Laying Stone (Travertine)

[Brian Kent]

Looks like I get to pull up the stone and replace some underlayment in a small bathroom - 6' x 10'. I have laid a lot of tile but not stone. It continues a pattern 45° to the walls, so there will be a lot of cutting. I am game to do it myself and save some money, but I would like some instructions to guide me along. I will either rent a wet-saw or buy a small one. I can picture all of the steps except shaping the hole around the toilet pipe.

Is there a book, website, or instruction sheet you would recommend?

Thanks in advance.

Brian Kent

[Bob Vavricka]

Check our the John Bridge Forum. It is a wealth of information. johnbridge dot com

[Brian Kent]

Thank you Bob.

[Tim Boger]

Looks like I get to pull up the stone and replace some underlayment in a small bathroom - 6' x 10'. I have laid a lot of tile but not stone. It continues a pattern 45° to the walls, so there will be a lot of cutting. I am game to do it myself and save some money, but I would like some instructions to guide me along. I will either rent a wet-saw or buy a small one. I can picture all of the steps except shaping the hole around the toilet pipe.

Is there a book, website, or instruction sheet you would recommend?

Thanks in advance.

Brian Kent


Hey Brian,

Depending of how the bowl hole falls into the 12x12 tiles will decide which tool you'll use to cut the circular cut out. If the hole as marked on the tile is accessible from the edge of the tile then I'd use the wet saw to make a bunch of straight cuts up to and touching the marks. If the hole happens to fall in the center of the tile then you'll need to use a 4in angle grinder with a diamond blade to make plunge cuts until the bulk of the area that needs to be removed can be tapped and broken out with a cold chisel or a small hammer. The cut doesn't have to be pretty if it's under the toilet.

I've done hundreds of bath floor installs while being self employed as a Tile/Marble contractor for 25 years. I'll answer any questions you may have, pm me or you can phone as well .... I'd be delighted to help.

Tim

[Brian Kent]

Thank you very much, Tim.

[Brian Kent]

New Project - which thickness for the underlayment?
Inspired by that repair project, I want to put a couple of travertine mosaic medallions in another room.

My question: Should I use 1/4" thick Hardiebacker (which is listed as .25") or 1/2" thick Hardiebacker (which is listed as .42").

It will be right next to travertine that with the backer board is a total of 7/8" above the plywood floor. The travertine mosaic is 3/8". I will use thinset and screws to attach the Hardiebacker to the floor and thinset to attach the mosaic to the Hardiebacker.
(The plywood seems solid and does not squeek, but I do not know what kind of joists are underneath.)

So the math comes down to this: Will two layers of thinset be closer to .25" or .08", once they are squished into place?

Thanks,

Brian

[Brian Kent]

After looking at many sites and forums, reading the directions on thinset, Hardibacker, and the tiles, I think I found an answer. Each thinset layer will end up being 1/8" on the finished floor, so I need the 1/4" Hardibacker.