What to cut the artificial stone?
Artificial stone has gained wide popularity all over the world. And all because it looks like a natural stone, but it is cheaper and has better durability. Artificial stone is used to decorate the interior of the house (most often in kitchens and bathrooms) and the arrangement of garden paths. Many are interested in the question: what can cut the artificial stone, and now we will try to answer it.
Artificial stone is made from materials of varying hardness, and the production technology is used far beyond. Depending on the kinds of stone, a cutting method is chosen.
- Agglomerate. consists of large pieces of quartz, granite, lime and marble, which are joined together by polyester resin, which makes the stone very durable.
- Concrete-based stone is similar to concrete because it consists of sand and cement (sometimes gypsum is added instead of cement). It is cheaper than agglomerate, but it has less durability, is susceptible to moisture and low temperatures.
- Porcelain stoneware consists of pressed kaolin clay, so it is very hard and reliable.
- Acrylic stone is made of a fine-grained filler, impregnated with acrylic resin. Is plastic when heated, is amenable to high temperatures and scratches.
Cutting the artificial stone
In general, artificial stone is cut with the same tools as concrete. True, some types are very durable and require a different action, but about this later. Now consider with what you can cut the artificial stone of medium strength.
If it is necessary to make holes in the stone, an electric screwdriver, drill or torch is used. The latter tool is more effective and practical. To cut the artificial stone should be an angle grinder. It is important to correctly select the nozzles to the tools, so that the drilled slot is not too small or large, and the cut piece of stone was the size that is needed. It is much easier to cut along the marked line with a pencil or a construction adhesive tape.
Features of facing
The basis for the manufacture of tiles is plaster powder. It is mixed with polymers before mixing. These are plasticizers, which give the plates flexibility, curing gas pedals and tinting mineral pigments. With their help, the decor acquires the desired color. The dry mixture is poured with water, mixed and directed into forms. Manufacturing technology involves vibrocasting or vibrocompression of blanks.
In any case it turns out cladding material with good performance characteristics. It is lightweight, which greatly simplifies installation and transportation. The panels can be mounted even on the plasterboard.
The finished cloth is fireproof, “warm” to the touch, the porous surface not bad detains heat and noise. The price for the gypsum cladding is not high, and cheap raw materials are used for its production. At the same time, it is environmentally friendly and recommended for finishing any purpose of premises. Exception. rooms with high humidity, as the decor is hygroscopic and breaks down under the influence of water. For the same reason it is used only for internal works.
Dust accumulates on the embossed surface over time. It is quite difficult to clean it, especially if other contaminants have also appeared. For easy cleaning it is recommended to cover the finish with a protective layer of varnish. Despite the small disadvantages, cladding is considered a successful imitation of brick or stone. It is chosen for a variety of interiors.
Types of stone products
Decorative stone finishing is carried out inside and outside. For interior decoration will suit any stone.
But for the exterior it is better to use natural stones or stones made of cement.
Gypsum stone
Such a stone is very absorbent.
If you make such a stone facade decoration, it will need something to process it in addition to avoid moisture absorption. Otherwise, the gypsum stone will quickly lose its decorative appearance.
Natural stone
It is best to use natural stone for decorating the facade. But keep in mind that natural stone has a fairly high price.
Artificial stone
Compared with natural stone, artificial stone is a little cheaper and in some properties even better than natural stone. Manufacturers are trying to produce artificial stone of various shapes and colors, so the surface, decorated with it, can be performed with a very unusual ornament or pattern.
In addition, artificial stone is much lighter than natural stone, so it will hold up stronger.
Artificial stone will not load a wall, so they decorate the walls of drywall.
How to cut the artificial stone?
Artificial stone has become widely known and popular around the world. And all because it looks similar to the natural, but it is cheaper and has greater durability. Artificial stone is used to decorate the interior of the house (often in kitchens and bathrooms) and arrangement of garden paths. Many are interested in the question: what can cut the artificial stone, and now we will try to answer it.
Artificial stone is made of materials of varying hardness, and the production technology is used far from the only. Depending on the type of stone, the best method of cutting is selected.
- Agglomerate consists of large pieces of quartz, granite, lime and marble, which are combined with polyester resin, which makes the stone very durable.
- Concrete-based stone. has similarities to concrete, as it consists of sand and cement (sometimes gypsum is added instead of cement). Cheaper than agglomerate, but has less strength, is susceptible to moisture and low temperatures.
- Porcelain stoneware. consists of pressed kaolin clay, therefore very hard and durable.
- Acrylic stone is made of a fine-grained filler impregnated with acrylic resin. Pliable when heated, resistant to high temperatures and scratches.
Cutting of artificial stone
In general, artificial stone is cut with the same tools as concrete. True, some types are very durable and require a different exposure, but about that later. Now we will consider with what it is possible to cut an artificial stone of average durability.
If it is necessary to make holes in the stone, they use an electric screwdriver, a drill or a torch. The latter tool is more effective and practical. The cut of the artificial stone should be made with an angle grinder. It is important to correctly select the nozzles for the tools so that the drilled slit was not too small or large, and the cut piece of stone was the size that you need. It is much easier to cut along the line marked with a pencil or a construction adhesive tape.
How to cut porcelain stoneware
Porcelain stoneware is much more difficult to handle than other types of artificial stone. To cut or drill it properly, you should do it from the front side. If the stone is loose, you should put a board on the floor to cut it. If you need to drill a hole in porcelain stoneware larger than 8 mm, it is better to make a smaller hole first, and then enlarge it at the same point. For this purpose, a medium or high-power torch is quite suitable. It is best to use a diamond tool for this material.
How to cut acrylic and plaster
Acrylic stone, as mentioned above, is quite plastic, so it does not need to use very powerful tools, even drills on metal and wood will do. Gypsum is also not particularly capricious. If there is a hacksaw for metal or sandpaper. it will be enough.
Steps instructions, wall marking, cutting, grouting, hydrophobizing, tips
Finishing walls with stone in most cases consists of several simple procedures, independently following each other. And it does not depend on whether the material is natural or artificial. In the latter case, simply machining is very difficult. Artificial stone with their own hands is relatively easy to cut into pieces. Today we will consider the technology of how to finish walls with stone.
The step-by-step process of laying decorative stone
The stages of the work are usually as follows:
- The wall is first of all cleaned from any debris, leveled if necessary, and definitely primed. This is called the preparatory phase.
- Then the fitting is done. If the stone is artificial, its shape is usually quite regular. It remains to decide whether to lay tiles flush or with joints. Very often this is already discussed in the instructions. That is, there are varieties of decorative stone, intended for laying flush, and those where it is necessary to cut the joints. With natural material is much more difficult to work with. In this case you will need to buy a diamond disc for sawing work. During the cutting of the stone a lot of fine dust is thrown up into the air. Given the latest scientific data, we would recommend the use of a respirator. In general, professional tools have a nozzle on its cover, through which the dust is sucked out with a vacuum cleaner.
How to correctly mark a wall
The marking usually helps to match. The artificial stone for the most part resembles a flat brick. Therefore it is laid with the joints tied together, that is, the vertical joints are offset with respect to each other. The marking is carried out immediately taking into account the thickness of the joints. How to do it right? For laying of a decorative stone special spacers from plastic or wood are available on sale. This is analogous to a cross for ceramic tiles. The difference is that the thickness of the joints in our case is much greater.
Since each tile has a strictly defined size, we can freely lay the risks on the wall. And the thickness of the joint is taken into account with the spacer. That forms the correct grid of lines. Walls come in all different sizes. Therefore, after marking, it becomes clear whether the chosen structure can be implemented. Which is not always obvious. Let’s say it turns out that at the end of the wall we need to cut off literally a centimeter from the tile. It looks good on paper, but in practice such a piece will look rather poor, and to form it with an angle grinder will be difficult.
In this case all the lines are moved a little backwards. A few centimeters. So that instead of a small trim you get a decent sized piece. It will turn out that if in the original version, we start laying with a whole tile, in this case, only some of it will lie at the start. In general, you need to achieve a good visual effect by properly marking the wall. Only after that will the paving begin.
How to properly cut a decorative stone
Artificial stone for the most part is made from cement and sand, so it is not particularly hard. In light of this, you can cut it with almost anything. For example, it can be:
In order to obtain an even cut, a piece of decorative stone is pre-cut. If you want to get a beveled or irregularly shaped frame of a random appearance, then an ordinary knife is used. The stone is simply scraped off layer by layer. Such an artificial carelessness looks beautiful in many cases. The stone is stacked not on the entire wall and small islands. For example, in the area of corners and windows. This decoration of walls with artificial stone creates the impression of ruins.
But in most cases, the lines in the natural stone are required to perform strictly according to some drawing. The easiest way to do this on an ordinary hacksaw is to buy a rope for cutting tile instead of a blade. In this case you can not only manually shaped saw the edges, but also cut a hole of any pattern in the center. For example, if you are finishing walls in the kitchen with stone, you will probably need to leave room for plumbing. In this case, an artificial stone is punched with a thin drill through, a wire is passed through it for sawing, and then it is fixed on the saw bed, and the process begins.
Other variants are available. For example, an electric jigsaw allows you to do the same work in a similar way. But all efforts are taken by the voltage in the network. It is clear that this option is more suitable if the amount of work is large enough. Note that the surface of the stone is not very smooth. So it is difficult to drill it precisely in place. The drill will slip into the recesses. To prevent this from happening, you can put painter’s tape on the surface. The marking is made in the right way, after which the material can be drilled relatively easily.
Drills for tile or glass are used for punching holes. Almost any of a similar kind will do. The standard ones resemble a spearhead. In some cases it will be more appropriate to buy a drill where two such tips are crossed.
How to properly lay decorative stone
Decorative stone interior walls can be finished in several ways. The most common is the application of glue on the back of each tile. This method is convenient in that without problems allows you to use a pre-printed marking. That is, each piece is attached in place according to the drawn lines. It is very convenient, because it even allows you to do without wedges. If it’s already clear where to put the tile, there is no need to use any additional means.
In this case you get very deep joints. Therefore, such options for finishing walls with stone are well combined with a package for grouting. But a trowel will be more difficult to wield. Completely different looks the process when the glue is applied to the wall. In this case, the total amount of grout is reduced, but you’ll probably need wedges to maintain the same size joints.
How to cut the artificial stone
Today the use of artificial stone in construction is gaining popularity. At first glance it does not differ from natural stone, it is cheaper and more durable compared to the same natural stone. Artificial stone is used in finishing works, usually for decoration of kitchens and bathrooms, as well as in garden design. So how to work with such a stone? Let’s dwell on this question in more detail. The technology of artificial stone is diverse, as it consists of materials that vary in texture and properties. Depending on the type of stone varies and methods of cutting.
In the agglomerate consists of large fragments of quartz, granite, limestone and marble, which are connected with each other by the resin composition. Because of this stone is very durable. Stone that has a concrete base is similar in properties to concrete, due to the fact that it consists of cement and sand, sometimes with the addition of gypsum. It is less expensive, but not as strong as agglomerate, and reacts to moisture and cold.
Ceramic is very durable, because its main component is pressed kaolin clay. Acrylic stone consists of small pieces of rock poured over with acrylic resin. It softens when the temperature is raised, and it is amenable to processing. Artificial stone is cut with the same tools as concrete. But sometimes the individual, particularly hard types are cut in a slightly different way.
If the medium-strength stone just need to make holes, then an ordinary electric screwdriver or a drill with a torch is suitable for it. By the way the peorator is more effective than other tools. Cut the artificial stone is recommended angle grinder. Here is important, correctly to choose nozzles to the tools that the hole was not too small or large, and the sawn fragment of the stone was the desired size. Before cutting, for convenience, put a fishing line for the trimmer, which will work with an angle grinder.
Porcelain stoneware is less easy to work than other types of natural stone. The best way to work it is from the front side. When you work with it you need to put a board under it, or just fix it somehow. If you want to make a hole more than 8 mm in it, make a smaller hole first and then enlarge it a bit. For this purpose a more powerful torch will do. It is much more efficient than diamond tools. Since acrylic is malleable when heated, it does not require powerful tools to work it. Gypsum is also not fastidious in processing. If you have a hacksaw or drill bits for metal. that’s just what you need.