“The Roman Pool at Hearst castle is a tiled indoor pool decorated with beautiful mosaic tiles. The pool has an ancient Roman feel with statues and Italian tile throughout. The mosaic tiled patterns were inspired by mosaics found in the 5th Century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. This magnificent pool is decorated from ceiling to floor with 1" square mosaic tiles. These glass tiles, called smalti, are either colored (mainly blue or orange) or are clear with fused gold inside. The intense colors and shimmering gold of the tiles combine to create a breathtaking effect”
How do I get the surface prepared?
When installing a kitchen backsplash over existing drywall, the painted surface should be roughened by sanding, to create a bond surface for the adhesive/mortar.
When installing stone tile over plywood subfloors, use a cementitious tile backer (CBU) such as GreenEboard™ or other brands available at your local supplier.
Follow the instructions provided with the tile backer carefully, including treatment of the joints with alkali resistant mesh tape, proper fastening, and adhering the CBU to the plywood with an approved adhesive/mortar and appropriate fasteners.
If applying adhesive/mortar directly to concrete, be sure the concrete has fully cured (minimum 28 days) and has been cleaned of all residues.
Wet Areas
If you are installing the tile in a wet location like a shower you must use a waterproof membrane. Waterproof membrane can be installed behind the CBU, or it can be applied over the CBU, using products such as Custom Building Products RedGuard or Laticrete Hydroban. There are other high quality brands also available at most distributor locations.
Follow setting material manufacturer’s installation directions as some setting materials are not suitable for wet or submerged applications.
Do not use paper faced gypsum of any kind as a substrate in wet locations.
Expansion Joints:
This is a very important step on larger installations.
Please make sure that you install expansion joints made of silicone or prefabricated with metal trims a minimum of every 20 feet for indoor and every 8 feet for exterior application.