If you decide to place stone tiles on the façade of your home, it’s essential to know that the preparatory work is very important for the final result. If not done properly, the final result can be levered plates, crumbling fugues, etc.
In the beginning, you place the insulation and then, later, you add the cladding slabs.
A lot of firms like Baumit and Fibran, for the convenience of their customers, offer a complete solution or the so – called insulation systems, which include the following elements:
- Thermal insulation panels from expanded polystyrene (EPS) – – the thickness can vary from 2 to 20 cm.
- Adhesive putty mixture for sticking and plastering of the plates from Polystyrene
- Plastic dowel PIN for fastening insulation
- Alkaline – resistant fiberglass net for reinforcement
- Primer for improving adhesion, etc.
Stages in the Placement of Insulation
1st stage: The heat-insulating plates are glued to the wall by the method of “stripes and balls.” It is better to leave them for one day to be gripped better.
2nd stage: On the second day, please, take one one layer of the glue, used for the gluing and plastering of a horizontal comb (10 mm), and lay it on the glued – already heat – insulating plates.
3rd stage: On the third day, please, attach the hot-dip galvanized net (with a raster of 12 x 20 mm to 50 x 50 mm, depending on its availability on the market) to the insulation plates; you do that with the help of dowels. Please, make sure the dowels fully pass into the bedrock. You need at least 8 dowels/m2. On the outer stripes of the façade, the number of dowels per m2 increases to 10 – 14, depending on the height of the building.
4th stage: On the fourth day, by means of a special adhesive, please, putty roughly the hot-dip galvanized net; also, make sure the grooves in the adhesive under the net are filled in. It is better to work on small areas, so that the glue doesn’t dry.
Stone Facing
One of the best options for stone cladding is gneiss from Ivaylovgrad region, which may be cut or can be used in polygonal plates.
The advantage of tiling a wall with cut stones is that the plates are of fixed length and thickness, are easier to install, and the glue is spread more evenly.
The polygonal plates are of varying size and thickness, which slightly complicates their placement, because you have to be careful about the distribution of the adhesive.
Preparation of the Stone Before Gluing
It is recommended that the stone, before placement, it is thoroughly cleaned of all dirt and other things that can affect its gluing.
Before you install the stone on the façade, on the reverse side of the plate, you should apply the glue on a comb with a thickness of 15-20 mm; after that, the stones are placed on the galvanized net.
It is highly important to take a decision, regarding the fugues, beforehand. It is advisable for them to be constructed one metre in height and four meters in width. First, they should be treated with a primer; then, they should be filled with elastic joint sealing grout, which, for example Ceresit offers.
Clean in Time the Stones Before the Glue Dries
This is something very important and will save you trouble and additional work in the future for any possible cleaning, which might result in a scratched surface of the stone; then, you will have to consider how to remove those scratches.
Please, Follow the Requirements of the Manufacturers
Please, always follow the requirements of manufacturers of adhesives, joint grouts and other elements, so that the cladding stones are effectively placed and you can enjoy the stone lining for many years.
