Your help would bec appreciated:


I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

Regards, Peter.

petercharlesfagg wrote:
Your help would bec appreciated:


I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Only laid them once, so for what its worth-

Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

If its a plastic mesh then no. it holds the sheet together. If its non
permiable then probably.

How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

By increasing the thickness of the adhesive bed.


Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

I used standard adhesive. The adhesive bed has to be just right, too little
& they won;t be flush, too much & it oozes through the sheet & fills up the
gaps between the individual tiles so grouting is a problem. I'd buy a
couple of spare sheets for practice.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

petercharlesfagg wrote:

I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

Absolutely not! If you look closely, you will realise that the
tiles are all actually clear glass, with the colour coming from
the backing sheet

How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

More adhesive.

Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

Correct.

When I had my bathroom done, the tiler did a reasonable job of
the contrast row of glass tiles, but still found them very
difficult, and surcharged the main contractor.

One of the problems was that it didn't seem possible to use the
plastic spacers, and they kept drifting out of position.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On 19 Nov, 22:13, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:
petercharlesfagg wrote:
Your help would bec appreciated:

I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Only laid them once, so for what its worth-



Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

If its a plastic mesh then no. it holds the sheet together. If its non
permiable then probably.



How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

By increasing the thickness of the adhesive bed.



Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

I used standard adhesive. The adhesive bed has to be just right, too little
& they won;t be flush, too much & it oozes through the sheet & fills up the
gaps between the individual tiles so grouting is a problem. I'd buy a
couple of spare sheets for practice.

--
Dave - The Medway Handymanwww.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

Dave, thankyou for the suggestions, the whole thing looks very
daunting to the uninitiated!

Regards, Peter.

On 20 Nov, 08:16, Chris J Dixon wrote:
petercharlesfagg wrote:

I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

Absolutely not! If you look closely, you will realise that the
tiles are all actually clear glass, with the colour coming from
the backing sheet



How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

More adhesive.

Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

Correct.

When I had my bathroom done, the tiler did a reasonable job of
the contrast row of glass tiles, but still found them very
difficult, and surcharged the main contractor.

One of the problems was that it didn't seem possible to use the
plastic spacers, and they kept drifting out of position.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.


Chris, I appreciate your comments, slight misunderstanding.

The backing sheet I referred to is a plastic membrane that covers the
mesh to which the glass tiles are glued. I tried leaving it on but
then the tiles and their backing fell off! I just couldn't figure out
the purpose of the plastic.

With hindsight, the comments and a nights rest from the frustrations
it appears that I shall have to construct a small scraper that can
rest on the main tiles either side and leave a level of adhesive of
the correct, or near as dammit, to the thickness of the glass mosaic.

Thanks again, Peter.

The Medway Handyman wrote:
petercharlesfagg wrote:
Your help would bec appreciated:


I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Only laid them once, so for what its worth-
Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

If its a plastic mesh then no. it holds the sheet together. If its non
permiable then probably.
How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

By increasing the thickness of the adhesive bed.

Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

I used standard adhesive. The adhesive bed has to be just right, too little
& they won;t be flush, too much & it oozes through the sheet & fills up the
gaps between the individual tiles so grouting is a problem. I'd buy a
couple of spare sheets for practice.


If adhesives squeegeees up, use a sponge patntbrush to clear the lines
and a wet sponge to remove from tile faces. wash sponges in water every
wipe.

Use correct spacers wherever needed to equalise tile grout lines. Do not
rely on the mesh for perfect alignment.

On 20 Nov, 08:16, Chris J Dixon wrote:
petercharlesfagg wrote:

I am trying to re-tile my bathroom and wish to use the mosaic glass
tiles as a break in the wall of White tiles.

Do I remove the plastic sheet on the back?

Absolutely not! If you look closely, you will realise that the
tiles are all actually clear glass, with the colour coming from
the backing sheet



How do I get them flush since they are thinner than the main tiles?

More adhesive.

Do they require a special adhesive or is the standard tile adhesive
sufficient, it must be applied thicker than for standard tiles?

Correct.

When I had my bathroom done, the tiler did a reasonable job of
the contrast row of glass tiles, but still found them very
difficult, and surcharged the main contractor.

One of the problems was that it didn't seem possible to use the
plastic spacers, and they kept drifting out of position.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

OK, my technique. Do the tiles above and below the mosaic border
first. Measure carefully and use battens etc. Leave to dry/set etc.
Then, I use gaffer tape to hang the mosaics from the tile above (a
vertical piece of gaffer tape every few tiles), and align them as well
as I can. I then pull up the mosaic strips and hold with more gaffer
tape (the underside of the mosaics will now face you), to leave space
for the tool that is described next.
Then, I make a tool that rides on the tiles above and below the
border, with a projecting flange just shorter than the mosaic tile
thickness (e.g. plywood with piece of metal screwed to it) . I then
spread the adhesive full depth into the gap and use the tool to remove
just the right amount of adhesive, as preset with the flange.
I then carefully lower the mosaic strips and press gently into the
adhesive bed. If the flange was just right, you get just a small
amount of sqidging into the gaps between the mosaic tiles. The gaffer
tape holds them in just the correct place, and any minor tweaking is
done pushing nails into the adhesive (to be removed before it sets).
You can scrape any excess off with a match or a plastic tile spacer
and/or sponge it off.
It's worked for me on 2 bathrooms, and I can't think of an easier way
to accomplish the job. The usual trouble is once you start trying to
slide the mosaics around, you end up in a hopeless mess. You need to
position them correctly in the first place.
Simon.

The usual trouble is once you start trying to
slide the mosaics around, you end up in a hopeless mess. You need to
position them correctly in the first place.
Simon.-

Absolutely correct and that is just the mess I got myself into!

Frustration reigned for some hours but I did eventually get them fixed
even though a few strips look a little odd! (They will at least be
hidden!)

Followed your advice almost to the letter but cut the adhesive
squeegee so that it fitted between the upper and lower tiles, worked a
treat!

Have today, grouted the other tiles using a disposable icing bag,
brilliant and so quick!

Regards, Peter.