Color Cement Handicraft 17

Color Cement Handicraft 17

CHAPTER 15

 

Color Cement for

Interior Decoration

 

[Illustration]

 

 

PRACTICAL USE FOR COLOR CEMENT inside the home is one of the greatest

possibilities with color cement as a handicraft. It enables the home

builder, the art student, or the busy housewife who has some idea of

decoration, to plan and execute durable tiles or panels for the floor,

walls or fireplaces, and to execute them with but little space and

equipment.

 

TO MAKE TILES FOR THE FLOOR, the tiles should be made in flat surfaces

and without relief parts that will project so as to become worn from

being walked upon. For floor surfaces pressed tiles are better than

poured tiles. Manufacturers of common cement tiles for architectural

purposes produce them in presses with several tons pressure. The

craftsman can secure very good pressed effects by using backing cement

that has very little moisture in it and tapping it in well, using a

block of wood and a mallet. The retaining sides of the mold should be of

wood or of some durable material that will withstand the pressure, and

hold together firmly.

 

POURED TILES FOR FLOOR USE made from a strong mixture of sand and cement

and with a small proportion of color will be found to be durable. One or

two coatings of shellac and a covering of floor wax will further

increase the durability of the wearing surface.

 

PLAIN TILES FOR FLOOR USE can be used with decorated tile and various

interesting patterns can be made (a few of which are shown) by

interspersing the tile in different arrangements. A glazed tile can be

made and used as a variation in combination with mat finish or dull

finish tiles. Several small tiles may be used to fill a space and

produce patterns in contrast to larger tiles. It will be found that with

a little design arrangement many interesting floor arrangements can be

made with tiles.

 

WHERE A LARGE NUMBER OF TILES ARE TO BE MADE several molds in

plaster-of-Paris should be made and a large quantity of color mixed at

once, and the first color placed in each tile consecutively and then

the next color, until all the colors have been placed in the six, eight,

ten or whatever number of molds is being made at the same operation.

After the color has set, the backing mixture of concrete is made and

poured into all the tiles.

 

A TEMPLET PATTERN MOLD for floor tiles is made by cutting templets from

either cardboard or linoleum with slightly tapering sides and gluing

these into position to produce the design. The templets should duplicate

the portions of a design and the design should be the first step in the

problem to be solved.

 

THE DESIGN FOR TEMPLET PATTERNS should be simple in form and division.

Geometric patterns and straight line forms are the best for use. Good

divisions of squares and rectangles and these divisions changed slightly

to floral or leaf shapes should be as far as any elaboration should go.

 

AFTER THE TEMPLET PATTERN IS CUT it is assembled and glued into position

on another card or glass surface and given two coats of shellac. It is

then placed within the retaining bars and a cast is made in plaster.

This cast in plaster is afterwards shellaced and becomes the mold for

casting the cement tile.

 

TO CAST THE CEMENT TILE the colors selected from parts of the design are

first mixed and placed into the mold. After the colors have been all

placed and permitted to harden, they are backed with a mixture of neat

cement and color which is next backed up with a concrete mixture and

then permitted to dry for three days. After being hardened in water for

several days after its removal from the mold, it is then ready to be

cemented in position for floor use.

 

THE BACK FINISH OF WALL TILES should have countersunk spaces to permit a

good grip or hold of the mortar that will be used to hold the tile in

position. These grip holds can be made by cutting four small rectangular

sections of cardboard and pressing them closely together into the back

of the tile after the last layer of cement has been poured. After the

cement has dried thoroughly and the tile is ready to be removed from its

mold, these cards can be easily removed.

 

TO USE WALL TILES they should always be immersed in water before the

mortar is applied. This prevents the moisture being absorbed out of the

mortar by a dry tile and assures better sticking of the tile to a

perpendicular surface.

 

TO MAKE GOOD MORTAR, building lime is placed in a mixing box or bucket

and water poured over it. Next day it can be taken and mixed with sand

until a rich, thick plaster results. To this add one-quarter or

one-eighth part of Portland cement to make it strong.

 

TO APPLY TILES TO AN UPRIGHT SURFACE, spray the brick or rock surface

with water. This can be done with a whisk broom or a large brush. A

cloth immersed into water and dabbed onto the surface will serve very

well. The tile which has been placed in a bucket of water to absorb

moisture is then covered with mortar on the reverse side. The surface of

the wall or fire mantel to receive the tile is also covered with a layer

of mortar and the tile is pressed into the mortar, causing the two

layers (the one on the tile and the one on the wall) to adhere to each

other.

 

TO CONNECT TILES ONTO AN OLD CEMENT SURFACE the following method should

be used: Clean the old cement surface well with a brush and water,

removing the dirt and dust. Sprinkle a thin layer of neat cement onto

this surface while the floor is still moist. Work this neat cement into

the surface well, pressing it and working it with a flat trowel. Onto

this add a layer of strong mixture cement into which the tiles are

pressed.

 

TO FINISH A TILE FLOOR the spaces between the tiles are filled with

cement; a small narrow cement trowel or strip of metal is passed over

the strip to smooth the cement in between the tiles. After the first day

the tiles and entire surface should be sprinkled with water to insure

good hardening of the cement.

 

THE SPACES BETWEEN THE TILES can vary in width, depending upon the size

of the tiles. A half-inch space of cement between six-inch tiles is a

good average. A tile surface either upright or flat looks better with a

liberal space between the tiles than where too close a connection is

attempted. The tiles also look more interesting if the cement in between

is left a little lower than the surface of the tile.

 

A color may be added to the cement used between the tiles, creating a

pleasing contrast in color and values. This color may be a thin coating

of color cement and need not be used throughout the entire cement

section.

 

TO SECURE A LEVEL TILE FLOOR with the color cement tiles, the under

layer of cement into which the tiles are placed should not be a wet

mixture of cement but a mixture of cement and sand that is a little more

moist than wet sand. The tiles are then pressed onto this layer, more of

the moist cement being pressed under the tiles until the tiles are level

with each other. To test the level surface a straight edged board is

placed straight edge downward along the surface. If it rocks on any part

of the surface, that part should be pressed downward or lowered by the

removal of some of the cement. If parts are too low, they will show a

light opening underneath the leveling edge and should be built up.

 

After the tiles are all level, the spaces between are filled with a soft

mixture of cement and finished smooth.

 

TILES FOR INSERTS IN WALL PANELS can be made in the same way as

described in the chapter on Tiles, excepting that they may be made

thinner to conform with the thickness of the wood or other surface to

which they will be added.

 

Where the wood or wall surface is grayed or toned with a paint wash or

tint, the tint can be carried over the tile insert which will help the

unity of the tile with the wall.

 

COLOR CEMENT TILES FOR FURNITURE INSERTS can be made in colors to

harmonize with the wood background. The surface finish given the wood,

whether wax or gray tone, can be also applied to the tile. The tiles may

be applied to boxes, chairbacks, flower stands so that they become the

bright spot of color motif to a design produced by the pattern of the

wood, or a carved or relief enrichment on the surface.

 

UNIT TILES FOR WALL SURFACES can be made and planned so that various

arrangements can be made by using the same motifs or elements. These

elements can be combined into a group that may be inserted into an over

mantel or into a wall or corridor space. Unit tiles admit of arranging a

vertical or a horizontal border or of combining both borders each

produced with the same motifs.

 

COLOR TILE BORDERS for plain cement floors will make an otherwise plain

floor a thing of beauty. A series of tiles for the border can be made

and special tiles for the corner arranged. The whole series can then be

set at the same time that the center plain gray or tinted portion of

cement is spread.

 

CEMENT FLOOR ABRASION CAN BE AVOIDED by dampening the cement as it

hardens and spraying water onto it regularly once or twice a day after

the first day for a period of five to seven days.

 

Abrasion or powdering of cement floors indoors often occurs because of

prematurely drying when constructed. Where walks out-of-doors are

benefited by the dew or moisture at night, inside floors do not receive

this moisture and often dry too rapidly.

 

To remedy the abrasion, or powdering of cement floors, wash the floor

thoroughly with clean water removing all dirt and particles with a

stiff scrub brush. After the surface has dried, apply a solution of one

part water-glass (sodium silicate) of 40 degrees Baumé and three to five

parts water, the water depending upon the absorbing quality of the

cement. This mixture is applied with a large brush and should be mixed

well and used within an hour. When this has dried mop the surface with

clean water and repeat the wash of water-glass three times, letting the

floor dry after each operation.

 

The silicate penetrates the pores, comes in contact with the other

alkalies in the concrete, forming an insoluble and very hard material,

preventing dusting and makes a better wearing floor.