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| Author | Content | |
| imapigeon Gilroy, CA (Zone 9a) May 10, 2007 |
This is a work in progress. I've cut, glazed, painted and fired the stoneware tile insets and the 2" tiles that are on the step facings. When I had a batch of tiles done, I cut the corners off Saltillo tiles with my tile saw and mortared them in place. The next day, I laid a pad of mortar for the smaller tiles, and set those. About 48 hours later, I grouted the section. I did what's been done so far in 4 "sessions": the first walkway section (nearest the camera angle), then the first step riser, followed by the second walkway section and the second riser. Not counting the work to make the inset white & blue tiles, each section of tile has taken a full day to cut and mortar, and then another half-day to grout. But I'm getting faster as my skills improve! |
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| leababy Decatur, GA September 4, 2007 |
Wow! That's beautiful! | |
| imapigeon Gilroy, CA (Zone 9a) September 4, 2007 |
Thanks!! I haven't done much with it lately, as there have been SOOOO many projects---inside and out---this year. But I have been making more inset tiles. I have a batch glazed, ready to paint & fire as soon as I have a kiln-load of stuff. Assuming the tiles come out OK, I should have enough "sets" of them to do the final section of the walkway. I hope to get it finished before the holidays. It should cool off enough to mortar within a few weeks, so I think it's doable. I'm looking forward to posting FINISHED pictures!~ | |
| garden_path Leander, TX January 23, 2008 |
Beautiful walk-way! Beautiful tiles! I would like to do something like this on a cement patio. Need some info on working with Saltillo which is very thick tile. Did you snip the corners and then lay the Saltillo in mortar, allow this to dry overnight and then mortar the thinner small tiles in place, using additional mortar-----so the tiles are level? Thank you! | |
| imapigeon Gilroy, CA (Zone 9a) January 23, 2008 |
Thanks---and you've nailed the method exactly! The next step was to grout the day after I laid the inset tiles. Saltillos, being handmade, are not even or flat, and not all the same color. I like that, but it's not for everyone. I used a straight level to get the tiles even with each other, and a bullseye level to get the right angle on each tile. The entire walkway is laid with a very slight slope to the street and outside edges for drainage. DH cut me 1/2" strips of MDF, and then cut those into 1/2" blocks so I could get my Saltillo spacing the way I wanted it. The grout lines are larger than 1/2" because I used the Super Saltillo, (which is slightly thinner than regular Saltillo), and all of the top edges are slightly rounded. So the tiles are spaced 1/2" apart at the base, but the grout lines are closer to 3/4", or even a little more because the grout goes a bit over the rounded edges. I pulled the spacers out as soon as the mortar had started to set up. When I did the grouting, the grout joints were all level with the surface of the tiles, but it's the nature of the beast that they shrink and sink a little when they're dry. I like that for my application because water tends to gather in the grout lines where it's rough, and not on the surface of the tile. The downside is that the grout gets discolored in the winter by dirt, leaves, etc. I haven't sealed the walkway----not sure if I want to. I sealed the front porch, and I didn't like the effect. And I have to finish it before I do anything else with it! Started to do the last section a few weeks ago, and our winter rains began, so I'll have to wait a bit. I get my Saltillos at Home Depot. If you have a big job to do, you may want to try to get a batch with the same lot number, as there will be more uniformity in the color. I'm using it inside my house as well, and that's what we did there---outside I didn't care so much, so I just buy them as I need them. Our HD is pretty nice about letting us return broken ones we find in the boxes when we buy a big batch at a time. They run about $1 / sq ft. |
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