Does anybody know anything about slate? Cutting it, sealing it, fixing it to a wall as a fireplace surround...

Any hints would be welcome.

Are we talking rough slate or slate tiles? Rough slate come in irregular shapes and ranged in thickness from 1/8 to 3/4 inch thick.

Slate tile has been cut into squared pieces, planed and sanded down on one side to a consistent thickness (3/8 to 1/2 inch thick depending on the slate and the use) Tiles have a rough side (obviously scratched with straight lines) and the pretty side which is rough as well but in a natural way.

If it is the first, well that will require a thick coat of mud on the wall, after you wire and scratch coat.

If it is tile:

If it is going directly on to brick then you need to clean the brick with ammonia to remove as much oil and soot as possible, then use a product like Masonry (wall tile) Adhesive (comes in assorted colors BTW). That comes in a tube and is sort of like liquid nails. It also comes in tubs and is applied with toothed adhesive spreading trowel. You will need spacers and start from the bottom and work your way up using your plastic spacers http://www.tiletool.com/one/tile_spacers.html They are sold at home stores, but just to give you and idea of what I am talking about.

Then you will need to apply grout.

On Dry wall I would rough up the surface of the paint (sanding) - if there is wall paper remove it. Clean (soapy water) and rinse and go on from there.

Cutting Slate can be fun. Slate is a soft stone, very soft. I have successfully sawn slate roof tiles in half using a hand saw - yes I ruined the saw, after 5 cuts - but it was a small job and I did not want to rent one of these:http://www.tile-saw.com/mk100.html You can rent one from home Stores and some hardware stores.

I have successfully drilled a hole in slate using a hand drill - the one with the handle like the old fashioned egg beaters - human powered. I have drilled many holes in slate for roof using regular masonry bits. Slate is a soft and tender material it readily cracks if you put too much pressure on it If you try to cut it to fast it will chip.

If you have something along the lines of 5-8 tiles to cut, mark them for cutting and take them to home Depot or Lowe's, they may cut them for you there free of charge - if the guy is nice. If you are doing more than that, rent a wet saw.

I will assume you will have a nice grout to finish off with, grout comes in many colors, is really fast drying and real easy to smear into the the cracks between regular ceramic tile. When it comes to slate you will want to refrain from smearing it all over. Slate is soft and porous, thus your grout will stick to it and ruin the surface.

For a thin line, I would use something like tube caulk a latex based one (They come in so many colors now days!), nipping the tip of the tube for the smallest of holes, that and a steady slow hand to fill the lines, following up with a damp finger to press it in.

For 1/8 to 1/4" seams I would "pipe" my grout material into the cracks. Like decorating a cake.

I would seal with a Low Sheen Sealant Finish product there is a one step product on the market by Aqua Mix which I have used before. The slate looks kind of dull, just enough finish to make the interesting lines and shades of coloring pop.

While you are at Home De-Pot or Lowe's go to the tile area and ask the tile person for the best products, there are so many out there which make the job easier for the DIY person.

David

Perfect, thank you.

Next question: removing the old (a kind of seventies fake marble) tiles, I'm left with the old adhesive on brick. This ridged layer of adhesive is solid - in a couple of places where it has come off, it has pulled part of the face of the brick away rather than letting go.

What I'm hoping you'll say is that I don't have to remove all this old adhesive, but can just roughen it up and go for it. I'm afraid it would be best to somehow get back to a clean brick surface, however. Is there an easy way to do this?

Well you will end up pulling off a lot of brick if you attempt to remove all of it.

I will assume it is the black mastic, kind of a hardened tar stuff.

It will not sand down easily, it only gunks up sanders. If it isn't too lumpy, then you really don't have to do much to it.

I will assume that it is mostly lines of the stuff, looking like it was combed on. If this is the case then it will be good enough to put more adhesive over it.

However, use a putty knife to knock of the loose stuff before applying new to it. If the old mastic is thick, say more than a 1/4 inch, you can sand it down with 40 grit sand paper - just to remove the unevenness. You don't have to remove all of it, just knock it down a bit, even out the surface. The adhesive you use will itself be laid on with spaces between lines of adhesive, and most likely will be thick enough to get a good hold while maintaining the flat plane of the slate face.

Check where the brick was pulled off - remove all the lose stuff first. If its deep chunks that have been pulled off there are several cement fillers that are thick enough to fill on walls. I wouldn't worry unless the chunk is larger than say 1/4 the size of one of your tiles.

Yay! You made my day! I don't have to try to remove the stuff!