Making wall tiles out of concrete - Is this possible?

[james_joe90]

I recently made a brick shape veneer mould out of chipboard and battens. Using sand and fast curing cement 4:1, i was able to knock them out really quick, then stick to wall using strong tile adhesive. It didn't matter they were grey because i painted them.

The result looked rather good and i was left curious whether I can make wall tiles the same way. I'm hoping to create the tumbled stone finish without tumbling into debt...my plan is :

Make a multiple tile mould - enought to do 50x50cm at a time.

1. Line mould with foil, sprinkle some fine sand - this gives texture.
2. Mix some fast curing cement with required colour dye.
3. Pour into mould
4. Release when set and return to stage 1.

The process worked well for my brick veneer, but i'm concerned whether dyed concrete will be suitable for kitchen tiling.

Surely if i grout them and fill any sleight air holes in the concrete with grout, then seal it all afterwards it should be okay???

I'm not bothered about the time involved cos juding by the brick veneer it will only take me a weekend to make the amount I need.

Any thoughts?

[lutonlagerlout]

hmm we have a couple of mould making experts here
would love to see the pictures of your brick veneers

sounds like a rewarding task

LLL

[james_joe90]

Yeah they're not bad - depends on how rustic you want the finish.

Sometimes with too little sand they look like melted chocolate cooled within the foil - although a textured paint could disguise this

The more sad used, the rougher the surface - sometimes i clumped the sand to get rough corners. A light dusting, pits it nicely.

Once dry you simple dust of vigorously with a brush.

thinnest i dared was 12mm

Any ideas whether concrete is okay as a wall tile? i shall apply a sealant after to prevent it going dusty.

will post some pic asap - i a lil crap with that sort of thing

cheers,

[Ted]

You can certainly make wall tiles from concrete or mortar.

I have made some. I find reinforcing them with polypropylene mesh works best.

Have a look at some of the products from decorative concrete firms like PICS in the UK and ideally ones in America for making faux rock textures.

[james_joe90]

Thanks,

I've seen PICS before. The concrete satin sounds interesting. Although i'd probably use a cement dye to make things simpler.

However the PIC stain could be useful for my patio outside. I assume after i've cast the slabs i simply brush a stain over before pointing them, to vary the color and achieve a natural appearance.

Ebay have some American sellers offering nice travertine tile moulds. I'm hoping to buy a set which have 9 4"x4" tiles per mould and some border tiles. They're £12 each and about £12 for delivery....hopefully not per item!

If anybody knows a better place to buy these from please let me know.

Overall i can only fine UK sellers of patio slabs. Harristone have some tile moulds but they are hellishly expensive for a small DIY project.

I've asked my son to photograph the brick tiles to show - will post when i get them.

Cheers,

[TheVictorianCobbleCo]

Scot kerb sometimes has a range of 2nd hand moulds at reduced cost - try him - he features in the suppliers section.

[james_joe90]

Thanks will try scott

Been looking on ebay and local ads, but mostly find the wrong style molds unfortunately - although i was most fortunate with a set of ballustrade molds.

cheers,

[TheVictorianCobbleCo]

Scot Kerb Have/had 30 of my rubber moulds on long loan, each doing 9 off 110x110x50 cobbles, these will work perfectly for your tiles, Ive done similar at about 12 thk. Contact him and see if you can borrow them/buy them. I havent been in contact with him for a good while and am now in SA so cant help directly. He was in Carnoustie Scotland last I heard. Really worth a shot. The guy to talk to is Philip Sinclair.