Saltillo tile

[chuychanga]

Anybody ever lay Saltillo on your own? I'm thinking about doing it in my new house.

I know it's a lot harder than ceramic or porcelin tile because the clay is so porous and will soak up all the moisture from the thinset and the grout before they get a chance to set, thus staining the tile and turning the grout to powder.

I've read that some people use pre-sealed tiles to prevent this, but that the sealer can also prevent the grout from bonding to the tile properly.

Others have suggested unsealed tiles, but to lay them soaking wet with water to prevent it from absorbing the grout. Then let them dry for up to three weeks before grouting and sealing.

I'm not crazy about a 3 week installation, but it would be worth it if that what it takes to prevent the tiles from getting stained pior to sealing them.

Also, anyone know any stores in Austin besides Home Depot that sell real clay Saltillo tiles? FRom what I understand, Saltillo is Saltillo regardless of brand, as long as it comes from the Saltillo region of Mexico. I just want to compare the price vs. Home Depot becuase that's the only place I've been able to find it so far.

Any insight?

 

[Mrmyke709]

I'm about to do 1500 sq. feet. I went with the presealed Super Saltillo.
My neighbors do this for a living, and they said not to worry, most of these "problems" associated with Saltillo are just the result of a bad installation.

 

[NickDanger]

Are you going to get a tile with the dog's footprint in it for good luck at the front door? I think you should.

 

[chuychanga]

Yeah, I'm definitely hoping for a couple of animal print tiles. Some have bird tracks in them as well. If there are none in the batch, you can special order them from Fort Worth Brick and Tile.

Mr. Myke, let me know how the pre-seal works for you.

 

[NickDanger]

I hadn't been aware of the bird prints. The prints are a bit of a secret that most people don't notice. I dig 'em.

I don't know why.

 

[ctrl+alt+del]

Mrs. Reboot and I laid Saltillo in the foyer of our first home. It was not difficult at all, just tough on your knees. WEAR KNEEPADS!!! I find Saltillo easier because you don't notice "small" mistakes and irregularity adds character to it. We did ours diagonally and we're glad we did. It adds depth. Just be sure to use gray grout. Not white, not black.

 

[chuychanga]

I went to a bulletin board atThe Link run by a guy that specializes in Saltillo in Houston.

Did you encounter any effervesence (white haze on tiles after installation)?

Also did you use presealed tiles or did you seal them later?

 

[EEE]

Never done saltillo myself, but this is the first place I look for any tile questions
John Bridge

Lots of very experienced pros hang out on those boards. search the archives, I'm sure you'll find help there.

hope this helps

 

[ctrl+alt+del]

In our last house, we laid Saltillo-looking ceramic and is was pretty easy. The edges have a faux, weathered look that helps a great deal.

 

[horn4life]

If you are doing this in your kitchen i definitely concur with the opinon of Porceleinfor these areas as it is MUCH harder than Saltillo.

I love the Saltillo I have in my entry way and it's warmness. The only hint i would ahve is to make sure you get a rubber mallet and make sure the tiles are all well seated in the adhesive. The one big problem you can get is an unseated tile will have a much higher chance of breaking. Probably when you move in a new fridge and roll over the tile it will crack years later and you will be PISSED trying to replace and match it.

Good luck.

 

[chuychanga]

I am going with Saltillo in the living room, hallway, and kitchen. The look-a-like porcelin tiles just don't have the same character. It's kind of like hardwoods vs. laminate wood. One has less maintenance but the other just looks a whole lot better and has more character.

I've been doing a lot of research on Saltillos and have talked with a few pros who install it. One guy showed me a floor he installed in '78 and it still looks great. The installation is a lot slower because you need to back-butter each tile since they are sometimes slightly concaved. The grout must also be cleaned off thoroughly and immediately to prevent it from staining the porous stone.

The old school guys install the tiles soaking wet so that they are too saturated to absorb much of the grout and thinset morter. It prevents efferevesence. With a good penetrating sealer and several coats of finish the floor should last a lifetime with a new coat of both every 5 years or so.

I'm not closing on the house for a couple more weeks, but then I'll let you know how it goes.

By the way, the John Bridge tile forum is great if you are doing any type of tile or masonry project!