Crystal Glass Tile

A Guide to Installing Glass Mosaic Tile

By: Susan Potts
This guide covers installation of how to put in glass mosaic tiles
This Guide to Installing glass mosaics is appropriate for fountain and spa, shower wall, kitchen backsplash and swimming pool applications.
A Note about this Installation Guide:
The grouting guidelines and general installation is relative to nearly all applications.
The subsequent all-purpose installation and grouting guidelines pertain to most applications. The technical service departments of main setting product companies should be investigated concerning exact installation inquiries.
ASSESSMENT:
In terms of deciding the suitability of the material, the end user is responsible for this. Installation comprises acceptance of tile arrangement.
The nature of glass mosaic tile and glass mosaic tile design is custom and the levels of creative distinction includes size, tone, color and shade surrounded by every tile sheet; there are some tiles that may have minor chips along the edging of the glass mosaic tiles.
Inspect every carton tile, while opening, to validate the regularity of the shading. Indiscriminately choose five tile sheets from dissimilar cartons, which will set up color control throughout the installation. Blend sheets from different cartons to ensure random placement during installation, prior to installing tile. During sheet installation, test them with control samples before they are placed in the setting product; this makes sure the quality and shade variations are acceptable.
INSTALLATION:
Some basic procedures for installing glass mosaic tile differ from installing stone tile, ceramic tile, or the like. Following these actions will avert straightforward mishaps from happening, possibly resulting in the failure of the installation.
How to cut Glass Mosaic Tile
To cut Glass Mosaic Tile, glass tiles that are in a small format cut best with specialty glass mosaic tile scissors and bigger sizes [2x2] are cut best with a wet saw. When using a diamond cut-off or carbide blade, use a high-quality wet saw.
• Glass mosaic tiles must be cut in a tremendously slow manner to prevent rough edges.
• To continue to cut through a tile, turn the tile upside down while cutting halfway , while flipping the tile over while you continue to slice through it. This reduces the chipping of the face of the glass mosaic tile and of both color backs.
• After cutting, the cut edges should be sanded or stoned smooth.

Substrate:
The glass mosaic tile should be installed over the proper substrate, for an optimum result. To ensure a superior installation, this is one of the most important factors.
Choosing the correct backing is imperative to installing your glass mosaic tile. The different backing types are listed below:
• Drywall
• Concrete
• Green Board
• Cement Board

It is imperative that the tiling surface is sound, clean and free of oils and dirt, including sealers and curing compounds. Substrate, if in water, should be waterproof. Substrate should also not have any cracks.
Glass mosaic tiles are products that are reflective. Since glass is a reflective product, it’s prone to scratching. If there are any inconsistencies in the substrate, they will show up following the installation of the tile.
Glass mosaic tile should not be installed on the following:
• Asbestos boards
• Plywood
• Press Wood
• Masonite
• Chipboard
• Particleboard

Ideal Setting Materials:
A thin-set mortar or setting product is recommended for color consistency with the samples.
Glass mosaic tiles are durable, shouldn’t be subjected to excessive thermal or mechanical shock and they are only as good as they are installed. Installation products should only be used, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Installation:
Wipe back of the tile and substrate clean with a clean damp sponge prior to installation. This is essential to attain 100% mortar coverage..
Grouting:
Grouting may be completed after the glass mosaic tile is set – approximately 24 hours following installation. During the grout process, grout becomes collected as glass mosaic tiles have varying degrees of exterior texture. There will always be grout remaining in the surfaces creates or pinholes; however through cleaning after grouting removes most of it. After installation, the amount of grout evident depends largely on the color contrast between tile color and grout color. It also depends on the viewing distance and how thorough the tiles were cleaned during grouting.
Prior to grouting, an area should be tested to ensure the surface doesn’t scratch throughout grouting. Grout joints should be free of pits, voids, and packed-free. Excess grout should be cleaned from the exterior as the project advances before grout hardens and while it’s fresh.
Apply grout with a rubber float, sanded or un-sanded, making sure grout joints are completely full and free of pits and voids. The surface should be cleaned with a damp, clean sponge.
Grout should be set firm or until the grout in the joints set firm or haze forms on the tile. Final cleaning of grout haze and tile polishing is done within 24 hours of grouting, and with a dry, clean cheesecloth. To polish off remaining grout residue and haze, use a clean, soft, dry cloth.

PROTECTION:
Allow the grout to cure for a minimum of seven days prior to steam cleaning or aggressive use. There shouldn’t be any traffic on grout joints or fresh tile. Precautions should be taken by the contractor to protect the finished work from damage by other trades.
MAINTENANCE & CLEANING:
Standard cleaning of glass mosaic tiles can be with water at room temperature or cleaner and a soft lint-free cloth. For a more thorough cleaning and to remove stubborn dirt and stains, use any of the many tile and grout cleaners available through home centers or tile dealers.

Why Glass Mosaic is a Great Building Material for Architects, Interior Designers and Home Improvement DIY’s

History
Mosaic history can be tracked back to 2000 B.C. in ancient China, and glass mosaics became popular in architecture during the Rinascimento (Renaissance) period. Glass mosaics have been extremely popular in Asia since the1980s but began to diminish in 1990s. However, in the earlier part of 21st century, with the new technology and development, the glass mosaic made a strong come back in Asia and has been becoming more popular in North America since 2004.
Merits of glass mosaic characteristics
With the new manufacturing technology, seems that nothing is impossible in terms of colors, sizes, styles, as well as materials used in the glass mosaic. This wide variety is a distinguishing characteristic of this building material. Also, glass mosaics are used for a very broad spectrum of applications due to its IMPERVIOUS nature. Glass does not absorb any water (a technical materials term as “zero water absorption rate”) thus it has no shrinkage or expansion issues, thus it can be used for both indoor and outdoor applications. Allot of materials can absorb water thus it will have the expansion or shrinkage problems when the temperature changes. When the water absorption rate exceeds a certain degree it can not be used as outdoor materials, for example, ceramic tiles; the ANSI standards defines the water absorption rate as being less than 0.5% which can be used as an outdoor building product.

Wide variety of applications
Glass mosaics can be used for a variety of building installations including both indoors and outdoors, for residential flooring (if the surface is polished, it is not recommended for flooring applications where slipping is a hazard), walls, pillars & columns, artwork, furniture, baths, kitchens and swimming pools. The sky is the limit for applications, thus it attracts architects and interior designers’ attention, but DIY’s can certainly also use the glass mosaic to shine in your remodeling projects.
With today’s manufacturing technology, glass mosaic can be custom made based on your design. The turnaround time to make a custom sample can amazingly be as short as 5 business days. Yes. 5 business days to make a sample based on the size, color code or an actual sample you get from somewhere else. These methods could barely be imagined as little as 5 years ago.

Materials used to make the glass mosaics
Originally, the glass mosaic type was a vitreous glass mosaic, which was used mostly to make swimming pools. But with the faster and more efficient technology and workmanship developed during the past 5 to 10 years, the glass mosaic tile has evolved to be a material that is very popular for other applications, in addition to the original vitreous glass mosaic as:
1. Crystal glass mosaic, which can be transparent, and is how it gets the name “crystal”, but using color paints on the back of the mosaic means that thousands of colors are possible.
2. Iridescent glass mosaic, which has an iridescent coating on the surface of glass mosaic to make the glass mosaic reflect different colors, and can be a terrific option for night clubs, casinos and entertainment places.
3. Metallic glass mosaic, this is a very special material in which the color is not on the back of a mosaic, but the color is melted into the fusion of glass in an extremely high temperature environment. When the glass fusion is out of the kiln and cooled down, the color is part of the glass inside and is evenly distributed.
4. Van Gogh glass mosaic, which goes through the similar manufacturing process as metallic glass mosaic. The difference is that with the metallic glass it can be told that it is obviously glass, but the Van Gogh glass mosaic gives you an oil painted texture on its surface.
5. Stone glass mosaic. The stone mosaic is another kind of decorative building material having been used for more than 2000 years it has endured the ages. People have creatively blended glass and natural stone to make it a stone glass mosaic, which adds a natural yet decorative touch to the area it’s installed in.
Giving the high demand and competition among manufacturers, we believe the innovation will be taking place fast and new types of glass mosaics could be created from time to time. We will keep track of the technology closely and keep you posted, if interested, please make sure to check back from time to time or RSS our article regarding this topic.

How to Choose Glass Mosaic Tile

There are several glass mosaic tiles available in the market today (we cover that in our part 1 article). But in terms of manufacturing, there are mainly two kinds: vitreous glass mosaic tile and crystal glass mosaic tile.
One type is Vitreous Glass Mosaic Tile, which was the original glass mosaic tile and has been used widely to make swimming pool. To tell the quality if it is good or not, the hardness is the key thing you need to ask. Vitreous glass mosaic tile is not as strong as crystal glass mosaic although when it installed, inside the grout it will stay there for lifetime. You can tell the hardness by scratching the surface of the glass mosaic tile by your finger nail. If it can be easily scratched, then it may be a little problem. The second thing is that you if the color is consistent. Use your common sense and judgment on this.
For crystal Glass Mosaic Tile, the most popular glass mosaic in terms of total sales volume in North American glass tile market. One thing you need to pay attention is: for quality glass mosaic, the mosaic after the color is being coated should be put into the high temperature kiln to make the color stay for life time. Therefore, when you are buying glass mosaic, make sure that you ask your glass mosaic vendor the question “if the back color coating is fired?” some glass mosaic factories, the bad ones, to save money on the manufacturing process, do not go through this process thus will create big color fading problems in 1 or 2 years.
If a factory skips the kiln firing process, they save hugely on the fuel costs (the most equipment use fuel oil or natural gas to heat the kiln) and labor costs. Thus there will be price difference between quality glass mosaic and defective glass mosaic; therefore, you need to ask your vendors and they need to be honest for their answers. Sometimes, there are chances that some distributors or showroom stores do not even know the trick here, if they simply ask for low price from their suppliers or manufacturers, or get their sources from the lowest price bid, they may have the problem that they do not even be aware of. That is something you need to watch out and look into their eyes to make sure they know what your question ““if your glass mosaic back color coating is fired?” mean.
Glass Mosaic Tile Series- Part 1: Why Glass Mosaic is a Great Building Material for Architects, Interior Designers and Home Improvement Diys

History
Mosaic history can be tracked back to 2000 B.C. in ancient China. And glass mosaic becomes popular in architecture during the period of Rinascimento (Renaissance). Glass mosaic have been extremely popular in Asia during the 1980s and become diminishing in 1990s. However, in the earlier of 21st century, with the new technology development, glass mosaic comes back strongly in Asia and becoming more and popular in North America since 2004.

Merits of glass mosaic characteristics
The new manufacturing technology seems that nothing is impossible in terms of colors, sizes, styles, as well as materials used in glass mosaic. So the great variety is a distinguishing characteristic of this building material. Also, glass mosaics have very broad spectrum of applications due to its IMPERVIOUS nature. Glass does not absorb any water (a technical materials term as “zero water absorption rate) thus it has no shrinkage or expansion issue thus can be used both indoor and outdoor applications. A lot of materials have due to materials can absorb water inside thus will have the expansion or shrinkage problem when the temperature changes, when the water absorption rate exceeds a certain degree, it can not be used as outdoor materials, for example, ceramic tiles, the ANSI standard define the water absorption rate is less than 0.5% which can be used as outdoor building products.

Big variety of applications
Glass mosaics can be used for a variety of building Installations such as both indoors and outdoors, for residential flooring (if the surface is polished, not recommended for flooring application for the slippery), walls, Pillars & Columns , artwork, furniture, baths, kitchens and swimming pools. Your imagination is the limit for the application for a building, thus it attracts architects and interior designers’ attention but DIYs can also certainly use the glass mosaic to shine your remodeling project. Appropriate usage of glass mosaic may refresh your eyes everyday after the glass mosaic tile installed.
With today’s manufacturing technology, glass mosaic can be custom made based on your design, if you are talking to the real manufacturers with the updated technology and expertise. The turnaround time to make a custom sample can be amazingly as short as 5 business days. Yes. 5 business days to make a sample based on the size, color code or a real sample you get from somewhere else is a realistic which is not even can be imagined 5 years ago.

Materials used to make the glass mosaics
Originally, glass mosaic type is vitreous glass mosaic, which was used widely to make swimming pool. But with the fast technology and workmanship developed during the past 5 to 10 years, glass mosaic evolved to the main categories in addition to the original vitreous glass mosaic as:
1. crystal glass mosaic, which can be see through so it gets the name as “crystal”, but with the color paints on the back of the mosaic makes thousands of colors are possible;
2. iridescent glass mosaic, which have iridescent coatings on the surface of glass mosaic to make the glass mosaic reflecting different colors, which is great materials for night club, casino and entertainment places’ decoration;
3. metallic glass mosaic, this is a very special materials that the color is not on the back of a mosaic, but the color is melted into the fusion of glass in a extremely high temperature environment. When the glass fusion out of the kiln and cool down, the color is part of the glass inside evenly distributed thus the color is through the whole mosaic.
4. Van Gogh glass mosaic, which went through the similar manufacturing process as metallic glass mosaic. The difference is that metallic glass can be told that it is obviously glass but the Van Gogh glass mosaic kindly give you the oil paint texture of its surface.
5. Stone glass mosaic. Stone mosaic is another kind of great decorative building materials for more than 2000 years history. People are creatively blending the glass and natural stone to make it stone glass mosaic, which usually have high level of luxury but also very natural.

Giving the high demand and competition among manufacturers, we believe the innovation will be taking place fast and new types of glass mosaic could be created from time to time. We will keep track of the technology closely and keep you posted, if interested, please make sure to check back from time to time or RSS our article regarding this topic.

How-to-Install a Glass Mosaic Tile Backsplash

Do you want to do it yourself? It is not at all complicated. All you need is a little time, elbow-grease and you’re on your way to installing a mosaic tile backsplash.
1. Measure the space of your wall and lay out the mosaic tile design. You may be able to design your mosaic tile kitchen backsplash without using a tile cutter, but it may be necessary so purchase one ahead of time just in case.
2. Tile spacers that are 1/8” work well for under the trim of the glass mosaic tile.
3. Using a trowel, take the smooth side of it and spread a thin layer of thin-set with polymer mastic in a horizontal motion.
4. Apply a layer that’s slightly thicker, with a grooved edge [You don’t want the outcome to be too thick here, as it won’t dry evenly and the tiles may slide. Allow the edge that’s grooved to touch the wall when applying.]
5. On the mastic, secure the tiles using a slight push-and-pull motion [A tip for this is to use old magazines that are the same thickness, so to keep the tiles steady. Make sure and remove them before they dry to your wall. This works much better on the bottom than tile spacers.]
6. On the mosaic glass tiles, remove the film behind the mesh and put them on the wall, using the same method as before. [A tip for this is to use a piece of plywood, as when you’re securing the tiles, it will add pressure evenly and consistently.]
7. The tile should set for 24 hours, then, with a paintbrush, apply a stone sealer. If you’re using a stone tile, this is especially important. It offers an extra layer of protection from water discoloration and the grout would actually discolor the stone without using this sealer. Let the sealer set for approximately 72 hours.
8. Mix the grout according to the manufacturer’s instructions. An un-sanded grout should be used, as it looks nice and polished on the wall, while going on smoothly.
9. A 1” putty knife works well to fill in all the grooves that are apparent in between the small glass tiles.
10. Polish using a dry cloth.
11. Allow it to set for approximately 24 hours, and seal it for a second time.
Using just these simple steps, you’ll be on your way to installing a quality glass mosaic tile backsplash.