How to Install Travertine Wall Tiles

Travertine tiles appear in a array of patterns and colors. These porous, accustomed rock tiles--part of the limestone family--are not as difficult to plan with as the added close stones, such as granite, and are simple to cut and sand. If you yield your time and accept backbone with yourself if installing travertine bank tiles, you will affect yourself with the outcome, whether you are application them in the bathroom, as a kitchen backsplash or anywhere else. Tackling this activity yourself aswell will save you money on able activity costs.

Instructions

1. Prep the wall. If the bank is concrete, apple-pie it and set the asphalt beeline assimilate it. If the bank is drywall or wood, defended bedding of adhesive lath to it application adhesive lath screws and a assignment with a screwdriver attachment. This creates a bigger apparent for the thin-set adhesive to band to.

2. Decide the blueprint of the travertine tiles to advice you actuate area you should alpha laying the tiles. If you wish the tiles on the top row to be abate than the basal row, you will be able to set abounding tiles on the bottom, so you can alpha ambience on the actual aboriginal row. If you wish even tiles on the top and bottom, alpha ambience tiles centermost up the wall.

3. Mark the centermost band of the bank (measured top to bottom), application a band admeasurement and level. Screw a 1-by-2 lath beneath that band to abutment the rows of tiles you will set. From this point, you will set the top bisected of the wall.

4. Use the cleft burrow to advance thin-set adhesive assimilate the bank and the behind of a tile. Use a white thin-set, as travertine is actual absorptive and could besmear as it absorbs darker products.

5. Put the asphalt in its adapted area and advance it durably adjoin the bank so that the thin-set on the bank will band to the thin-set on the aback of the travertine tile.

6. Use the akin to ensure that the asphalt is set levelly and that the foreground of it is plumb.

7. Repeat this action for every asphalt getting set. Use asphalt spacers amid anniversary asphalt so that all the tiles are analogously spaced. You may charge to acclimatize the agreement to annual for accustomed variances in the sizes of the travertine tiles.

8. Cut tiles that do not fit as accomplished tiles. Admeasurement the adapted size, mark the admeasurement on the tiles and cut them with a wet asphalt saw. Cut forth your apparent band boring and exactly.

9. Abolish the 1-by-2 lath from the bank afterwards the thin-set on the top bisected of the bank has had time to set. Application a barometer tape, actuate how abounding abounding tiles will fit beneath the absolute tiles. Mark the band for the basal of the everyman abounding asphalt application a akin and pencil.

10. Set the lower bisected of the wall, repeating Steps 4 through 8. Measure, cut and set the top and basal rows of tile. Allow the thin-set adhesive to cure, afterward the artefact directions.

11. Mix the adhesive crumb with baptize in a brazier to anatomy a blubbery paste.

12. Scoop adhesive from the brazier with a adhesive float and advance it analogously into the spaces amid the tiles, bushing them fully. While the adhesive is still wet, clean the apparent of the bank with a sponge, rinsing it consistently to abolish balance grout.

13. Allow the adhesive to dry to the point at which it forms a brume over the apparent of the wall. Polish the brume off with a anhydrate or cheesecloth. Let the adhesive absolutely cure.

14. Apply sealer analogously to the absolute wall, application a anhydrate or rag.

5 Tips To Make Your Guitar Mixes Rock!

Now I know there are thousands of variables involved as well as opinionated ways of doing this, that's why I'm going to tell you 5 tips I use to make my guitars stand out to help make my mixes sound huge!

1. Double Track Your Rhythm Guitars:

You can easily thicken up the sound of your mixes by doubling your guitar tracks. Yes I know this is not really a 'mixing' tip but when you use both guitars in the mix it can beef up your guitar tracks. PRO TIP: You can even play around with changing the tone slightly on the second track to add even more emphases on certain characteristics of the playing. Say you want one to be more beefy and use another for note clarity. Just one of many ways you can use that to your benefit.

2. Pan Those Tracks:

The next step is to pan those rhythm guitars you tracked. I like to start at hard panning them both, one left one right. If they are sounding too separate bring them more to the middle, 70-80 is a good area where I like to put my guitars, especially for the slower parts. Faster more intricate playing can benefit from going all the way left or right. Panning these guitars helps separate the sound and clear up the middle for other instruments (i.e. kick drum, bass guitar) that need to be there. Turn that pan knob and immediately hear the results.

3. High Pass Filter Your Guitars:

OK yes, I know this is situational depending on the tone/style of guitar you are tracking. But in most times I mix I like to roll off some of those lows to clear up the bottom section and help your guitars not 'fight' so much with the bass and kick drum. I like to start in the 100,200k area and roll it off accordingly to the mix. Let your ears do the work, roll it off as you listen to a section and when you hear the guitars start to'thin out' back off a hair and Voila! You now have cutting clear guitar.

4. Did Someone say Plug-ins?

Yes you read that correctly. But dude, I thought you are always preaching 'crap in crap out, get it right from the source and you wont have to fix anything come mix time??!' Yes you are correct. I do live by that, but remember music and mixing is an art form. There are rules, but there are not. Weird right? I like to look at using plug-in's like using salt when cooking. You don't want to add too much because it will taste bad, but using just enough will make whatever your eating taste much better! Don't be afraid to add a little compression, or tube saturation/distortion to give your tracks get a little more omph! Experiment, you might find something you really like!

5. EQ Subtraction

The last tip here is my all time favorite, and yes it does play off of tip number 3. Subtracting EQ in certain bands is an ideal way to let other instruments in your mix cut through in return making everything (including your guitar tracks) sound bigger, cleaner and overall better. Especially with high gain guitar tracks cutting some of the lower (or) higher mids out is a good way to tone it down and get your guitars working in cohesion with other primary instruments. Don't be afraid to get the scalpel out and start cutting EQ like your a mad surgeon. Just remember to do it while you are listening to your mix, never solo your guitars and start cutting that would not be pretty.

The Oath of the Horatii

The Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David is both an excellent example of French Neoclassical painting (click to read more on Neoclassicism from the Met) and of a very strong composition within a painting.  David chose this subject for his first royal commission.  Neoclassical themes had been popular since the Renaissance and in the mid-18th century
Neoclassical art is defined as a style that was strongly influenced by the art and history of ancient Greece and Rome.  While at the French Academy David won the Prix-de-Rome and spent several years in the city during which time he was strongly influenced by Ancient Roman art and architecture.


The Oath of the Horatii is an interesting story, the battle between the Roman Horatii family and the Curiatii family from a neighboring city was told by the Ancient Roman author known as Livy.  The Horatii brothers are swearing allegiance to Rome on the swords that their father is holding up.  All are ready to die to defend their country.

The Oath of the Horatii, Jacques-Louis David, 1784, Louvre, Paris

This is an enormous painting measuring nearly 11 feet high by 14 feet long and the figures were shown as life sized. The focal point for the viewer is the raised hands and swords of the oath, even if the viewer doesn't know the story it can be easily inferred that this is a dramatic event. 

The setting is very sparse and the sparseness works well in framing the events and not detracting from the figures.  To the right we can see the women of the story, their mother and sisters, who are obviously in despair.  This foreshadows the events to come and serves as an interesting counter balance to the strength of the brothers.  One of the sisters was engaged to a man from the rival family and she knows that someone she cares about will most certainly die in the battle.

Why would such an ancient story, one that wasn't a frequent theme be painted in late 18th century France? 

There were several reasons that Neoclassicism became popular at this time.  Visually it was quite a contrast with the frivolous Rococo style that had currently been in fashion.  It was favored by royalty as Neoclassical work reflected the power of the Roman Empire.  It was equally favored by both the American and French Revolutionaries as it tied into themes of self sacrifice and the Roman Republican period.

The ruins of Pompeii were rediscovered in the mid 1700's and in the following years the site was excavated; this led to a new understanding of and enthusiasm for Roman culture.  The 18th century is commonly referred to as "The Age of Enlightenment" and many of the great intellectuals and philosophers were influenced by the rational philosophies of their Classical counterparts.

The Tennis Court Oath, Jacques-Louis David, c-1791, Louvre, Paris
pen drawing with sepia ink wash

While The Oath of the Horatii was commissioned by the French King, David was actually very much on the side of the revolutionaries in the 18th century.  He created the above drawing of the Tennis Court Oath, where nearly 600 members of society gathered less than a month prior to the storming of the Bastille and vowed to remain together until a French Constitution was written.

David was clearly influenced by his earlier composition for this sketch, which he later turned into a painting.  The raised arms created another strong central focal point for the viewer.  Even without knowing the history behind the work the viewer can discern that an emotionally charges and dramatic event is unfolding.  Just as in the other work a symmetrical architectural background frames the scene.

The Oath of the Horatii, Armand-Charles Caraffe, 1791
Pushkin Museum, Moscow

 Armand-Charles Caraffe was a student of David's and he also painted a version of this theme.

Compare the two paintings, by looking at the two very different ways that the artists chose to arrange the figures we can see that the David painting is much more dynamic.  The theme of the Oath that the Horatii family took wasn't a common one and Caraffe would certainly have been influenced by David.  However by reversing the direction of the brother's hands the composition doesn't have as strong of a focal point.  Dramatic tension was also created in the earlier version by the use of chiaroscuro (modeling form with strong darks and lights).

Caraffe does a good job of depicting this and created an interesting work, but Jacques-Louis David's version has remained one of the most iconic images of Neoclassical French painting.

Floored Perfection

Practical first

Your best of attic is a lot of importantly, absolute by applied issues. Rules abide on which abstracts fit where, as abstracts can be porous, glace or blatant and potentially difficult to reside with. On the added hand, with some accurate planning and advice, the pores can be sealed, the bland can be fabricated safe and the ballyhoo can be removed.

Hallway

Where bedraggled anxiety canyon and bags/prams/sports accessory are unceremoniously dumped. On the added hand, the all-important access to your abode is breadth humans get that aboriginal consequence about what to apprehend from your home (and absolutely you and your hospitality).

You charge appulse accumulated with something that will apple-pie easily. Choose marble for a statement, aphotic board boards for drama, besom for the apple-pie and affable feel, blooming for amore or carpeting for warmer still.

Stairwell

Stairways use runners to abate the complete of anguish footsteps of worse still, stilettos. Bright and animated they will allure you up and central the house. For a acceptable attending they can be captivated in abode with assumption rods and brackets but for a added abreast feel try balanced edges and active floral images.

Kitchen

For the a lot of part, a kitchen is no abode for a carpet. However, with the admeasurement of this allowance accretion to absorb appreciably added than just cooking, a rug by the daybed is absolutely not out of the question.

However, kitchens are a lot of frequently covered in asphalt or rock - terracotta, quartz, slate, marble and limestone - a all-inclusive alternative of colours and anniversary with their own different characteristics. Besides amount and your claimed appearance there is little to accumulate you from any best as even limestone, which has acquired abounding issues in the accomplished due to its porosity - abnormally apparent in the cheaper stones - can now be appropriately sealed. Seek able advice for sealing as it is capital that it is done accurately if you wish the rock to attending its best in the continued run.

Bathrooms

Another extraordinary breadth for carpets is the ablution as damp and bacilli will advance to rot. However, for those who like to feel balmy anxiety afterwards their bath, beneath attic heating is the absolute band-aid for beneath tiles. Beneath attic heating can now be adapted beneath all types or attic and will accumulate the accomplished allowance at a affable temperature.

Bedrooms

If you adorned able accurate in this room, there is no austere acumen why you shouldn't but if, like most, you wish a added comfortable and absolutely softer attic for your boudoir again carpets and rugs are your best bet.

Living and dining rooms

Although carpets accept enjoyed a awakening of late, copse is still acutely accepted abnormally balk boards. They add appearance and arrangement as able-bodied as a accustomed amore to the room. They are ideal for the dining room, breadth spillages are accepted to appear but are appropriately adapted throughout the abode and can be 'broken up' with rugs to bout the alone rooms.