Natural Stone Tips

A general guide handling and laying natural stone

Handling

• When removing pieces from the crates ensure they are stored up right and butt the tiles together with no gaps.
• Do not stack natural stone pavers or tiles flat on site. 

Blending 

• Blend all tiles or pavers together. 
• It is good practice to flick through all the stone to view the color variation to help with blending.  
• Any chipped pieces can normally be put aside and used for cutting or wastage.  
• Do not separate “light” and “dark” pieces. This can separate colors creating different shades in the project. 

Laying  

• Ensure tilers are using a glue suitable for moisture sensitive stone to prevent moisture leaching through the surface.
• Glue should always be “buttered” on the back of the tiles. Do not “spot fix” on the back of natural stone tiles or pavers.
• A general rule with most natural stone is to LAY the stone, CLEAN the area free from dust and glue, GROUT the area with a high quality grout of your color choice, CLEAN the area to remove grout residue (sponge clean) and SEAL the stone with a premium natural stone sealer which should protect the stone as well as the grout.
• Depending on the stone type you may be better to SEAL the stone, than GROUT and SEAL AGAIN to prevent grout staining the stone. This is usually more common practice with light marbles or limestones. 
• If there are expansion joints use silicone suitable for a moisture sensitive stone and will not leach oil or moisture along the joint. Seal before silicone is used in joints as a preventative measure.

TIPS FOR DELIVERY 

• We advise that natural stone crates should be unloaded and loaded with a forklift only. 
• Using cranes or slings can apply excessive pressure on the stone causing them to crack. 
• If a crane is a must, the appropriate equipment must be used with a fork attachment.
• We advise that stone crates should not be double stacked on the trucks during transportation.