Glass mosaic for a countertop, good or not ?

[Pierluc]

Im am doing the ceramic at my parents house and they want to use glass mosaic on the countertop in the bathroom. I have never worked with that and im wondering, is it too fragile for that purpose ? what kind of adhesive and grout do i have to use ? tiles are 3/4 x 3/4 of an inch wide , 1/8 inch thick and the grout lines are 1/8. Also, can we cut those with a grinder ? or better use the wetsaw ?

Thx

[whitebeam]

Just noticed your location, it can be done you need a polymer modified adhesive and grout, I would'nt know any makes that you can get in Canada but ask at your local supplier. You can with both, if you use a grinder make sure you have the correct blade in for glass. Use a wooded board then lay mosaics onto and use a batton along where you are going to cut and use it as your guide, don't forget your safety goggles when cutting glass. Hope this helps

[Pierluc]

I didnt do many tiling job but i remember using chembond adhesive and mapei stuff. might be able to get other brands in canada but i havent tile enough to see a difference

thx for the reply

[whitebeam]

Mapei grout would be fine for the mosaics, try to get the ultra colour plus grout if you can

[sWe]

1/8 is about 3.2mm... I'd say that's too thin for a countertop. Drop a glass of water and there's a not negliable chance of having to replace a piece or two.

[Pierluc]

thin is what im thinkin too , anybody did a countertop with that stuff ? maybe i can get them thicker...

[NZ_Tiler]

I think the tiles would be strong enough if they are laid correctly. Firmly pressed into the adhesive. Your surface needs to be perfect for mosaics because once you start laying you cannot pack them up, and any slumps or bumps will be seen. Use a small notch trowel and insure you do not have to much glue coming through the joints. My only concern with the tiles would be that there will be a lot of grout that will be prone to getting a lot of food and oils etc... so your best to use an epoxy grout so it does not stain.

[Rob Z]

Hi Pierluc,

The Canadians that I know via a Canadian tile forum tell me that they aren't too happy with Chembond, so I would stick with Mapei if that is what you can get.

I agree with both sWe and NZTIler...I think the glass will be fine if set on a solid base,but the 1/8" thick glass will be fragile and not absorb well any impact, no matter how well they are set.

Tough call to make when the customer has their mind set on something, even moreso when Mom and Dad want something.

[faithhealer]

I think the tiles would be strong enough if they are laid correctly. Firmly pressed into the adhesive. Your surface needs to be perfect for mosaics because once you start laying you cannot pack them up, and any slumps or bumps will be seen. Use a small notch trowel and insure you do not have to much glue coming through the joints. My only concern with the tiles would be that there will be a lot of grout that will be prone to getting a lot of food and oils etc... so your best to use an epoxy grout so it does not stain.

Countertop is in the bathroom not the kitchen so I wouldn't use epoxy in this case, unless our friend eats in the bath! lol

[Pierluc]

im pretty sure that were gonna give it a try, ill post pics after

[user123]

The glass mosaics, if you are talking vitrified glass, if just fine, (yes, I did have a counter top made with it, it, was just fine) glass mosaic is only weak if you don't have proper adhesive coverage underneath, and you just treat it sensibly, like you would with all tiled worktops, bathroom, kitchen whatever. There is still the issue of staining, with toothpaste, shampoos and creams, potions and lotions, make-up etc, so epoxy grout isn't as an over the top idea as it may sound at first, or else a good coloured grout like Mapei, ideally sealed with an impregnating sealer. Also, a lot of environmentally friendly cleaning products now contain vinegar (acetic acid), which can react with cement based grouts, so think beforehand on how the top will be used. I have a tiled worktop around my bathroom sink myself and even though I sealed the grout I still place all cream, liquid soap bottles etc, on trays to protect the grout and to keep it tidy and easy to wipe over.

[Dave]

Vitrified means glass like....so it is ok for your use with correct adhesive and grout..

[user123]

Vitrified means glass like....so it is ok for your use with correct adhesive and grout..

'xactly... (only just realized that didn't come across right, never mind, you probably knew what I meant..there are different qualities in glass mosaics, the straight forward glass, as in stained glass and mirror glass which can crack easily and then the vitrified tesserae which are much hardier but often not quite as brilliant in colour...

vitrified as in Wikepedia...

Vitrification is a process of converting a material into a glass-like amorphous solid that is free from any crystalline structure, either by the quick removal or addition of heat, or by mixing with an additive. Solidification of a vitreous solid occurs at the glass transition temperature (which is lower than melting temperature, Tm, due to supercooling).
When the starting material is solid, vitrification usually involves heating the substances to very high temperatures. Many ceramics are produced in such a manner. Vitrification may also occur naturally when lightning strikes sand, where the extreme and immediate heat can create hollow, branching rootlike structures of glass, called fulgurite. When applied to whiteware ceramics, vitreous means the material has an extremely low permeability to liquids, often but not always water, when determined by a specified test regime. The microstructure of whiteware ceramics frequently contain both amorphous and crystalline phases.

[sWe]

Hardened glass tiles tend to be a bit thicker than 3mm though. Most 3mm thick glass mosaics I've run across have been of of the fragile type, even really expensive ones. I'm not an expert on glass though.

[user123]

Hardened glass tiles tend to be a bit thicker than 3mm though. Most 3mm thick glass mosaics I've run across have been of of the fragile type, even really expensive ones. I'm not an expert on glass though.

A good Swedish site for you to look at, sWe...scroll down for vitrified glass mosaic, the stuff I tend to use, very thin, no more than 2mm depending on the manufacturer, ('Crystal' is a good one), but very strong...