Mosaic backing sheets

[AliGage]

Evening guys and girls.
Im doing a little shower room t the moment which i have to return to on Wednesday. The customer wants a border of ceramic mosaic halfway up the wall but also one at floor level like a skirt around the room.
The wall tiles are only 250x200 ceramic so not particularly heavy. But i wanted to crack on when i return on Wednesday. Has anyone used these backing sheets for mosaic sheets? We got the mosaic fairly cheap and some are a bit tatty on The mesh. Was thinking of trying these backers out to one get them back in some sort of workable order but also so i can maybe get a few rows of tiles on The wall as well rather than battening and putting mosaic in later or waiting for adhesive to harden before i carry on.
Any thoughts?

 

[White Room]

Personally I wait for the main field of tiles to set then add the mosaic....

 

[AliGage]

I usually put my mosaics in after as well. But was trying to avoid it being fiddly afterwards being right down at floor level.
Have you ever used these backers/packers before whitebeam?

 

[White Room]

Never used them Ali but a few guys do, if works for you then go for it mate....

 

[AliGage]

They seem to be a bit expensive though.
Think ill batten as normal and see how tricky getting the mosaics in becomes.

 

[White Room]

Do you use the dog tooth for thinner mosaic to the field tiles....

 

[AliGage]

Dog tooth?

 

[AliGage]

I have a handled border trowl. Reveal trowl? Not sure what they're called to be honest lol

 

[White Room]

This will give some idea what I mean http://www.tilersforums.com/tiling-forum/38221-dog-tooth-method-rebate.html

 

[AliGage]

Oh i see. To be honest never thought about doing that.
Spot on mate. I'll give that a crack!

 

[Sean Kelly]

Mosaic at floor level? This can be very fiddly. Is the floor level? You will probably end up nibbling 2-3mm off the mosaics to make them fit. I would strongly suggest you tell your customer it will look awful. It also means that your setting out is determined by the height of the mosaic on the floor. I've bought those backing sheets from Topps before, but did not use them in the end as I needed to build up by 6mm. Used a sheet of UFH insulation board instead.

 

[Qwerty]

I know it causes an issue with amount of adhesive contact on the back if the mosaic and therefore doesn't comply with British standards

 

[Rookery]

They seem to be a bit expensive though.
Think ill batten as normal and see how tricky getting the mosaics in becomes.

I think they're less than a quid a sheet at CTD. I've used the dogtooth method and found it a bit messy but whatever works for you is the way to go.

 

[AliGage]

Whitebeam pointed me in the direction of the dog tooth method. Think ill give that a try. Don't like parting with my money if i don't have to!

 

[Perfect Tiling]

As Rookery says they are less than a quid at CTD. Iv'e used them a few times now and find tham great on mosaics that have a weak mesh back. They really do strengthen the mosaic and also help to bring level to the main tiles. You can use more than one layer to help level them if needed...its then just getting the adhesive bed right so that it meets the rear of the tiles and is not just holding the mesh youv'e added.

 

[Jeff the tiler]

I think having used them on a couple of occasions they are recommended where, as perfect tiling has said, the mesh on the back is fines and the mosaic can fall out of shape quite easily when fixing. Dog tooth method or whatever is it's real name is great as well just takes more time to get the prep done but comes into it's own when you are straightening up a wall with the outer tiles vertically as you can easily get the correct depth against the outer tiles. One tip though is to make sure you clean the edges of the outer tiles as there is a tendency for this vertical edge to be slightly radius when you have "dog toothed" so clean the edge with a scraper or similar tool when still damp as it is difficult once everything has set.

 

[John Benton]

Used these occasionally Ali for small borders and they seem to work well for stiffening the mosaics up. They are at bottom of page if you scroll down

http://www.specialisttilingsupplies.co.uk/2011 STS catalogue/01 - Backerboards.pdf

 

[Houston]

i always use flexirapid for borders etc for a bit more body/depth

 

[charlie1]

i always use flexirapid for borders etc for a bit more body/depthView attachment 52610View attachment 52611View attachment 52612

Very impressive work there mate

 

[Houston]

Very impressive work there mate

thanks will put rest of photos on tomorrow

 

[STEVO]

Hi Ali,
I've just used them this week on mosaic border. The customer was offering to buy them so i thougth i would give em a go!
Ideally they are meant for full sheet use i think, but they did work well for a small border between field tiles. It takes bit of messing to cut them down with a knife, but a sharp blade does help!. I stuck the full sheet to the plastic backer then flipped it over and cut them into the strips. It certainly does make it easier to get them on the wall, but you do need a thicker bed of addy to make sure you get enough on the mosaic.
The only little snag i noticed was that the plastic sheet was a little bigger than the mosaic sheet i was dealing with, so in some cases i ended up with a bit of the plastic backer stuck out beyond the mosaic, which may or may not cause a little problem if that forces your mosaic to sit higher than you want, or the field tile above wont sit down low enough.
The adhesive of the plastic sheet is pretty strong and did hold the mosaic in place, but i think you still need to put the mosaics on with rapid set and allow to dry before you can build up off them. Unless you can use pins all the way along under your next tile up so you can crack on.

they are a bit pricey, but on a small job i would be tempted to use them again.
hope this helps guys.

 

[White Room]

I find with mosaic they differ in thickness thats why I use the dog tooth....

 

[Perfect Tiling]

I use the dog tooth method if there is a big difference over a larger area...its cheaper. One point about the dog tooth method...I usually use a bit of batton cut to size rather than a bit of tile. Sometimes the edge of the cut tile can mark the front of the tiles that you are sliding over.

 

[Houston]

a bit late, one of the bathrooms

 

[Stef]

Sometimes the edge of the cut tile can mark the front of the tiles that you are sliding over.

When you cut the tile wrap a bit of masking tape over the cut edge & you don't have to worry about marking the field tile..

 

[Peter]

Save another half hour with the dog tooth method by cutting your template 2mm shallower than the depth of the mosaic and then beat your border straight into the one bed. Gives a flusher finish as well as not being as messy and fiddly.

 

[Stef]

Save another half hour with the dog tooth method by cutting your template 2mm shallower than the depth of the mosaic and then beat your border straight into the one bed. Gives a flusher finish as well as not being as messy and fiddly.

It's a pain having to dig the adhesive out from between the mosaics but it gives a damn good bond!!