Floor or Wall first?

[Joe S]

Travertine on the vertical surfaces, slate on the floor.

Should I set the walls first and then fit the floor? Or vice versa?

What is the preferred method, and why?

[Norminn]

Depends on how you finish off joins. Most often the finish (baseboards) go on the wall, so you finish the floor first. Your floor could/should probably extend beyond wall, with travertine down to it, then - caulk joints?

[G Henslee]

Joe S,

Walls first, then floors.

[G Henslee]

Oh you asked why it's preferred. It's just simpler. The main reason is you don't have to protect the finished floors from damage or mess while tiling the walls. Most folks wait until all other work is done prior to installing finished floors.

[Joe S]

Thanks. Protecting the slate by not laying it is alot easier.

I was most concerned about whether the grout joint is preferred to be horizontal or vertical. Or should I really use a sanded caulk for this joint to eliminate cracking from movement? I don't mind patching grout if it *might* happen, but I don't want to be assured of having to patch it because it *will* break.

[G Henslee]

No problem.

Finish the walls first, leaving the travertine off of the floor about an

1/8" or so on the first row. You can lay tile spacers flat and set your first row on top of that. It's important to adjust and ensure the first row of wall tile is level. You can use shims, other spacers, or what works well are cheap tile wedges which are available at tile stores. They come in handy as you go up the wall for minor adjustments as well.

When you install the floor slate leave a grout joint between the slate and the wall tile keeping the size uniform woth the other floor joints. Sanded caulk is really not necessary unless you expect movement of some kind at that point, so I would just use the sanded grout. YMMV

One other thing, there are thinset products on the market that are made for heavier tile. keep that in mind and also there are special grouts made for wider than average joints too.

Sounds like a great choice of materials you've picked for your job. Good luck Joe!

[Joe S]

Thanks for all the advice! We had a heck of a time getting the travertine....it's called black rustico and has veins of green-grey-to-black that goes great with the green slate. They kept sending out material that had no "black rustico" in it. Finally got the right stuff, tho.

So, if I understand correctly, if we take a cross-section of the finished product, we should find grout 1/8" up the wall (to the first row of travertine and then 3/8" and a bit (width of travertine on wall plus adhesive) + 3/16" (width of the floor grout joints) from the wall to the edge of the slate? So, a big line of grout along the perimeter at the base of the walls that's 1/8" high and about 5/8" wide. Is that right?

[G Henslee]

The reason I suggested the 1/8" space under the first wall row is to allow you some adjustment room for the row if the floor is not level. If the floor was perfectly level and evenly flat at that point you could just set the row on the floor. It may be that just a few wedges will give you the adjustment you may need. It may be that you have to rip the bottoms of that first row on an angle to make up for an unlevel floor. Lay a straightedge and a level across the floor at that point and see what you have.

If you have to adjust that wall row just make sure the bottom of that first row is low enough to below the plane of the top of the floor slate, so that that floor goes 'up to' and not under the wall. When you set the floor install it 3/16" away from the wall tile. Then when you grout that angle the grout will go into your floor joint and under your wall tile at the same time. When finished all you see when looking at that angle is a 3/16" grout joint on the floor between the floor and wall.

[Joe S]

ensure

adjustments

sanded

special

perimeter at

Got it. Beauty.

Joe