Installing Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Mosaics

Since the glory of Rome and the expansion of the Greeks mosaics have been used to share religious beliefs, pay homage to notable figures, or tell stories. This is your opportunity to change your bathroom around a bit and adds a creative piece which will tell your own tale or express your interests. Mosaic work is not for everyone, but if you follow these beginner steps, regardless of your talent you will come out with a mosaic to be proud of. Mosaics can take on just about any form or shape. From the bathroom sink, to the floor, to a wall plate, mosaics can be constructed on any of your various surfaces. For this project we will build a base plate to go above the sink and below the bathroom mirror. This method can be adapted into any aspect of your bathroom, but for the sake of simplicity we will do this task together.

First clean or sand the desired area. If sanding wood use a sandpaper of at least 220 grain. Mosaics can be adhered to pretty much any surface but I'm going with wood, for drywall use the same methods, but if adhering to metal or other tile then you may desire a different adhesive than the one noted. Once your area of work is clean and ready to go, trace your design in pencil or washable marker onto the surface. You can freehand your designs or print them off onto paper and trace them onto your surface. Once your design is done begin placing your tile, just to make sure that you have enough and that you have a rough idea as to which pieces you will use in which spots. Tile can be purchased at craft stores such as Michael's or found around the home by using old tile or broken pottery, or tile can sometimes be picked up at a discounted price from larger kitchen and bathroom tile stores. Sometimes these stores will have excess broken tile which they will sell at a clearance price, or even free. If you desire, you can buy tile online at a variety of stores, but generally I use http://www.mosaictileco.com/

If you are following my method of constructing this mosaic then the mosaic will be fixed to the wall and thus laying the tile out will be hard if not impossible. In order to adjust for this, then simply trace your design onto paper and lay the tile out on the paper in front of you. This will also allow for you to place the tile into your mosaic exactly like you have practiced on your paper copy. Tile adhesive can be found at any hardware store or online. Regardless, make sure the adhesive will work for the surface you are using. Now place a small amount of adhesive on the wall, place enough for about five or six pieces of tile. Then begin setting the tile in place on the wall. It is best if you start from a corner, but whatever you find best is really what you should go with. Continue to place a small amount of adhesive and the rest of the tile until the mosaic is completed as desired. Realize that tile does not have to be directly pressed together, but merely close to each other. Common practice is to keep less than a 1/8 inch space between tiles, without having the tile touch.

Now take your Grout and spread it using a palette knife across the entire surface of the mosaic. Be sure to get the grout down in between the tile and don't worry about excess right now, merely cover the project and work the grout into the cracks. If working on a mirror or other surface, attempt to wipe away any excess before it dries. Once you are satisfied that the grout is placed deep within each crack take a damp cloth or sponge and wipe away any excess grout from the sides of the mosaic and the surface. Once the grout dries you can place a sealer on it if truly desired, but most grout will do fine for years without a sealer. Sealers and grout can both be purchased at your local hardware store. Now your mosaic is done, congratulations! You can adapt this same method for working in any area of the bathroom, but the mirror and wall around it are a perfect place to start. If you have an exposed medicine cabinet then by all means have a go at Tiling it, and perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised.