface of the decorative stone accurately convey the texture and structure of natural stone.

By types of artificial stone is:

Rubble. Imitates boulders and pebbles

Sawn with smooth edges

Smooth. Like natural brick, cinder block or granite / marble

Chopped, with chipped edges. Imitates stone, processed by nature itself

How to make glue for artificial stone

Important: the adhesive for the tiles must be diluted without departing from the instructions, so that the composition lasts a long and reliable. The density of the consistency should resemble a toothpaste. After you have prepared the mixture, apply it to the wall with a notched trowel. Apply a layer of 6-8 mm. Apply the same layer on the other side of the tile, which will glue the stone to the wall.

Than Saw Artificial Stone Countertops

Press the artificial stone well against the wall, but you don’t need to make special efforts, otherwise the mortar will be squeezed out at the edges and the tile may not stick. You also need to adjust the stone. Just slightly move it from side to side so that it “sits” in place next to the neighboring one. You can use a rubber mallet, it will be easier with it.

How to fill seams with mortar

First of all, you need to stick the tile in the corners. This is necessary so that you do not have to lay out the entire wall and then suffer, pushing corner stones. After the corners, deal with window frames and doorways. And only after you finish work on all corners and complex ledges. Start gluing the rest of the artificial stone to the wall. This rule applies the same for any surface, whether it is cement, concrete, drywall, MDF or wallpaper.

To make all the seams neat, even and beautiful, cut strips of plywood or other material. You will use these strips as spacers, with their help all the stones on the wall will be glued evenly and neatly. It is convenient to use strips cut from drywall. 10−12 mm thick.

When you have finished laying, all the seams must be filled with special embroidery material. For convenience, there is a special tool. A culinary syringe. You can also use an ordinary plastic bag. After you fill the seams with a solution, you need to align it, for this there are two tools. A flange or a piece of a simple rubber hose. Do not remove residual solution with a wet cloth. Stains will remain, which are then very difficult to remove. Use a broom or a dry brush.

How to paint an artificial stone

Now we’ll tell you how to paint an artificial stone at home: in the you will see the whole process from the beginning to the end of all work.

Artificial stone painting is the second main stage after gluing the stone to the surface. But the process itself is no more complicated than painting any other surface. You just need to wait until the entire masonry is fully fixed, and the glue for artificial stone is fully seized.

The appearance of the entire wall trimmed with artificial stone will depend on how to paint the stone. Therefore, it is important to approach this process responsibly, otherwise you can ruin the surface. By the way, laying artificial stone can be done not only before painting, but also after. If you decide to lay the stone after you have painted it, be careful not to scratch the painted stone or stain it with glue. There is a little trick how to paint an artificial stone of gypsum or concrete and protect it from scratches. After painting, cover it with varnish.

How to paint artificial stone

If you are painting decorative tiles for the first time, it is better to start small. Paint each stone separately. So you can paint all the stones well and, most importantly, evenly paint the ends of the stone.

If you already have experience in painting work. Paint the already laid stone. This will not only save time, but also give you room for imagination with a combination of colors and patterns.

To paint an artificial stone, 2-3 pigments are enough to mix and make the desired color. Remember that due to porosity, gypsum will slightly distort the initial shade in some places. Therefore, re-painting may be necessary.

How to paint artificial stone

There are a large number of ways to paint an artificial stone made of gypsum or concrete. Even spray guns and airbrushes are used. But for domestic use, there are several simple and effective ways of painting decorative stone. However, these methods are also suitable for production.

The most common way is the coloring of artificial stone in the production mass. That is, powder pigments are mixed into the gypsum solution itself. Thus, the product is completely painted, and when you cut the stone to fit you will not have white spots inside the stone. This is especially useful for chips and cracks. You do not need to look for the right shade to paint over white gypsum. After the ebb of the stone, it can be painted in the form itself. To give a picture of the natural veins of the stone.

If you need to remove a chip, use an angle grinder. There are two ways to grind or rub an artificial stone:

Fast is the Turbo disc. With it, you can quickly repair chips or other damage. Processing will be less smooth and quality.

Classical. Work is slower, but the result is better. The edge or damaged surface is smoother and more accurate.

Proportions of mixture for painting:

Pigment (color). Half a teaspoon

Than Saw Artificial Stone Countertops

Acrylic primer. 200 ml

Mix all ingredients until smooth.

Then you need to wait until the stone has completely hardened and stick it on the wall. After that, wait until the artificial stone grapple with the adhesive. Before painting the stone with a water-based matte varnish, make sure once again that the tile sits firmly on the surface. The varnish will strengthen the paint layer and help the stone resist chips and cracks.

How to paint an artificial stone at home

Pigment mixing table:

The second way to paint artificial stone.

Ingredients and Tools:

Tinting paste, or. Water-borne coloring pigment

Spray gun or brush

Add tinting paste to the water. To create the desired shade. Use the shade table that we have compiled for you above. Stir the color in the water.

Add 30-50% acrylic primer to the water with pigment. You will prepare a composition that, after drying, will make your artificial stone stronger.

If you want to finish painting the stone faster, use any sprayer. Even an empty container with a spray bottle for washing glass will do. Use several sprayers at the same time. So you can create unique shades on the entire surface of the wall.

How to lay artificial stone on the wall

To understand how to lay an artificial stone on a wall, we give examples of basic installation rules:

Facing the facade must be done with an indent of 6-10 cm from the floor, the ground (or a similar plane). This is necessary so that in winter time the tile does not tear off the wall with temperature changes. From the freezing of the ground the lower line of the tile will disappear. When finishing indoors, indentation is also needed. For the plinth.

Before attaching the artificial stone to the wall, cover both sides with a primer, concrete contact or other composition that enhances adhesion. To achieve greater adhesion to the stone, a metal mesh is stuffed onto a brick or wooden wall, then coated with a mortar and primed. Artificial stone on the wall can be laid only after the primer has completely dried.

To lay artificial stone on the wall in the apartment, on the facade or on any other surface, you need to use special adhesives. Do not experiment and try to save on the composition. The wrong mixture can significantly reduce the life of the entire masonry.

After laying, artificial stones need to be treated with a hydrophobization agent. It will protect the stone from moisture. This is extremely important for an artificial stone, since it has a porous structure, and without protection means moisture will destroy the stone from the inside.

An artificial stone can be mounted on a porotherm wall in the same way as on other surfaces. On special adhesives or on cement mortar.

Artificial Stone Tools

To wall the wall with artificial stone you will need:

Cord or cable to install horizontal beacons