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Liquid Nails on a tile mosaic? trbo20 09-12-2006
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Posted by trbo20 on September 12, 2006, 7:28 pm
I'm in the process of cutting and laying a 3' x 2' tile mosaic
for a sunken shelf in my shower. Since the piece is vertical, I'm
laying the cut tiles on a 1/4" backer board mount, then using thinset
to attach the mount to the wall.

Many of the pieces are an square inch or less in size, and I would
rather not try to use thinset to attach them to the board. Does anyone
see a problem if I just laid them down with liquid nails, then grouted
once on the wall? The stuff seems pretty strong and waterproof. The
mosaic will never be exposed to a direct stream. It will just be
exposed to steam from the shower.

If not liquid nails, what else might work well for this?
Or, should I just stick with thinset?

Thanks in advance.
-Tim


PexSupply Full Banner
Posted by Jack on September 13, 2006, 11:34 am
It seems to me that any deviation from thinset would be an invitation
for trouble.. not sure what the problem with using thinset would be..
if you find it hard to apply maybe you could try a "mortar bag",
basically like a chef's pastry tube.. you load it in then squeeze it
out in small amounts.. they are on the shelf at Home Depot ect.


Posted by trbo20 on September 13, 2006, 1:56 pm

Jack wrote:
> It seems to me that any deviation from thinset would be an invitation
> for trouble.. not sure what the problem with using thinset would be..
> if you find it hard to apply maybe you could try a "mortar bag",
> basically like a chef's pastry tube.. you load it in then squeeze it
> out in small amounts.. they are on the shelf at Home Depot ect.


Interesting, I hadn't thought to try that. My concern with thinset is
that I have a hard time spreading it without stepping all over my
lines, and I need to ensure my spacing doesn't drift as I move out to
the edges. Traditional laying methods involve spreading it out and
portioning it off with a notch trowel. Doing this would leave me
completely unable to see the underlying design.

My other worry is that it's easy to accidentally squeeze thinset up
between the pieces. There are enough small pieces that I wouldn't want
to try to chase all the grout lines out with a q-tip before it sets. I
had hoped liquid nails would be more forgiving in these respects. I
know it's not uncommon to use mastic in tile applications and thought
that liquid nails would also do the job.

I suppose with a pastry bag, I can just back butter the pieces and
carefully press them into place like I would have with glue. Thanks
for the tip.


Posted by on September 13, 2006, 2:32 pm
My wife has been doing tile mosiacs for the past 4 years and has tiled
anything that didn't move. Her pieces include picture frames, creamic
planters, oranmental fountains, patio table tops ( plastic and wood),
cement stepping stones, 300 lb. cement cylinders used as public trash
cans, wall plaques as well as designs on cementacious backerboard.
After trying lots of adhesives including thinset and epoxy, her
overwhelming favorite is Liquid Nails. She finishes her work with
colored grout applied in the traditional way. On the cement cylinders
which were too heavy to turn horizontal, she had to work her way up
from the bottom one row at a time shimming each piece against the one
below it to mantain the gap until the Liquid Nails set.

This has sood the test of time and weather.

Good luck.

John
trbo20 wrote:
> Jack wrote:
> > It seems to me that any deviation from thinset would be an invitation
> > for trouble.. not sure what the problem with using thinset would be..
> > if you find it hard to apply maybe you could try a "mortar bag",
> > basically like a chef's pastry tube.. you load it in then squeeze it
> > out in small amounts.. they are on the shelf at Home Depot ect.
>
>
> Interesting, I hadn't thought to try that. My concern with thinset is
> that I have a hard time spreading it without stepping all over my
> lines, and I need to ensure my spacing doesn't drift as I move out to
> the edges. Traditional laying methods involve spreading it out and
> portioning it off with a notch trowel. Doing this would leave me
> completely unable to see the underlying design.
>
> My other worry is that it's easy to accidentally squeeze thinset up
> between the pieces. There are enough small pieces that I wouldn't want
> to try to chase all the grout lines out with a q-tip before it sets. I
> had hoped liquid nails would be more forgiving in these respects. I
> know it's not uncommon to use mastic in tile applications and thought
> that liquid nails would also do the job.
>
> I suppose with a pastry bag, I can just back butter the pieces and
> carefully press them into place like I would have with glue. Thanks
> for the tip.


Posted by trbo20 on September 13, 2006, 2:42 pm
kelly.jj@gmail.com wrote:
> My wife has been doing tile mosiacs for the past 4 years and has tiled
> anything that didn't move. Her pieces include picture frames, creamic
> planters, oranmental fountains, patio table tops ( plastic and wood),
> cement stepping stones, 300 lb. cement cylinders used as public trash
> cans, wall plaques as well as designs on cementacious backerboard.
> After trying lots of adhesives including thinset and epoxy, her
> overwhelming favorite is Liquid Nails. She finishes her work with
> colored grout applied in the traditional way. On the cement cylinders
> which were too heavy to turn horizontal, she had to work her way up
> from the bottom one row at a time shimming each piece against the one
> below it to mantain the gap until the Liquid Nails set.
>
> This has sood the test of time and weather.
>
> Good luck.
>

That's EXACTLY what I was hoping someone would say. Thanks so much,
John.
One quick question, which type does she prefer? I'd think general
construction grade, but I don't know if one exists for masionary
applications.


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