Flexible stone – what is it, the main characteristics, how to do it with your own hands?

When planning repairs, it is difficult not to get lost in the variety of finishing materials: colorful and varnish coatings, wallpaper, tiles and plaster surprise with a wide palette of colors and textures. The recent development of German experts – a flexible stone favorably stands out by an unusual pattern, durability and environmental friendliness.

What is a flexible stone?

Only one decade has passed since the appearance of finishing material called “Flexible Stone”, which not everyone knows this. For its production, natural sandstone is used in the form of layers or crumbs. With the help of a special polymer composition, the stone is fixed on a strong elastic basis, for example, on a fiberglass canvas. The resulting material has the following advantages:

1. Strength. The coating persistently withstands small mechanical damage, does not suffer from temperature drops, does not destroy under the influence of sunlight.
2. Air permeability. Protecting the wall from entering the water, a flexible stone gives her to “breathe”. Thanks to this, even the most damp rooms do not become a dwelling of the fungus.
3. Small weight. A square meter of flexible stone weighs no more than 1.5-2 kg, so it can be used for lining the basement and walls without preliminary strengthening the foundation.
4. Simplicity of installation. It is no more difficult to finish the room with a flexible stone than gluing wallpaper, and the high plasticity of this material helps to implement the most daring design ideas.
5. Safety. The material is hypoallergenic, does not emit compounds harmful to the health even with prolonged use. Low fire hazard allows you to use a flexible stone for a stove, fireplace or lamps.

Flexible stone production

Two production methods are currently known:

1. Artificial flexible stone. To make a flexible stone, which includes a crumb of various stone rocks and binding polymers, a strong base is applied to an elastic, and dried in special furnaces. At the output, a strong coating is obtained, which is in no way inferior in terms of natural characteristics, but several times cheaper. To give the color, the crumbs are treated with coloring pigments.
2. Natural flexible stone. Production is placed next to the place of production of the breed to save on transportation. Using high -precision equipment, a thin cut is separated from the sandstone layer and carefully transfer it to the substrate covered with polymers. As a result, they receive a coating of a unique pattern, the creation of which the nature itself worked on. Its huge minus is a significant cost.

Flexible stone – characteristics

The material has the following characteristics:

1. Durability. Guaranteed service life – 35 years.
2. Universality. Suitable for internal and external finishing work.
3. Wide range of operating temperatures. Does not lose decorativeness and qualities at temperatures from -30 to 65 ° C.
4. Elasticity. Under the influence of heating, the canvas becomes flexible, taking the shape of the base on which it is glued.
5. Thickness. Depends on the form of the release: flexible wallpapers have a thickness of 1-1.5 mm, tiles-3-4 mm.
6. Weight. The proportion of 1 sq. Meter of flexible stone does not exceed 2 kg.
7. Fire safety.

Flexible stone – dimensions

A flexible decorative stone for interior decoration has the appearance of rolls (wallpaper) or plates. The wallpaper clips have a thickness of 1-1.5 mm, a width of 1.2 m and a length of 2.6 m. The slabs 3-4 mm thick are available in the following sizes:

• 50×600 mm;
• 200×300 mm;
• 600×300 mm;
• 800×400 mm.

DIY Flexible stone

The technology of production of the material is so simple that it is subject to implementation not only in industrial conditions, but also in artisanal. Those who want to try themselves in this field, there is no need to purchase specific equipment for flexible stone. At the initial stage, you will need a little:

• construction mixer;
• sieve for sifting minerals;
• Drying racks;
• Cut for cutting paintings.

The production process itself looks like this:

1. Stone baby (quartz sand, marble) is cleaned of extraneous impurities, passing through a sieve. If necessary, processed with dyes (metals).
2. A layer of water -soluble acrylic polymers is applied to a flexible base (fiberglass), and sand is laid on top.
3. The canvas is laid on a rack for drying.
4. After hardening, the polymer is cut on tiles or panels of the required size.

How to glue a flexible stone?

The process of decorating the room with a flexible stone largely resembles pasting wallpaper:

1. Materials and tools. For work, it is necessary to prepare a set of spatulas (even and toothed), a sharp knife, a painted roller, a brush, a wide brush and a construction hair dryer. The usual wallpaper glue for flexible stone is not suitable, you need to purchase a special mixture with good adhesive ability.
2. Preparation. The working surface before pasting should be cleaned as much as possible of dust and garbage. Large irregularities are better to close up, but you can not strive for perfect smoothness – the texture of flexible stone perfectly disguises small defects. Before applying glue, it is better to primer the wall. Flexible stone canvases or tiles are laid down on the floor with the front side to neatly with the help of a brush and brush to clean the inner surface from sandstone and dust particles and dust
3. Application of glue. Unlike work with most wallpaper, pasting the walls with a flexible stone involves applying the adhesive composition only to the wall. They do this with a smooth spatula, and then with the help of gear form on the surface of the glue groove, which contribute to better clutch.
4. Gluing. After the soft stone is prepared (cleaned, cut), the finish is made from top to bottom, starting from any corner. Tiles (canvases) are glued over, but if necessary, pasting and overlapping is possible. Before pasting the surfaces of a complex shape (angles, curly elements), the canvas is heated using a building hair dryer. The excess parts of the panels are cut, and then used for grouting seams or minor defects.
5. Primer. The pasted and dried surface is treated with hydrophobic primer. For application, use a roller or a wide brush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpucf9uqfjw

Flexible stone in the interior

The minimum load on the supporting structures, plasticity, ease of installation and the ability to apply on the canvas any pattern make it possible to use a flexible stone for the decoration of any room, starting with the hallway to the bedrooms. It fits perfectly into the interior of any style where the role of both the accent and the background surface can play.

Flexible stone in the interior of the living room

The material is ideal for the implementation of decorative arches or columns. LED backlight, located inside a column or arch, will help create an onyx effect. A flexible stone (wallpaper or tile) can be used to decorate the fireplace zone, and resistance to heating will be useful here. To create a cozy twilight in the room, you can paste a wall or floor lamp with this material.

Flexible stone in the kitchen

A decorative flexible stone is capable of turning a kitchen block into a favorite place for the whole family. It can be used to finish the working area (apron) or glued with flexible wallpaper one of the free walls. The drawing applied over the wallpaper will create a complete illusion of an old fresco. Against such a background, wooden furniture of black or white will look spectacular.

Flexible stone in the bathroom

To create an indescribable and calling to relax, a flexible stone in rolls is capable of the atmosphere in the bathroom. This material is not afraid of either high humidity or temperature changes. It is suitable for decorating both large spacious rooms and tiny bathrooms. Here they can finish one of the walls, for example, over the bathroom or washbasin, or the entire room is completely. At the same time, warm floors made of flexible stone are spectacular and practical in use.

Flexible stone in the interior of the hallway

The hallmark of any house can be called the hallway. On its decoration, the first impression is made not only about the house, but also to its inhabitants. Using a flexible stone for walls and floor in the hallway, you can create a warm and strict interior at the same time. It is appropriate to finish both the surfaces and the entire room. This material is able to fit into any of the styles, but it is especially appropriate in the loft and hi-tech halls.

Flexible stone for the facade

Excellent operational characteristics, the ability to withstand temperature and moisture, without destruction, turned the soft stone into a universal finishing material. To decorate the outer surfaces, a flexible stone under a brick is used. The technology for applying it to the facade is similar to the interior decoration, but requires the application of two, and not one layers of the finish primer. Another important requirement is to reliably fix the soft stone, work should be carried out at an air temperature of at least 15 ° C.