stonefireplace

I know how to mortar and grout. It is what I do. Question is, where to buy all of those stones in bulk to keep the cost down? If you buy them in bags at a DIY store, it is costly.

Anyhow, first of all, you must sand well!!! and clean the entire area very well!!! Even mortar and grout can be very tempermental and not want to stick to paint, grease, etc...

I like to use High-Performance Multi-Purpose Ceramic Floor and Wall Tile Adhesive .. Type I made by Mapei. It comes in a white tub (1 qt. mayber larger sized too) with yellow, blue and black colors on the container. 1-800-mapei.

Anyhow, trowel this on well to the wall in moderate space increments, not too small because this mix won't dry too fast and place your stones in by 'swishing' them into place. *Use a tooth trowel to get the mix to 'grab' the sanded walls. Trowel back and forth in arch motions but make sure you have a good base of mix for the stones to wiggle in and sit nestled. Once you get all of your stones into place where you want them which may take days, trust me, let it dry soundly.

Next, you can take the same mix (which is white) or a colored sandy grout that is the color you want (they come in premixed colors, or in bags that you mix with water in a bucket and use) and wipe it onto the wall getting it between the stones. Cover the stones. It's ok to to that for up to 20 minutes but definitely get the grout between the stones well.

Gina had a great idea about using a cake decorator thingie *S* but will be awfully time consuming to do it that way using just a finger. The stones uneveness can create the difficulty of getting the grout on as a normal trowel will bump over the stones and not do the job. I think that is why Hilda used a sponge but that also was very time consuming. I would use a smaller sponge than she did, but for me, I would have to explore the at a DYI store that had knowledge in this area.

Anyhow, using a clean, wet, large sponge, wipe off the excess grout after 20-30 minutes off the stones. The grout will set withing a day and then you will want to take a grout sealer spray (DYI) and spray it over the grout for protection.

You are done! Good luck with the project!

**Now, anyone know how to get the stones in bulk for such a large space and no, I don't want to go and pick them myself fown at the river because that will take all season long...*S*