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When a job is chosen, the space is
measured and a design created. Glaze tests are run and the final piece is
decided upon.
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The measurements must be increased by 9%
to take the shrinkage of the clay into account. This can get very tricky
around sinks and receptacles. |
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After the measurements are verified,
wooden tables are set up to accommodate the piece.
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Clay is then slabbed out into a 3/4 of an
inch thickness and placed over the form. The seams where the slabs overlap are
beaten and scored to insure no cracks develop. |
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When the form is completely covered in
clay, it is cut into individual pieces and allowed to stiffen. The pieces
are then individually cleaned and numbered. The drying process must remain slow
to keep the tiles from warping. Some warping is inevitable. This process takes
about 6 to 8
weeks. The tiles are then placed into a kiln and slow fired for3 days to keep
them from exploding due to their thickness.
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After the kiln has cooled for 48 hours,
the tiles are reassembled and glazed with a heavy duty sprayer. They then go
back into the kiln and are fired for another 24 hours reaching a temperature of
2100 degrees.
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The tiles are unpacked at the site and
laid out on heavy duty rugs to ease the
installation.
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Installation is done over a suitable
substrate like tile board in this case
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The counter is completely installed with
plastic protecting the cabinets. It is allowed to cure for 24 hours before the
grouting begins.
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This is really a nasty job, and
unfortunately I have to do it. |
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The grout is cleaned up as it hardens and
left to cure for 72 hours before it is sealed. The installation process can take
as much as 4 days to complete depending on the substrate. The finished product
is one to behold.
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