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yadax3_gw

Tile buying advice needed

yadax3
16 years ago

Hi Bill, Mongo, and anyone else with glass tile installation expertise,

A few years ago, when I began planning for my hall bath remodel, I researched glass tile installation on J. Bridge's forum and didn't find much information. It seemed most installers didnÂt have much experience with glass tile and that made me wary of trying to DIY the job, so I resigned myself to buying porcelain tile for my walls. Since then IÂve been working on other projects and stockpiling everything I need to do the remodel, with the exception of the wall tile. But now that thereÂs a bathtub sitting in my garage, IÂd very much like to get on with the job and IÂm wondering about buying glass tile again. Below is a link to the tile IÂm considering.

DH and I have some experience laying porcelain tile  we remodeled our master bath (including a Kerdi shower) and tiled our kitchen countertops.

Do you think we could/should DIY these glass tiles? If so, would they work well in a shower?

Thanks in advance for your feedback, Laura.

Here is a link that might be useful: Helio Glass Tile

Comments (15)

  • bill_vincent
    16 years ago

    I don't see why you couldn't. The only things are you'd have to do are make sure you have a glass blade for the saw, and you'd have to make sure the back of each tile is 100% coated when installing them, using white thinset.

  • PRO
    Avanti Tile & Stone / Stonetech
    16 years ago

    I have to say that glass tile is a little tricky. I've done a bit of it and there are considerations about the proper thinset and not having visible "ridges" showing thru the finished project. You can get some good advice here as well as at the John Bridge Forum....

  • yadax3
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks to you both. I now feel cautiously optimistic about installing glass tile ourselves.

    IÂm guessing frosted glass is a little easier to use because of the visible ridges issue. Am I right? Unless the clear tile is more difficult to keep clean/spot-free, however, IÂd really prefer the clear to the frosted.

  • mahatmacat1
    16 years ago

    Another thing that matters is whether the glass is coated on the back. If it is, it's more challenging to cut cleanly because the coating sometimes rips rather than cuts along the blade line. I have cut plenty of stained glass and used Sicis Waterglass in my kitchen backsplash, but it wasn't a problem to cut because none of it is back-coated, it's through-colored.

    If "frosted" means back-coated, I'd say by all means get the clear and just use the white thinset and don't make ridges :). Maybe do a practice board with some to get the hang of it before you do the real thing.

  • bill_vincent
    16 years ago

    If you flat trowel each piece as you put it up, you don't have to worry about thinset ridges.

  • MongoCT
    16 years ago

    I thought I posted to this previously...lost in the ether...or on another thread?

    Oh well...

    Yup, with translucent, it's all about what's on the back side of the tile. Then...

    Start with a flat substrate.

    I burn the thinset into the substrate with the flat edge of the trowel, leaving a flat coating about 1/8" to 3/16" thick. You can go thicker, no worries.

    I then use the notched side of the trowel and comb out the burned in layer. This removes the excess and leaves a measured amount of thinset on the wall.

    I then again use the flat side of the trowel to knock the ridges back down flat.

    Now here is where "it depends".

    What you don't want to do it place the tile on the thinset and end up with an air bubble. I'll often times "roll" or "rotate" the tile into the thinset. Example, place the bottom edge of the tile into the thinset then "rotate" the tile onto the wall, pressing slightly as you go.

    That's very easy to do with smaller tiles. Yours are larger, so that's where Bill's Tip #534 comes into play...back butter the tile. Not too much, just get a thin coat on it. Then place it on the wall.

    Clear glass will show what's behind it. If you press it HARD onto the wall and displace the thinset, you may play peek-a-boo with the gray cement backer board in a place or two. It all depends.

    White thinset can be tinted to a different shade to change the look of the tile.

    The big thing is start small. Practice. Do a small demo board, work on your technique and see how well you go. Once you get it down, remove the tiles off your demo board and you can wash them off, use plenty of water as you don't want to be scrubbing gritty thinset off them, you could scratch them.

    Take pictures! I want to see progress pics and the finished job.

    Best, Mongo

  • mom6
    16 years ago

    I would say DO NOT TRY IT! I have glass tile that i was putting up for a backsplash and I had 2 tilers try to put it up. The first, who is very experienced with ceramics ended up taking it down because the cuts were so slow that it would have taken him 5 times as long to not get big tears in the back. The next guy put up more than half my backsplash, ruined a lot of my tile cutting it badly and then walked off the job. I have since had four other tilers here to say that they can't fix the job and we are going to have to buy new tile and start all over.
    Glass is much harder to work with and much more expensive to have installed.

  • yadax3
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks again for your time and really helpful feedback. I'm definitely getting a better sense of what we're in for and, while it sounds challenging, I still think itÂs doable for us. I am a bit concerned about the backing issue though. Could it be that people who had a problem cutting the backing weren't using the correct saw blade?

    I'm looking to buy the 'sand' colored tile and I'm assuming both the clear and frosted tile has a coating on the back. Please correct me if I'm wrong but I think the tile color comes from the backing while the frosted effect is in the glass itself. If thatÂs the case then the backing will be critical regardless of which one I choose. Does anyone have any techniques to prevent the backing from tearing?

  • MongoCT
    16 years ago

    Glass does not absorb water. Many manufacturers apply an epoxy coating to the back of glass tile. The epoxy does two thing...it can be colored to provide color to the tile, and it also acts as a bonding medium between the glass tile and the thinset.

    Best bet is to:
    - Have your saw tuned up so the blade is parallel to the fence, or if it's a sliding table, that the table tracks true to the blade.
    - Use a glass blade. It minimizes chipping and thermal breaks
    - Use a straight edge to guide your utility knife and score a cut line in the epoxy. Then cut on the waste side of the scored line. The scored line will minimize epoxy being "pulled" off the good side of the tile as the blade cuts the tile.
    - Cut the glass with the epoxy side up
    - You could ask the manufacturer if they have little bottles of paint to touch up the chips. Some do. Some don't. But if you follow the previous steps you should have excellent results.

    You other question, "Could it be that people who had a problem cutting the backing weren't using the correct saw blade?"

    Most definitely. Some installers are apathetic. Wrong blade, wrong technique, wrong layout, wrong day to quit smoking.

    Mongo

  • yadax3
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks again, Mongo. I'm sure these instructions will prove most helpful when our project gets under way. I will definitely post back then with photos.

    Laura

  • yadax3
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    A couple more questions for those of you with glass tile installation experience.....

    1. Are small 3/4" tiles significantly easier than larger glass tiles to install?

    2. When installing 3/4" tile, is it often necessary to cut the tiles? Or, can I assume I would be able to lay the tile so that the need for cuts would be minimized?

    (I'm guessing such small tiles would be a huge pain to cut)

  • bill_vincent
    16 years ago

    1) Actually, they're significantly more difficult, and question #2 is only one of the reasons why. Other reasons include things like face mounting, thinset ridges, thinset purging thru the grout joints, and stuff like that.

    2) You're right-- they'll be a pain to cut, and it's just as common as it is with other size tiles that they have to be cut in the corners.

  • yadax3
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks Bill. You've really helped me narrow down my choices and I'm thinking I'll stick with the Helios. The samples should arrive any day - just to be sure.

  • yadax3
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Hi again,

    I received my samples and ordered my glass tile. BTW Bill, Precision Tile really helped me to figure out my patterns and calculate my order - thanks for suggesting it (in a previous post some time ago).

    Now I'm wondering how to do the niches in the shower. I think I like Noble's flangeless niches. Do they work pretty well? Are they easy to use?

    I'm also wondering how the niches will look since I won't have any glass bullnose. I haven't found any (close up)photos of glass shower niches online. Has anyone here built a glass tile niche? Should I try to find some coordinating glass liners to outline the opening or would the plain glass edges work? DH said we could buy some bullnose pieces to match the floor tile (Daltile Aspen) but I'm not sure I'd like that.

    Thanks for any advice you can offer.

    Laura

  • bill_vincent
    15 years ago

    I think I like Noble's flangeless niches. Do they work pretty well? Are they easy to use?

    I couldn't tell you. The only ones I've ever used are from Innovis, and I don't care to even use them (it limits me with repect to size-- I prefer to build my own). The person you might talk to is over at John Bridge's site. He goes by the name E3. His real name is Eric, and he's a Noble rep. He'd be a great help to you.