In our case, we didn't even ask for assistance. The female associate just butted her way into our conversation and would not leave. She insisted that we buy the large 3 gallon container because it was the most economical. I persisted and we bought the small gallon size.
The adhesive in the gallon size container was adequate and did the job for the granite that was laid flat so we went back and bit the bullet for the large container. BAD MOVE. Apparently they sell very few large containers and despite this container being sealed it was still a lot drier and harder to spread than the product in the small container.
After fighting with the new product and basically wasting half of it, we went back and bought another smaller container size. Again that product was still moist and was spreadable. The problem came when we tried to use it to adhere the edge pieces. It was so slippery that we could not get it to stay put long enough to tape it in place. Frustration soon set in and we quit for the day.
This is the first tiling job that R and I have ever.....yes that's right EVER...tried to do. I know it might be unwise to just jump into a big granite job, but ya know that is how R and I roll.....we just jump right in and learn as we go.
Today we made a quick trip to a real tile and stone store and asked what to use. Their advise for attaching the granite edge pieces.....Liquid Nails. Really???? So we went home and hauled out a tube of Liquid Nails.
But first...as an added insurance step...we added a piece of scrap pine to support the tile pieces. We attached the pine with a nail gun that was loaded with very small gauge nails. When we remove the board, the holes that remain will be very small and easy to fill.
Oh my...look at all that dusty hammered aluminum serving pieces. I can't wait to have that displayed in my glass front cabinets.Installation of the edge pieces went fast and smoothly until we needed to cut angles in 4 pieces. This is where we stopped for the day. We will sleep on it and see what we come up with for an answer to cutting the angles.
So, you're a tiling virgin...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to tell you what we figured out when we were tiling the slate to our front porch (Weekend Warrior style)...
We should have remembered that the surface of the porch prior to tiling did not drain very well. It's a covered porch but water still gets under and then it just sits there, in the middle of the porch until it evaporates. I usually help it along by using a squeegee to get off most of the water.
Well, we followed the same surface when tiling and funny thing, the water does the exact same thing on top of the slate. However, the slate, if left unattended (which it's way unattended right now since we have a renter), chips away. I'm pretty sure we will have to install some new tiles when the renter moves out.
Anyway, that's one of the things we learned.
Oh and good idea using that piece of wood to support the bull nose. That's something my hubby thought of when we were doing vertical tiles.
Unfortunately the counters will be dead on level and the rest of the house is off half a bubble. LOL
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