travetine mosaic....how hard??

[spenny]

hi guys,

i have been offered a job that is travetine mosaic for a shower area-i have never done any mosaic before-how difficult/different is it to "normal format tiles"?

It is for a family friend,so im wary of making a james hunt of it and making myself look bad. I have visions of it all being different levels as normally we push the tiles in firmly,but obviously cant do that with mosaic as it will spill through the grout lines!.....please help!!!

[batiling]

Use mosaic trowel for spreading then lightly punch them on with grout float.This will make them all level.Just keep checking the tile levels as you go along and im sure you will be fine.Seal before and after grouting.I just tend to take my time and make sure the walls are flat then it usually turns out fine

[david campbell]

defo take your time with these!and avoid touching them with your fingers once they are on the wall! are these the brick bond effect "noche" mosaic?if so a good colour enhancer makes them look great!

[Rav daniels]

all depends on how flat the surface it is going on is, pretty much needs to be bang on for a top job, i have had jobs doing them and the walls were way out, so we just took it back to the brick, then dot and dab plasterboard, cant go wrong then, use white bagged addy, seal before and after grouting.

[Swanseajack]

To tile mosiacs successfuly the walls need to be perfectly flat, any variance in walls will show up otherwise. Tank shower, I use a mosiac trowel to fix / small notch, and use a white adhesive, put a light skim on the back of mosiacs to fill any holes. Clean as you go.
Seal tiles before grouting, I use Aquamix, seal again after grout has dried.

Also be carefull with layout, as small cuts will look terrible.

[Swanseajack]

What a service, 4 replies within 5 mins or so.

[Dave]

No need to seal first though....grout will not hold in pitted surface holes etc if you seal first...

[Varley]

As the lads above have said, surface prep is key when tiling in mosaics, what may seem like slight deviations in the wall may be magnified once tiled, check walls are suitably flat before commencing tiling. Lovely choice in tiles though, no better mosaics in my opinion.