Create a unique design in the apartment or finish the base in the country house? The problem is «on the face». And the casket opens simply! One of the options is the laying of artificial stone. The hallway, a place near the fireplace, even a simple replacement of the skirting board with artificial stone border will adequately ennoble your interior.
Laying of artificial stone is a business of professionals. But if you need money saving, then having a little experience of finishing work, you can cope with this work with this work. There would be a desire and an assistant in the form of a tablet for an urgent consultation in the case of a disaster.
The choice of artificial stone
For various finishes, your material is selected. For internal work, a stone with a large percentage of gypsum is selected, and for decoration (for example, basement), hardness increases due to an increase in cement. Pay attention to the color, structure, fragility, the presence of chips on the purchased stone. Immediately before laying, it is necessary to take a thorough inspection and calibration, especially if you make a layout without seams. Sometimes stones of one batch can differ from each other in texture and shade. Previously, you can lay out a small area on any surface, mix large stones with small ones and make your own individual pattern. This is a creative process.
Preparatory work before laying
Well, now let’s start a dirty and boring work. Laying of artificial stone begins with determining the working surface of both the stone itself and the wall coating. The surface of the pebbles made of brick or concrete practically do not need additional preparation if the porosity of concrete is pleased.
To improve the quality of the coupling between two adjacent surfaces, the masonry place is treated with a primer. The choice of primer depends on several factors in the performance of work (internal or external decoration, frost resistance, moisture resistance, etc. e). This function must be done if there are actually no pores on the concrete surface.
The working surface treated with gypsum plaster, or lined with plywood or drywall sheets, is also treated with a primer.
Difficulties may appear in the working wood surface, and if you are a newcomer, then do work under the control of a specialist or carefully study this procedure.
Be sure to apply a waterproofing layer. It can be a roofing material or parchment. Attach a plaster mesh to enhance the connection strength with the contacting surface. The final stage is the application of the plaster mixture. The time for complete drying depends on the air temperature and ranges from 12 hours to a day. Observe the exact sequence of these actions and your work will be rewarded with satisfied cries of your family. And also a very important point: the thermometer should show the air temperature not lower than +5 degrees and not more than +25.
Stone laying work
Laying of artificial stone on plaster on the basis of cement or sand will not be of great work, but with all this a fundamental condition must be observed: the surface on which the artificial stone is laid should be well dried and quite strong.
The next question that appears in the process of work: in what way to lay it out is with or without a seam? The choice of one or another option depends on many factors. For example, laying artificial stone with a seam perfectly demonstrates the texture of the stone itself, a special one has a multi -colored and convex surface. With the location of the stones in a seamless way, the canvas turns out to be the most even and merges into a single pattern. However, if an artificial stone of the “layered pie” type is laid, then there is only one option — a seamless method.
Arm with measuring devices like a ruler or a square for marking the place of layout for a flat layout of the stone. Although the crooked lines will look creative in the style of Hi-Tech. Apply a solution from glue to the wall with a layer of 1.5 cm, as well as one hundred percent over the entire surface of the stone. With a slight press, the excess glue is removed with a spatula and it is better to immediately clean the front side of the stone from the solution. At the end of the work, apply a hydrophobisator to protect the cladding from moisture. It is possible to perform work with a brush or spray, preferably in two layers. Give the glue the opportunity to dry well for two days. And then fill in the masonry seams with a mixture for extending.
And the last free advice — take care of your money, time and nerves. And if you are uncertain in your own abilities, call the master.