Metal Tile Trims

Customers often ask what they can use to finish the edges for a glass mosaic tile installation such as backsplash.  While some like to leave it without any edging, adding a metal trim gives the installation a professional and  clean finish.

Homelux is a UK company specializes in trim and other flooring products.  They offers many different type  of finishes and size trim to fit your needs.  It comes in round, square, quadrant and straight edges for different applications.  They are usually come in 6 feet and up.  Due to its length, they are expensive to ship.  However, your local Home Depot have it in stock.

For more information, go to http://www.homelux.co.uk

Anti Fracture Membrane for Glass Tile Installation

Before installing glass tile, it is best to inspect installation for cracks.  Applying a anti fracture membrane will prevent your tile work from cracking related to load bearing walls or concrete shrinkage.  This is one of most effective way to protect your beautiful glass tile installation.

LATICRETE Blue 92 Anti-Fracture Membrane is a two–part system consisting of a liquid rubber and reinforcing fabric. When cured, it forms a highly flexible membrane. While the thin bed method of tile installation provides many advantages, this method can be affected by problems with shrinkage cracking in concrete and other types of substrates. Cracks can telegraph through the tile and/or grout joints. To reduce or eliminate cracks in tile work, a flexible membrane should be applied to the cracked substrate prior to the installations of glass tile, ceramic tile, marble and stone.

• Reduces crack transmission in ceramic tile, thin brick, marble and stone installed using thin-set method. Also ideal for use under thin resin Terrazzo.
• Inhibits the growth of stain causing mold and mildew with Microban® antimicrobial protection.
• Thin—adds no appreciable thickness to floor construction; install tile with LATICRETE Polymer Fortified Thin-Set Mortar directly to cured membrane.
• “Extra Heavy Service” rating per TCNA performance levels (RE: ASTM C627 Robinson Floor Test).
• Easy to Apply—goes on quickly with paint brush or roller; no mixing or special equipment required.
• Fast Cure—dries in a few hours to receive finished surfacing.
• Easy Cleanup—cleans with water while fresh.
• Safe—no solvents or harsh fumes, non-flammable.

Spray on adhesive for glass tile DIY

For those DIYers out there, here is a excellent product to save you time and make your life easier.  This spray on Adhesive by Homex makes it easy for you to start and finish a tiling job in just one day. And, you don’t have to be a tiling pro to get great results. With SPRAY & SET Adhesive, you get:

• A strong, permanent bond in minutes
• The ability to grout the same day
• Faster and easier tile placement
• Less mess and easier clean-up

There is no mixing, just spray and start tiling.  Its quick setting and strong bond ability allows grouting the same day.  However, one must assure the installation is smooth, clean, dry and free of cracks.  This spray on adhesive works with any metal tile and glass tile.  It is also ideal for ceramic and porcelain tile and stone tile.  So if you are looking to remodel your kitchen with a glass tile backsplash or beatify the bathroom with glass mosaic tile, you should consider this easy to use adhesive.  If you are on a budget, you can look for discount glass tile here.

 

Translucent Grout for Glass and Metal Tile

This is not the typical grout you find from the big box stores.  If you think glass tile is not adding enough beauty to your kitchen and bathroom, you definitely need to look into this grout developed by StarQuartz.  StarGlass is a new translucent grout especially designed for metal and glass mosaic tile installation.    This specialty Urethane grout combines a reflective round glass bead which will definitely add more “bling” to your glass tile backsplash or bathroom. It provides a translucent, three-dimensional, reflective appearance that you can enjoy for years to come with features like stain resistance, ultimate color consistency, crack resistant flexibility, mold/mildew protection and UV stability.  You can view all 15 available colors here:  Color Chart

 

StarGlass Grout is a ground-breaking, one of a kind product, specially designed for use with glass and metal tile. StarGlass combines a reflective, round glass bead aggregate with our patented Urethane Grout Technology binder to create a translucent grout that will bring elegance and beauty to your glass or metal tile installation. There are 15 stunning colors from which to choose, ranging from pristine Diamond to shimmering Copper.

Grouting Glass Tiles

For best performances in all type installations with glass tiles, epoxy grout is recommended.  The benefit of using epoxy grout is it will become dense and non porous after dried.  This will create a waterproof, stain and mildew resistance which is best for wet area application such as bathrooms and kitchen backsplash with glass tile.  You can find the best epoxy grout, SpectraLock by Laticrete.

SpectraLOCK Grout is stainproof, mold and mildew resistant and never needs sealing. Cement & pre-mixed mastic grouts are very absorbent and can stain easily. Cement grouts require the regular application of expensive grout sealers to protect them from stains. SpectraLOCK Grout eliminates this expensive and tedious chore for the life of the installation.

• Stain Protection – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout is Stainproof†, containing unique stain blocking properties that will repel liquids and staining materials.
• Never Requires Sealing – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout does not need to be sealed in order to help resist staining. Cement grouts require expensive sealers that must be applied annually to help them repel stains. SpectraLOCK grout saves you this additional chore and expense.
• Microban^®** Antimicrobial Protection – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout contains Microban^® antimicrobial protection which helps to inhibit the growth of mold and mildew within the grout itself.
• Superior Durability – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout cures to a hard, dense grout every time. It is unaffected by the many variables that affect the cure of cement based grouts such as cracking fading and dusting.
• Color Uniformity – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout’s unique technology is unaffected by the many jobsite variables that produce shade variations, blotchiness, and shading in Portland cement based grouts. LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout delivers a uniform color every time.
• Non-Staining System – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout utilizes a non-staining filler powder that will not stain any tile. Portland cement grouts utilize color pigments that can stain these types of tile, but LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout will not stain, even with black or other dark grout colors.
• Great for Narrow Joints – As tile joints are specified to be narrow for stone and for rectified tiles, LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout will cure properly and perform even in tight, narrow joints.
• Also for Re-Grouting – LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Grout is suitable for re-grouting applications where existing grout joints are powdering, dusting out, or need to be replaced.

 

 

Glass Tiles cutting saw

Here is another question customers ask us alot:  What type of saw blade to use for cutting glass tiles? Usually, we recommend a wet saw with fine diamond blade.  It works ok but it works best for straight cut only.  Gemini Saw company had developed a special type of ring saws which you can cut curves, forward or backward of glass tiles.  It will work wonder for glass tile installation especially in bathrooms and showers where all those small and precise cut are required.  Installers whom work with glass tiles alot should definitely look into one of these.

CRL Diamond Notch Saw

Gemini introduces the CRL Diamond Notch and Saw Machine as the latest advancement in glass fabrication machinery. This amazing new saw utilizes a high quality 5-3/4 inch (146 millimeter) Steel Ring Blade with specially coated diamonds to provide smooth, fast cutting in all directions of glass up to 1/2 inch (12 millimeters) thick.

Use it freehand and reduce labor time 75 percent on patterns such as crown molding with smooth, chip-free results, or use the adjustable jig tool to eliminate drilling and cut your labor by more than 50 percent. No more double layouts. Simply cut forward, sideways, back out and you are done.

Minimal or no sanding is required. This is the only saw capable of producing strong, square corners. Internal Sponge Cover provides cutting coolant with no pump required.

Three important factors for installing glass tiles

Installing glass tiles requires expert skills, knowledge and tools.  One should interview and see an actual installation by the installer.  Three important elements for installing glass tiles you and your installer should know.

Substrates – Make sure your installer install a good cement board substrate in all wet areas such as bathroom and kitchen backsplash.

Membranes – The right membrane must be installed under glass tile.  Consider Laticrete 9235 Waterproofing membrane or Laticrete Hydroban under the glass tile installation.  Both offers Anti-fracture protection over shrinkage and other non-structural cracks.

Mortar and Grout – Glass tiles require a thin set mortar with good bond strength.  Cheap low end multi-purpose thin set are not designed for glass tiles.  Color of the thin set affects the result of the installation as well.  Dark thin set tend to dull the glass tile colors.  White thin set make them brighter, especially for translucent and transparent glass mosaics.

Glow in the dark grout

LATICRETE® SpectraLOCK® Dazzle

A unique design component, LATICRETE SpectraLOCK Dazzle adds metallic and “Glow-In-The-Dark” enhancements to SpectraLOCK PRO Premium Grout and SpectraLOCK PRO Grout. These high-end design elements offer limitless imaginative applications. Use Dazzle on walls and floors. Add a metallic look to plain tile and stone. Accentuate metallic tiles, glass tiles, mosaics, stone and listellos with Dazzling color combinations. Use Dazzle in your pools and spas. Use Glow in your bathrooms, hallways and entryways. For use in interior and exterior applications on floors and walls.

Glass Tile Adhesive

We often receive emails from customers asking what type of thin set to use for their glass tiles.  There wasn’t really one thin set that is made especially for glass tile application, until now.  Laticrete has come up with one.  The best feature of this adhesive is that it has good bond strength with minimal shrinkage.  This is very important for glass tiles with large surface area like 3″x6″ or larger.  If you use cheap thin set that shrinks to a large degree, it is possible that it will crack the glass.  This is especially important for long and thin type of glass tile, like 1/2″ x 12″.  It also include Microban which makes is mold resistance.  For more infomation, visit www.Laticrete.com

LATICRETE^® Glass Tile Adhesive is a one-step, non-sag, polymer fortified adhesive mortar that is specifically formulated for use in glass tile applications. LATICRETE Glass Tile Adhesive has great workability and produces an ultra white finish that enhances the look of glass mosaics, glass tile, and most any translucent tile or stone. In addition to containing Microban^® antimicrobial protection, LATICRETE Glass Tile Adhesive is GREENGUARD certified for low VOC. LATICRETE Glass Tile Adhesive can also be used with porcelain or ceramic tile.

Uses

Designed for interior, exterior, and submerged installations of all types of glass tiles over concrete, exterior glue plywood (interior, dry areas only), and a variety of other substrates.

• Consistent, ultra white color across the entire application area
• Optimal bond strength with minimal shrinkage
• Single component with no admix needed, just add water
• Superior non-sag performance
• Smooth and creamy consistency
• Equipped with Microban
• GREENGUARD certified
• Exceeds ANSI A118.4 and ANSI A118.11 bond strength requirements when mixed with water

Problems with Crackle Glass

Crackle, Roman, Crush glass tiles…whatever you want to call it, might look good.  However, our experts here at www.glasstiletrend.com find a problem with this type of glass.  These pricey glass tiles are usually a piece of ceramic based tile fused with a layer of glass on top.  The glass has a cracked surface.  Now, here is the problem.  Take a look at the image, see the different?  We put red dye ink on the right.  The ink WILL find its ways down into the cracks on glass.  Now, think about it.  Mold usually can be found in wet area like kitchens and bathrooms.  If you want to install this type of glass for your backsplash, you need to be careful with this mold problem.  Once its in, there is no way you can clean it.  There goes your expensive backsplash!