On this project Chad Deiter Construction of Temecula had already met with the homeowners and got an idea of the materials that they wanted to use for their master shower project. They had recently seen the Slate Rimini Pattern at Arizona Tile in San Marcos, CA and loved it. I suggested the 12×12 Ankara Tumbled Marble to match the existing marble flooring. After a few days went by and everything was picked out. I made the computer rendering for the job with the 12×12 tumble stone for the shower walls and a liner in the shower, tub splash and counter top backsplash.
Being that this was going to be a Schluter Kerdi Shower the first step was having the existing shower walls tore out all the way down to the studs. After that was finished I came in and started laying out the shower and the inset niche. Knowing that the liner had a 4” row of the Rimini and a Rope Liner on top I knew that the total was 5”. So I framed in the inset niche so it would be right under the liner just like I wanted it to be. Here at Chad Deiter Construction we pride ourselves on shower layout and incorporate the Golden Ratio to make that our showers are appealing to the eye.
Once all of the framing had been shimmed and planed flat we dry walled the shower and began installing the Kerdi Shower Kit from Schluter. I’ve said this before but this system is one of my top rated as far as shower waterproofing systems go. I really like the fact that the waterproofing is directly behind the tile as opposed to the older ways where the waterproofing is behind a mud floated wall. We still float some showers but it depends on the budget of the project and the tile selection.
With the Kerdi Shower Kit installed we were ready to start tiling. One other plus to this system is that tile can be installed right away no need to wait the 24 hours like some of the other waterproofing systems that are available. When I had figured out the tile I knew that I had to have full tile on the tub deck from the outside corner both down and inside. So that was the control to how the tile was going to layout. I went ahead and started setting the Tumbled Stone (very popular here in the Temecula Valley )with Laticrete 252 thin set. Starting on the back shower wall and working my way around and up to the liner. Once the field tile was set up to the desired height it was leveled and the Tumbled Slate Rimini and Rope liner was installed. This liner had to dry overnight and the next day we could finish the last two rows of the shower walls. As you can see by the picture’s the niche ended up right where it should be and is very functional and clean.
The shower pan was fairly straight forward since the Slate Rimini is on 12×12 sheets and the Kerdi Drain had a 4” grate on it there’s not much you can change with the shower pan layout. That was tiled and grouted prior to the very bottom wall tiles to be installed.
After all the tile has been installed and had set overnight we grouted the shower walls and shower pan with Custom Building Products Linen Sanded grout. The grout color had already been decided by the homeowner’s and the designer over at Arizona Tile in San Marcos,CA.
After the grouted shower had dried out for a couple days it was time to seal the Tumbled Stone and grout. I prefer the Miracle Sealants 511 sealer. I use both their regular sealers and enhancing sealers.
About three weeks ago we got a call from a customer in Temecula, CA that was going to be remodeling her fireplace and wanted Chad Deiter Construction to bid on it. She had been referred to us by Andy’s Glass a local window and Glass Company in town. So we went out and took a look at the project and found out that she wanted to do some stone veneer on this new fireplace. Now keep in mind that the average fireplace is roughly 15-30sqft. This one was 95sqft and I wanted to do the job from the minute I first looked at it. The fireplace as you can see from the pictures had a very different style to it and I knew that with the stone veneer it was going to be beautiful.
So after a couple of weeks I got the go ahead for the fireplace and I started getting the material list together and ordering the El Dorado Stacked Stone in the Alderwood color from RCP Block and Brick in Murrieta, CA. This is a great place for masonry supplies and has a lot to choose from in the way of brick and stone veneer. Matter of fact even being that I’m a tile contractor here in Temecula and I don’t deal with them on a daily basis. They have always been helpful and provided me competitive pricing.
We decided because all of the other bids were for cement board I would bid it that way too. I usually have in the past always done my Stone Veneer on a lath and scratch coat. But for this job I decided I would use Laticrete International’s new MVIS. This is the first that I know of full system for stone veneer installation and provides a 15-20 year warranty. Although the technical aspects are a little different from inside to outside the system still incorporates an innovative thin set that has been designed for the stone veneer and brick veneer.
First step in the installation was tearing out the old brick hearth and fireplace surround. For this I used my Makita HK1810 Tile Scraper which works great. Once that was taken apart I went ahead and installed all the marble for the hearth and the three ledges on the left hand side. Everything that was going to be either stone veneer or marble was first covered with Hardi Backer Board and all the seams were taped and thin-setted. This creates a monolithic structure that will hold the stone veneer for years to come.
This type of manufactured stone is fairly straight forward. It does take some knowledge to make sure that the joints aren’t repeating and that the stone comes out looking as real as possible. Basically it’s just time consuming and you can usually only expect get about 60sqft. installed inside in a day. That number can double if the stone veneer is being installed outside. Since we were using Laticrete’s new MVIS I had got the Masonry Veneer Mortar for the job and that’s what was being used. Great mortar and gives excellent adhesion to the stone veneer. I was very impressed with the feel and usability of the MVM also. This masonry veneer mortar is also non-sag and I’m sure would be great for using with Brick Veneer.
Once all of the stacked stone was installed and dry we grouted up the honed marbled with some non-sanded Winter Gray grout. Because this is a stacked stone there was no need to grout in between all the rocks only the two sides and around the fireplace insert.
Stone Veneer is a very good choice for upgrading both interior and exterior focal points of a home. It also has increasingly become more and more popular in the last few years. Not only can Chad Deiter Construction provide all of you tile needs. We can also install stone veneer on outside columns , inside-outside fireplaces, interior-exterior walls and anywhere else that you decide it will increase the wow factor in your home.
