All kinds of tile questions

[Snowball0807]

Sorry if these have been answered before, but I can't seem to find the answers I'm looking for.. We're building a viv and I want tile as susbstrate. Only slate or ceramic right? What do you use in between? Grout or caulking? And also, my dad said that grout and slate were both semi-porrous, so those would need to be sealed if they were used, correct? If so, what kind of sealant? Does it need to be non-toxic/water based? One more thing.. Does the inside of the viv need to be sealed before we put the tile in, even though the inside is not stained?
I know most people don't grout the tile, but I'd prefer them to just be in place forever and just wipe up the messes.
Thanks, Stevie

 

[voidpresence]

i've been reading up on this, but i dont have it yet so anybody feel free to correct/add on to me.

I've never seen anything about sealing the tiles, there's no need to weatherproof them, this is inside of inside (if you get my drift).

I'm not sure on what goes in between the tiles either. I think it's just tight-fit. Tho you should put paper-towel (or the like) underneath the tile before you lay it.

Also from what I've read/understood, tile/slate doesn't last forever anyway, and it's so cheap that replacing it isn't a big deal.

(on a side note, perhaps my two main reasons why i'm choosing slate: 1) it looks better than paper towel 2) it naturally keeps the dragon's nails trimmed

 

[MrWhite]

Sorry if these have been answered before, but I can't seem to find the answers I'm looking for.. We're building a viv and I want tile as susbstrate. Only slate or ceramic right? What do you use in between? Grout or caulking? And also, my dad said that grout and slate were both semi-porrous, so those would need to be sealed if they were used, correct? If so, what kind of sealant? Does it need to be non-toxic/water based? One more thing.. Does the inside of the viv need to be sealed before we put the tile in, even though the inside is not stained?
I know most people don't grout the tile, but I'd prefer them to just be in place forever and just wipe up the messes.
Thanks, Stevie

I did not grout mine, they all fit somewhat snugly. The downside to loose tile is if my beardie does a wet poop on the tile seams, it will seep between the tiles which means I need to lift the tiles to clean under them.

If you make the tiles permanent, you can glue them in with either thin set mortar or mastic adhesive and then grout between the tiles. Regular grout is porous and will need to be sealed. you can get a more expensive epoxy grout that is stain resistant. Home Depot / Lowes sells all this stuff. if you are sealing the tiles, you will not need to seal the wood underneath because none of the fluids should get past the sealed tiles/grout.

I don't think water base versus oil base sealant will matter once it's completely dried. You'll have to look into this, I would probably stick to water base sealant if they have such a thing.

I hope this helps a little :wink: