terracotta sealing and cutting

[bluesky]

hi all , i have some raw terracotta to lay tomorrow .have washed and let them dry for 2 hours and then applied ltp mattstone which was absorbed superquick as expected.is this enough to protect the tile during laying or should it have another prior ?which is best way to cut ?wet or with grinder?wet better for me as dust could be an issue! also i am laying with rapidset - presuming no problems with this ?all advice appreciated - 6 years in the trade and have avoided terracotta up to now!!!

[pjc]

hi all , i have some raw terracotta to lay tomorrow .have washed and let them dry for 2 hours and then applied ltp mattstone which was absorbed superquick as expected.is this enough to protect the tile during laying or should it have another prior ?which is best way to cut ?wet or with grinder?wet better for me as dust could be an issue! also i am laying with rapidset - presuming no problems with this ?all advice appreciated - 6 years in the trade and have avoided terracotta up to now!!!

WASHED them

[timeless john]

Probably too late to answer your questions now but I've just seen your post.
PJC has summed it up - Washed them!
Terracotta is like blotting paper it has to be kept dry - and to seal them 2hours after 'washing' them is not the right decision.
Although you admit it is your first Terracotta job you should have taken advice before you started.
I hope the job works out ok for you and if you still require some input just let us know!

[bluesky]

washed!meant i just just wiped over to get the dust off from the packaging - no amount of moisture absorbed .the first coat of sealer soaked straight in last night and then i checked this morning and sealer had worked well.laid floor before lunch (5m2)making sure tiles were kept very clean whilst working and then went back at 6 to apply 2nd coat of sealer .will grout in the morning and then apply 3rd coat on saturday. all looks great so far - and lovely red dust stripe up the tee shirt on to my chin !happy days !

[pjc]

careful with what grout use use it could craze if you pull and dont push you wont get the stripe

[bluesky]

wide joint grout to be used .problem ?nobody else has mentioned this!not the supplier?

[mistral]

sealer had worked well.

What sealer did you use?
I've always used a mix of boiled linseed oil and white spirit for terracotta, I'd be interested to know of alternatives.
EDIt..... just re-read it and saw that you used mattstone!