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 🙂

 

[White Room]

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

 

[White Room]

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.:lol:

 

[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