Granite radon scare

There have been some articles appearing in the mainstream US press regarding granite countertops and radon. Radon is a radioactive gas which is known to cause lung cancer. When purchasing a house it always worth having it checked for radon, as if the property was built on ground which is predominantly granite then it may emit elevated levels of radon which could damage your health. Recent reports in the US have suggested that the level of radon present in granite countertops could have a long term effect on a user’s health, this is completely FALSE!

 

I have worked with many forms of granite, slabs, tiles, chippings, rocks etc and will continue to do so whilst ever I am operating within the natural stone industry, If I do ever contract lung cancer then I am 100% confident this will be down to the Philip Morris company and the 20 a day of there product I consume, rather than Granite!  It is interesting to note that reports coming out of the industry suggest that the research done into granite countertops and radon were funded by some of the largest quartz composite companies in the world. Quartz being completely radon free and Granite’s main competitor. 

Laying Tiles Hints and Tips.

Check your stone tiles are sealed properly – You can do this by pouring an egg cup full of water onto the floor, it should form a small pool on the surface, leave it for about ten minutes. When you go back to the pool it should still be there, if the water has absorbed into the stone leaving a dark stain patch then the stone requires more sealant. You can check your wall tiles by throwing a mug full of water at the surface, the water should trickle down the surface like rain drops on a window pain.

 

 Kitchen tiles, what comes first the units or the tiles? – When laying tiles into a new kitchen area you will need to consider whether you wish to lay the tiles or install the units first. This will be dictated by your timescale and what’s easiest and most efficient for your builder. We recommend tiling the whole of the floor before installing the units, this way appliances are easier to take in or out if they need to be replaced or repaired. This also means that if you want to change your kitchen further down the line you won’t have to retile your floor.

 

Cleaning grout – At the end of the laying process you may need to clean excess grout from the surface, to do this use grout haze and latex film remover. Never clean up grout with any kind of acidic solution. This will remove your sealant.

 

Laying Slate – If you are laying slate tiles it is a very good idea to go through them and group them together by thickness and give them a quick wipe-down before you start laying.

If anybody has any other handy hints and tips, please leave a comment. View more advice on laying natural stone and porcelain tiles here - http://www.stoneandporcelain.com/laying_advice.php?cat=Laying%20Guide