In the spacious living area on the ground floor of a town villa in Krefeld, large, floor-length windows allow in plenty of natural light. The high-quality natural stone flooring gives the impression of spaciousness and airiness, linking the interior to the outside. A total of 400 m2 of calibrated blocks of quartzite natural stone were laid: 200 m2 in the living area and 200 m2 on the patio. The continuous 50 x 80 cm format is 2 cm thick inside, and the regulatory 3 cm thick outside. The contractor Benjamin Wyß and two of his appointed sub-contractors first tiled the bathrooms. The screed was then primed with PCI Gisogrund to seal it and prevent it from being affected by moisture. The professionals laid the 1 cm thick porcelain stoneware tiles (60 x 120 cm) on the wall and floor of the bathroom on the first floor with PCI FT Flex. The bathroom and the guest toilet on the ground floor were tiled with a natural stone covering in keeping with the general tiling concept on that floor using PCI Carraflott NT. PCI Carrafug was then used to grout the joints.

Spa area

The staircase between ground floor and the cellar is tiled with 60 x 120 cm porcelain stoneware cut exactly to the dimensions of the steps. The rooms in the cellar and the bathroom in the guest apartment integrated in the cellar were tiled with 60 x 60 cm and 60 x 90 cm porcelain stoneware. At its heart lies the elaborate spa area which includes a 350 x 350 cm large jacuzzi and a round shower. Wyß first primed the screed with PCI Gisogrund Rapid. PCI Rapidlight was then used to apply an adhesive layer for the PCI Pecilastic U waterproofing and isolating membrane. The joins between the membranes were covered with PCI Pecitape 120 and PCI Seccoral 2K Rapid, as were the base areas and connections such as to the pool. The tiling professionals used PCI Lastogum on the primed wall substrate. The two seals were joined along the base area with sealing strips. The expansion joints and the connections between the wall and floor were sealed with PCI Silcoferm S and then grouted with the versatile PCI Nanofug grout.

Patio

The rear wall of a niche in the entrance area reveals a mosaic in black-and-gold natural stone with a tile dimension of approx. 1 x 1 cm. On the ground, the quartzite natural stone surface runs from the living room out to the patio. The border between inside and out almost disappears when the floor-to-ceiling windows are opened to the roughly 200 m2 large patio in the summer. Whilst tiling, the installers sealed the sloping concrete slab and the steps with PCI Seccoral 2K Rapid and system sealing strips. This was followed with a single grain mortar membrane, then a 5 cm thick layer of PCI Pavifix DM mono grain mortar. A 6 mm right-angled tooth trowel was used to apply PCI Carraflott NT to the back of the natural stone slabs that were then tapped into place in the fresh single grain mortar. Wyß and his team then grouted the whole area with the PCI Pavifix 1 K Extra special joint grout. Installed in this way, the patio is impervious to all climatic and mechanical stresses.