Novice needing advise

[RayJ]

Hello all,

I'm new here and never used forums before so be gentle with me lol.

I'm hoping that you experts out there can give me some tips/guidance please?

Here goes ...

I'm planning on (or my other half is) tiling my bathroom. We have bought 16x16 porcelain tiles for the bulk of the job and 30x30 glass mosaic sheets (mesh-backed) for detailing/border.

Whilst my other half is a DIY enthusiast and more than capable he's never laid mosaic sheets before and we have a few questions ..

As the mosaics are thinner than the porcelain tiles how do we get a flat flush finish? My bathroom is tiled already and we're thinking of tiling straight over them .. any opinions on this? Weight of tiles already there + the new ones shouldn't be an issue.

Should we start at the bottom and tile up to the border (mosaic) level then add the mosaics and then carry on? Any tips on laying mosaics greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Rach

[Del W]

Welcome. Its not really a good idea to tile on tile.
What is the depth of the tiles and what is the depth of the mosaics ?

[GirlRacerRed]

Please do not tile over existing tiles with heavy porcelain tiles. Your existing tiles may look like they are soundly fixed to the walls, but until you start pulling them off, you'll never know for sure. You may well find that porcelain tiles + existing tiles will take you over the load weight the wall can support and put your in an unsafe position every time you use the bathroom.

[RayJ]

Hi

Thanks for your quick replies. I take your point about tiling on tiles thanks.

The porcelain tiles are 7mm and the mosaics are 4mm

Cheers

Rach

[Martyn Leeds]

you need to find something to pack the border out by 3mm. But i'm struggling to think of something 3mm.

but the main tip you've been given so far is to remove the existing tiles. I was once asked to tile on tile, i removed a few to find that it was already 2 tile layers deep - it might delay things slightly but its not hard to knock the tiles off, then re-assess here as to the next process.

you've got to break an egg to make an omlette...

[Del W]

Fix tiles first,leave a gap for mosaics.



Pics taken from phil hobsons post.thank him to.
After you have removed your existing tiles,( i know its a pain,but its the way to do it)
come back to us if you have any questions about prep work.

[Mike]

i'd defo take the old tiles off. you'll get a better finish and as grr says you don't know how well the old ones are fixed. you don't want them coming off in the near future. as for the difference in thickness you can use a mosaic backer 'mesh'. they're the same size as the mosaic mats and have a sticky back you just put the mosaic mat on and cut to size with a knife. these also make the mosaics rigid which is handy when using them as a border. i would tile the bottom half then leave a gap for the border, re-fit my battens then tile the top then find/make a comb to fit the border width to lay on the adhesive for the border. press the border in with a grouting float not your hands

[RayJ]

Hi all

Thanks for your replies once again. We've def come to the conclusion of removing the old tiles and then laying the porcelain tiles leaving the space for the mosaic border. The backer mesh which you mention Mike sounds just the ticket - where can I source that from? Standard tile shop? I suspect that's the way we'll go if it's easy enough to get hold of.

Cheers
Rach

[spooner68]

Overtile only in extreme circumstances, i.e never, you don't know who has done what before you.

Del, that looks as if you are floating the adhesive in and then using your mosaic trowel and fixing in the tiles from there. Tried that a couple of times but had a lot of trouble with excess squeezing through the mosaics. Now I make a piece of batten or ply witha a"tongue" the width of the recess and to the depth of the mosaic + 2mm for adhesive and float in rapid set addy. That gives a firm and flat surface to fix mosiacs on normally. Takes a little longer but makes for a better finish, for me anyway.

Backer mesh is even easier, tried it a couple of times but its always practical especially if you turn up on site and the customer springs a surprise on you.

[Daz]

I've just done a bathroom with 10mm thick porcelain and thin glass mosaic border. Whilst I normally use the "dog ear" method, as described by Spooner68, I opted to cut up some cheap thin white tiles this time. I stuck a strip of tiles with rapid set where the border was to be placed and then tiled the areas above. Once the adhesive had set, I stuck the mosaics on top of the "whites" so that the border tiles sit flush. It's another option for you????

Also, when you are setting the mosaics it is helpful to push them flush with a grout float.

Good luck,

Daz

[Del W]

Spooner,pictures from another post ,not mine,but i did forget to mention put rapid in border gap,2mm or so,then fix mosaics when dry.

[Mike]

i get my backer mesh from my local tile shop but i'm sure they'll be available at most tile shops