The old stonemason’s take on slim panels and tiles.
I am still trying to get my head around slim panels and slim tiles 3 m x 1 m panels by 3 mm in thickness is a totally new concept to myself and many other old masons and Tilers.
Here is a few things that I have gleaned about this slim tile. Apparently these slim panels in many formats and thicknesses can be used on almost any vertical or horizontal internal or external floor and wall substrates. One of the main places I feel that these slim panels will be used is tiling over existing bathroom walls and floors, providing of course that these services are sound and true. Apparently there is a 5 mm product which can be used on floors and 12 mm product which is suitable for kitchen bench tops. Also I have observed that moving these panels around is very similar to the way you would move sheets of normal glass. One of the major pluses to these slim panels is the weight, it appears to be about 15% of the weight of a granite panel. New tools have been developed already to cut these slim panels and are now available in Australia.
As you are aware of the Australian standards have now been replaced by the Australian ISO standards. This is to say we are now using the ISO standards but with minor changes to suit Australia. One of the new Australian ISO standards for these slim tiles is for the background to be plumb smooth and flat and free from any contaminants. The tolerances allowable for this new standard pump plus or -3 mm under a 2 m straight edge. All movement IE expansion joints still apply to this product. And under no circumstances like all other tiling material are they to be butt joined. It is thought that the joint between 3 Mt panels will be no less than 5 mm wide.
Because of the thinness of these panels and tiles all adhesive will have to be removed from the formed joints. Due to the thickness of these panels the coverage of adhesion will have to be 100%. This can be achieved by notching the substrate with a 6 mm notched trowel and the back of the panel with a 3 mm trowel. Don’t fall into the old trap of notching up to a chalk line which then leaves the very edge of the tile unsupported.
The good points for these slim panels and tiles are as follows resistance to abrasion, very low porosity, colours and patterns do not fade when exposed to sunlight, easy to clean, germ resistant surfaces, will have a green guard certification and of course the lightness of the product.
Cheers