Acorn Maintenance Projects
River Rock Tile Installation
Now, this was one of those jobs that’s got you thinking “ what have I gotten myself into.” By no means was this an easy task but Acorn M/R got it done with no problem.
The first step was to remove the black rock that was separating from the mortar it was set in. We brought out the Electric Chisel Hammer and went to town removing all of the black rock from the shower pan, step, and pad. One of the reasons the black rock was being removed was due to the shower pan having a hump and a crack going across from wall to wall. Once all the black rock was removed, it was discovered that there was uncured concrete underneath it. It was like hard packed sand which should have been hard cured concrete. All of the material was removed, and new Ardex SD-P Fast-Setting Patch was poured in to make a seamless finished.
The new shower pan was troweled to slope to the new drain cover that was fabricated to work with this application. Now that the shower pan is done its off to lay some tile. As I’m about 1/4 of the way through I, start to realize that the river rock I’m Installing doesn’t seem to be holding very well in my mortar. I think for a bit then stop and let it sit overnight to see how it holds once the mortar is set. I come back the next day, and three rocks just come right off with ease. Now I’m thinking ” what have a gotten myself into.” So me and a colleague helping me ponder for a while on what would be the best approach from here. I decide to tear it all out and start over. I explain to my customer the situation and that I wanted to give her the best quality possible, I must take a different route to give her the shower pan she desires. I later discover that the glue used to attach the River Rocks to the mesh breaks down when it gets wet. Again thinking ” what have I gotten myself into.” After finding this out, I had no choice but to rip every rock off the mesh, clean the glue off each one and apply each rock one by one. It took two days alone to install the rocks. After the rock was installed, it was time to start applying grout. The grout went smooth like a Dionne Warwick track playing on the radio while holding your girl tightly in your arms. I was in the home stretch; I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even though this job turned into something I wasn’t expecting I never lost focus on what needed to be done for my work to last many years to come.
The owner was very happy with the work and the job came out beautifully. At the owner’s request, I went ahead and installed the River Rock around her tub so it would flow with the shower. The bathroom is complete and another happy customer brought to you by Acorn M/R.