Stunning tiling of a 19th Century mansion in the gateway to the Highlands

Thu, Jul 25, 2019 11:00 AM

Featuring more than 500m2 of tiling on three floors and seven bathrooms, The Gart is a fabulous example of a high quality, modern tiling, completed despite a challenging design brief from the project’s artist owner.

Tiling in the property took more than a year and was completed by Wesley Geraghty from Atlas Tiling contractors.

An outstanding domestic project, The Gart offers amazing contemporary interiors with 13 luxury bedrooms, 7 bathrooms and an array of amenities including a games room, piano room, a 100 foot long reception room and its very own gin and whiskey bar. There is a beautiful kitchen and fabulous dining room , complete with bespoke dining chairs featuring the artist owner’s work from The Savoy in London.

Valued at £1.75 million, the property required tiling of the highest order with expert craftsmanship to fulfil a challenging design brief that incorporated an array of tile types and intricate designs on challenging substrates.

A handsome stone-built Scots baronial country house – it dates back to 1835 – and was rebuilt and extended after a fire in 1901.

The majority of the tiling took place on the low ground floor, ground floor and basement – this included the dining room, piano room, reception room, games room and bar – and featured stunning 750mm x 750mm Atlas Concorde marble-look porcelain floor tiles in various shades to match the décor.

Because the substrate was tongue and groove floor boards, potential issues included weight loading, height build-up, deflection and lateral movement in the floor.

To combat these potential issue and to ensure the luxury tiles did not experience any failures, BAL Rapid-Mat lightweight uncoupling mat was installed throughout to protect the tiling but also add minimal height to the floors.

One of the most challenging but ultimately one of the most inspiring rooms was a second-floor bathroom featuring a raised platform with a roll top brass bath.

Wes Geraghty was tasked with coming up with a design that replicated the splendour of the surroundings and opted for an intricate herringbone design.

Because the cuts on the top section and bottom section wouldn’t line-up, Wes plumped for mirror tiles on the outside of the step – which would highlight the step and provide a stunning reflection. Mirror tiles were also used on the walls to give an impression of extra space.

All floor tiles were tiled with BAL Rapid Flex-One, flexible rapid-setting adhesive, while wall tiles were tiled with BAL Single Part Flexible. All the tiling was grouted in BAL Micromax2 flexible wall and floor grout.

“I was delighted to use BAL throughout the project, as it my trusted tiling-system partner,” said Wes.

“I was going to use another uncoupling system, however because of the low build-up required, BAL Rapid-Mat was our only option on this occasion.

“I am delighted with how the whole project looks following completion – and so to was the client,” added Wes.

“Not only did the tiling need to match his individual artistic tastes, it also needed to match the high-end tastes of his clients who he often hosts in the property, as well as high-end individuals who rent out the property on a regular basis.

“In fact we were under time pressure to complete this project, as Ed Sheeran had hired out the property following one of gigs in Glasgow.

“It was a pleasure to work on, and we believe we have really brought the client’s work to life in the property.”

The Gart was a finalist for The Tile Association Awards 2019 for Best Domestic Project.