Natural Stone Production and Its Important Installation Tips

The beauty of natural stone tile adds timeless elegance to any home decor. Do you know where these stones come from?!

Australian Stone Advisory Association (ASAA) has listed a total of around 90 stone quarries in Australia in the Discovering Stone Buyer’s Guide. However the actual number of quarries in Australia and the total volume of tile manufactured will vary from ASAA's data. The then ASAA director Jim Mann had said that he knew of a couple of operators (not in the ASAA list) there in South Australia that quarry stone on farms, most of which got sold to local builders and property owners. He added that in Queensland, operators were producing half a dozen different types of marble which hardly see the light of day in Australia, as virtually everything they produce as raw blocks was exported to China.

From the stone tiles manufactured in quarries, slabs are cut into standard tile sizes and thicknesses (usually minimum of 10mm for floors), polished or honed and sold to a distributor who sells the tiles to the end user. The end users normally don’t purchase tiles directly from the manufacturer or wholesaler.

Tiled Floor and Bathrooms (Marble & Granite)

A good tiler will:

• Check quality of the stone tiles for polish, squareness, flatness, Arris-edges and colour variation
• Where to place the stone tiles so the grout joints are in the correct place
• Check for the levelness of the concrete substrate to determine if a sand and cement screed is required or self leveling compound required to ensure a level stone tile floor is achieved
• Use tiles from different boxes when laying the stone tiles so that the different colours a mixed into the floor
• Ensure that a good water proofing membrane is used
• What type of tile glue should be used on the stone tiles
• What type of tile grout should be used on the stone tiles
• Thickness of the grout joints between the stone tiles
•  Ensure that a GOOD fall in the stone tile shower is achieved
•  Ensure sealing of the tiles with a high quality professional sealer. This is essential to keep them clean and stop unsightly staining. Check out our recommended sealing range  

Marble, Granite, Limestone, Travertine Showers

When installing tiles in a shower there are several considerations:

• The floor has a good fall towards the drain so water does not pool around the sides and seep into and behind the tiles. This is especially important where the glass meets the floor and there is no hob (step)
• Adequate waterproofing - best results are achieved if 2 membranes are applied – one below the tile to prevent leakage and one below the sand cement bedding as a back up
• Plumbing and fittings are installed before tiles are laid
• Floor tiles are laid before wall tiles so that the wall tiles sit on top of the floor tiles – this prevents water from flowing down the wall and under the floor tile
•  Edges and corners are polished and not sharp on shower steps or shelves.

Once the stone benchtop or vanity has been prepared to specifications by the manufacturer, the installer will fix the stone in position with special glues and resins. The end user must choose the colour of the epoxy resin used to fill the joints with the installer, so it matches perfectly with the stone. The wrong colour can change the look of the stone.

The Role of Stone Restoration Specialists

The natural stone surfaces not only add elegance to your home or property but also make it stand apart from the rest by adding to its resale value.

The dull, stained or worn out marble and other natural stone surfaces can be restored to their newly purchased condition by stone care professionals. Get a FREE Stone Care Evaluation today. Call now: 1300 627 626.