Grout and Thinset Color for Glass Tile

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Geophffrey

Geophffrey

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2022
101
Austin, TX
Pool Size
18500
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Pentair Intellichlor IC-20
Hi! I'm new to this and its scary!! :)

I am building a pool with a large 18 foot "wall of water"/waterfall wall. We plan to cover it in glass tile; the same tile as we will use for the waterline.

I'm veering away from a bright white grout. Do you have an opinion on a grout color and thinset for the glass tile? I am thinking a white thinset, as I've heard that makes glass tile look better. Our PB is suggesting Lowes or Home Depot for the grout. He wants to do a sanded grout. Seems like sanded is okay?

I've attached photos of the tile and waterfall wall (link to tile here: FJ-1298 - Silent 1X2)

I've heard @kimkats is great at this!!

Thank you so much for your help!

1646179998621.png

1646180139893.png
 
Here is the recommended buildup by a glass tile supplier.

Glasstile

www.glasstile.com www.glasstile.com


1626430671428-png.355575


A waterproof coating like Basecrete should be used. Otherwise you can end up with problems like this...

Scale/Calcium Any ideas

I am seeing a build-up of scale on the tile Spillover from my Spa. It is almost 100% on one side (which gets the most sun). I have brushed, pick at it with a plastic knife that chips pieces off. Any ideas on how to tackle this? CLR? Thanks
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
ajw22 said:
Here is the recommended buildup by a glass tile supplier.

Glasstile

www.glasstile.com www.glasstile.com


1626430671428-png.355575


A waterproof coating like Basecrete should be used. Otherwise you can end up with problems like this...

Scale/Calcium Any ideas

I am seeing a build-up of scale on the tile Spillover from my Spa. It is almost 100% on one side (which gets the most sun). I have brushed, pick at it with a plastic knife that chips pieces off. Any ideas on how to tackle this? CLR? Thanks
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
I appreciate your help. Yeah, I know my guy isn't doing all these steps. He has a concrete tank, some other concrete over that(waterproofing?), thinset, tile and then grout. I can't convince him otherwise.
 
Geophffrey said:
I can't convince him otherwise.
Click to expand...
Your money, your pool=your way! You might have to go toe to toe with him but push on this one. Not fun but needs to happen as YOU are the one that has to live with what HE does...............just saying.

First off I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your tile!!!! It is one of my favs of all times!!!

I say a white mortar with a medium gray grout. The medium gray will help the tiles blend together better instead of making each tile stand out like the light or white would.

You can also get some grout sticks to play with to see what it will look like in real life.

Kim :kim:
 
kimkats said:
Your money, your pool=your way! You might have to go toe to toe with him but push on this one. Not fun but needs to happen as YOU are the one that has to live with what HE does...............just saying.

First off I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your tile!!!! It is one of my favs of all times!!!

I say a white mortar with a medium gray grout. The medium gray will help the tiles blend together better instead of making each tile stand out like the light or white would.

You can also get some grout sticks to play with to see what it will look like in real life.

Kim :kim:
Click to expand...
You’re the best. Thank you so much. Should I go toe to toe on the exact grout or the entire installation above? I feel like I have to pick my battles and I’m tired. :). . Do you think a “light gray” (I’ve seen it called silver or platinum elsewhere) is too light? Should we look at a mid-grey?
 
From what @ajw22 posted I would push for just what he suggested as it is time tested and has worked for many pools. The Home Depot stuff not so much.

Grout color-see if you can get your hands on a real sample of your tile and the grout sticks. Take them outside where the pool is and see which one you like the best. You can/should also take pics so we can see it also.

Kim:kim:
 
kimkats said:
From what @ajw22 posted I would push for just what he suggested as it is time tested and has worked for many pools. The Home Depot stuff not so much.

Grout color-see if you can get your hands on a real sample of your tile and the grout sticks. Take them outside where the pool is and see which one you like the best. You can/should also take pics so we can see it also.

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...
Thank you. It’s so hard to get my pool builder to reply to a call or text but I’ll see what I can do. This pool has been going on since November 2020, so I just want it done (backyard full of boobytraps and a 6 year old!), but also don’t want to fix a lot of popping tiles. Kind of in a tough spot. I really appreciate @ajw22 and you for your help. Now I need to beg a guy I’m paying a ton of money to do what is right. Sigh.
 

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Geophffrey said:
Hi! I'm new to this and its scary!! :)

I am building a pool with a large 18 foot "wall of water"/waterfall wall. We plan to cover it in glass tile; the same tile as we will use for the waterline.

I'm veering away from a bright white grout. Do you have an opinion on a grout color and thinset for the glass tile? I am thinking a white thinset, as I've heard that makes glass tile look better. Our PB is suggesting Lowes or Home Depot for the grout. He wants to do a sanded grout. Seems like sanded is okay?

I've attached photos of the tile and waterfall wall (link to tile here: FJ-1298 - Silent 1X2)

I've heard @kimkats is great at this!!

Thank you so much for your help!

View attachment 392847

View attachment 392848
Click to expand...
Would you mind providing the name of this tile… so nice!
 
Mfernandes said:
I just had this aqua bella majestic tile install and they used gray thinset. It looks terrible, much darker than the sample. Did you ever intal yours with white thinset? Our contractor says it won't make much difference 🙄
Click to expand...
I used stark white thinset. The gray thinset doesn’t make it “shine”. I used a silver grout in the joints. I love it.
 
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