I always liked to install residential tiles. There is something about thinking and creating an artistic statement that appeals to me with a challenge. Expressing a client's project vision requires good communication skills and at least some intuition. Making the client happy and feeling comfortable in their home environment makes me happy. Nothing can be compared with the satisfaction of knowledge of the work, it was well done, seeing a beautiful and properly installed work from the tile. And, indeed, installing a glass mosaic can look fantastic. This installation of glass mosaic was undoubtedly a challenge.
Some time ago, Debbie and Rich asked me to finish the bathroom, which would include a steamboat / shower cladding surrounded by glass mosaic tiles for shower trays, walls and a ceiling. They chose a transparent glass mosaic called Tesserra red # 777, not rosy, from Oceanside Glasstile from Long Beach, California. I believe that they wanted to see, as well as to feel the red heat of the steam bath. Glass mosaic tiles had the same red color, but were randomly different in saturation: some glass tiles were darker or lighter than others.
Each square tile of a one-inch-thick square mosaic was a quarter-inch thick with a finished face that was apparently sloping, crazy, or irregular, rather than smooth. The tiles came in 12-inch sheets glued to brown paper with a water-soluble adhesive similar to that used for wallpaper. The tiles reminded me of cut ice cubes, with sides tapered from the face, and a flat back, slightly textured from the molds. Most of the tiles were quite square, some were slightly trapezoidal in shape, since the molten glass, poured into the molds, filled the sixteenth inch to form a sheet that was crushed after cooling.
The bathroom was framed by walls and ceiling, covered with sheets, before my touch, with a green board placed in the environment of a steamer / shower. I wanted to jump straight, assuming that I could apply a protective barrier of damp paper over the fingerboard, then install a cement bar and charge it with a waterproofing membrane to contain steam. But, being a relative newcomer to any mosaic tile installations, it was good that I had some uncertainty, so I decided to first talk with Oceanside technical support experts.
Technical support insisted that I remove the board from the steamer / shower. Originally designed as a substrate for direct tile application, the green board has now become unacceptable for any use of the bathroom in accordance with the building code. In addition, there was a small chance that the moisture of the steam could penetrate the waterproofing membrane and ever weaken any drywall or parquet, leading to wear and mold where it could never dry out. The most recently developed cement-backed code-approved backboard, performance is much better for tile, especially in wet environments.
Then, the key point for this installation, technical support strongly advised me not to apply the waterproofing membrane directly behind any transparent tile. Water will undoubtedly sit at the tile, especially where steam will force it, causing a spotted look, where some tiles will have darker areas than other areas. A raw backboard will allow water to dissipate.
Finally, expansion joints are necessary for installations of glass tiles, as well as for most other tiles, especially in the conditions of the steamer, where temperature fluctuations are most pronounced. Otherwise, glass tiles that are fragile may crack or pop out under shear pressure. I was advised to install expansion joints on the inside corners of the walls and ceiling, since this steamer / shower is surrounded by a measure of 4 "6", a height of 7 inches and 3 inches. , walls and ceilings with space for a steamboat / shower were insulated with R-13 fiberglass.
With any steamer / shower, it is recommended to tilt the tile ceiling to drain water to reduce the chance of steam condensing causing dripping. I redid the flat ceiling to provide one inch per foot slope, which is an excuse call on my part, while the North American Tile Council recommends a two inch slope per foot (SR614-05).
After removing the board in the walls and ceiling with a steam / storm surface, I installed the lining paper on the wall studs and ceiling beams and put it over the vinyl membrane of the shower tray as the final barrier to water penetration. Then I installed 1/2 "cdx plywood that has no external environmental impact, unlike the board. The built-in seat level is 16" above the shower tray because I was concerned about water, otherwise absorbing plywood from the shower stall. Below the seat, I installed a 1/4 "backerboard on top of the vinyl membrane of the shower bath, and then applied hydraulic cement soaking to straighten the projections of the back wall caused by the folds of the vinyl membranes and bring the back panel to a plane with 1/2" plywood.
I pasted on the film and collected all the plywood and putty with a white alkaline resistant fiberglass mesh and thin set. Of course, Tinset is not impermeable to water. Then I applied two thin layers of the adhesive waterproofing membrane system Mapei, which controls the Mapelastic No. 315 powder mixed with the undiluted Mapelastic No. 315 liquid. The powder is reinforced with fiberglass fibers, and the liquid is an acrylic latex mixture. Be sure to wear old clothes when using this product, because with the consistency of a thin pancake mixture can bypass you, especially when working on your head. When installed, the waterproofing membrane remains surprisingly flexible and adheres very strongly to anything. All the inner corners of the plywood were glued, damped and waterproof.
I installed a 1/2 "backerboard over the waterproofed plywood and shield, and I again sealed all the dirt and bent all the joints, trying to stay away from the inside corners. The rod is water resistant. I masked the back bar of the gray Latisil NS polyurethane elastomeric filler / sealant.
After this preparation, I was ready for the tile. I was very worried about a one-inch square mosaic layout, trying to eliminate cutting glass and balance the width and height of the field. I bought a pair of carbide glass mosaic tongs for tiles (can be purchased in stained glass shops or through a tile supplier), who cut the glass using cutting. The tiles can also be cut with a wet tile saw with a continuous diamond blade with a smooth rim, but I preferred to use a manual 4-inch dry grinding machine with a diamond wheel for cutting and square nippers. I could never be sure of the original square cut, but with some practice, the nippers worked quite well. ” Spacing a few irregular tiles. I tried the most to use over half the tiles. Where the layout is cut, it is best to cut the tiles a little more than it seemed necessary.
I started a tile with a shower stand, where I could pounce on the perimeter cuts with full wall plates. Installing a square drainage cover helped ease tile breakage and filled the square tile theme. I used Mapei Kerabond # 102 non-alcoholic solution with undiluted Keralastic # 310 liquid acrylic latex to strengthen adhesion and flexural strength. I really appreciated this for a long time for this complex installation. Using the flat side of the trowel, I laid a tunnel, and then raked it with a 3/16 "x1 / 4" V-notch trowel to set the correct depth of the installation layer. I then again used the flat side of the trowel to smooth out the incision lines and reduce the likelihood of air pockets or voids, resulting in a 1/8 inch thick layer.
Mosaic walls of shower, seats, walls and ceiling tiles were then applied to the installation layer with brown face paper outward, using light uniform pressure to establish the installation contact of the bed and eliminate voids. Then, in order to achieve a uniform finish surface, the 3/4 "block of the plywood board was slightly tapped with a hammer. BEAT block. After 15-20 minutes of setting, I lightly camouflaged brown paper using a household spray bottle several times, stroking a sponge using water in the mixture water and a small amount of DIF cleansing agent. The adhesive released from the paper allows you to carefully and slowly peel the paper off to the side without lifting the tiles. Special attention has been paid to the final set to adjust the joints in the joints to They can be randomized between individual plates and adjacent paper sheets to eliminate a sheet pattern. Some individual tiles can leak out over time — I would ever remove them, clean them from behind, and then reconnect to some new tunnel. used some plastic wedges for tiles where necessary.
A number of tinsets flowed in and filled adjacent joints, but the bedding was left overnight. Then, taking a spatula, the excess tunnel can be cut from dry joints, but still reliably soft, without breaking the tile. After a longer cure time, I could remove the residual paper and glue by wiping with a damp sponge. I waited a few more days before soaking to make sure the tunnel had cured.
But before I rubbed, I filled the corner expansion joints with a colored sanding seal to make sure that the solution did not fill the joints. I was amazed at the strength of holding the tunnel, since during the application of the grout I really had to insert it into the tile. I used a polished pearl-gray solution of Mapei Keracolor S. Of course, the glass tile is impermeable to moisture, so the solution will be a little longer than otherwise.
After cleaning and sealing the solution, I was able to retreat and feel satisfied, knowing that I stood up to the challenge and did something unusual. Hopefully Debbie and Rich are happy and can enjoy the many relaxing steam baths.
