Finished limestone pictures (was "I know you guys hate limestone but......")

[Brian in San Diego]

Donna,

That's great to hear you are making progress! Here's a thread that explains how to post photos to the forum. I followed these recommendations and it works perfectly. When I resize a photo I save it in my documents folder and then using the browse feature in the manage attachments part of the reply, find it and attach it to the reply. It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

I'd answer your questions as follows:
1. Twenty-four hours should be sufficient with a dryset mortar.
2. Were they wet when they were installed? I would think you should be able to walk on and grout after 24 hours, 48 if you are unsure.
3. Grout should be dry after 24 hours but check the directions for sealing...many recommend waiting 72 hours.
4. You could seal the grout in a couple of ways. I find a small throw-away paint brush works great. Spread it on the joints, wait 15 minutes and buff the joints. You can also use a spray bottle, but I think it oversprays too much.

I don't know how to comment regarding the amount of thinset put down. Hopefully your contractor used enough to get full coverage. Regarding the grout...most grouts dry lighter than the shade of the sample so keep that in mind when selecting one. I hear you saying what your contractor wants...what do you want? You're the one who is going to live with this floor, not him. You are paying him to do a job for you to enjoy, not the other way around. The grout in my travertine floor is lighter than the tiles, but I don't think it looks like a checkerboard. I think if you got the grout too dark, it'd have the same effect. Good luck with whatever you decide...and we want to see pictures!

Brian

[organic_donna]

Brian,
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I am at the home stretch!!!

I took a picture today but the tiles look brown instead of gray. Why do you think that is, maybe the lighting. I have two more grout colors I picked up to test. One of them has to look good because I'm out of choices.

Thanks again for all the help,

Donna

[organic_donna]

Hi,

The last few tiles were installed yesterday. I have one more row to go after I find a suitable transition strip. This was not an easy install as my floor was not level at all. If my installer brought it level it would have been way too high at the door threshold. As it stands now it's 1/4" taller than the hardwood. He explained this to me and I understood that my floor would not be level. He tried to line up the heights of these tiles using a little more or less mortar in some places. I noticed some lippage on one or two of the last tiles. I know these tiles should be a little bit more even. If he takes the last two tiles out could they break? I don't want to take that chance. Is lippage a cosmetic problem or will the floor install be compromised?

Donna

[Brian in San Diego]

Donna,

I removed an 18x18 travertine tile I installed late on day 1 in the morning of day 2 and it broke big time. Don't think there's much chance a natural tile can be removed after it's been there awhile without breaking it. In fact, I had one break on me when I tried to lift it from wet thinset.

Lippage is cosmetic and can be a little annoying if you catch it just right when walking over that area. It doesn't compromise the install. A stone floor refinishing specialist could remove lippage...at least that's what I think I've read.

Brian

[organic_donna]

Thanks Brian,
My contractor hasn't seen it, but he said he wants to replace the tile. I like the veins on this tile and have decided to just leave it alone. As long as it's only cosmetic it won't bother me.
Donna

[organic_donna]

Hi,
The grouting went very well. We used two methods that I learned on this forum. We used distilled water, I have very hard water. Also we used another method that i read here.

I used 3 microfiber rags. First, my installer wiped the grout with the sponge just one or two wipes, then he used a damp microfiber cloth that was squezed out and then again a second damp cloth and finally a third cloth that was dry. (oops, I forgot to polish off the grout haze). Doing it that way the grout didn't get diluted with water and we didn't get grout haze, at least the last time I looked. After each use of the cloths I ran to the sink and washed the cloths for the next section.

Whew, I'm tired.

Donna

[organic_donna]

Nope, no grout haze so far.

[organic_donna]

I was just informed that rinsing my rags out in the sink could cause a major clog. I guess grout and water don't drain well.
Donna

[Bill Vincent]

The water drains fine. Unfortunately, it leaves the grout behind, and THEN the water don't drain so fine!!

[organic_donna]

http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/...highlight=rags

This was the post I was referring to, I guess I didn't follow the part where he said you needed 3 separate buckets.


Donna

[Brian in San Diego]

Donna,

If you are able or you have someone available to take the trap under the kitchen sink out, you may find that some of the grout is there. Some kitchens have removeable traps because of how garbage disposers are piped in. Cleaning that trap once removed would be a simple task. The bigger part of the task is removing the trap.

Brian

[organic_donna]

Thanks Brian,

I'm going to have my contractor take a look.
l'm working on some pictures, but the tiles keep coming out brown instead of gray. The bathroom doesn't have any natural light so the flash goes off. When I do post picturs can I have my post title changed?
Donna

[Brian in San Diego]

Donna,

You can have your thread title changed whenever you like. Just post the new name here on this thread and a moderator can change it for you. Do you have a tripod for your camera? When I don't want the flash, but there isn't enough natural light to prevent it, I put the camera on a tripod and turn the flash off.

Brian

[Bill Vincent]

Donna asked for some help posting these, so here they are:









She wanted this one posted because it shows closer to the actual grey color of the stone, as opposed to the brownish hue the other pics are showing:

[ChrisIL]

Donna,

That is some pretty rock and a great looking installation

I like the natural variations in the limestone. I especially like the rust/red/brown streaks, which I would guess suggest the presence of iron. Reminds me of underground formations.

Matches the cat, too.