Please help. Fractured Glass Tile. Need Opinions and Ideas.

[Plazaglass]

It’s hard to say!


My process is somewhat labor-intensive: Crush glass scraps into bits, sprinkle those on sheets of glass and fuse together, slice the thick fused slabs into 1x1 chunks on a tile saw and smooth out all of the edges on a grinder, then fire them in the kiln again to polish the ground edges. It’s a great way to make a lot of pieces at once, though, for a small home studio. Wild guess? I’d probably have to retail them for at least $12 per tile if I were to pay myself a living wage … and more to make a tidy profit

I used to sell a lot of art pieces and such, but mostly do it for fun these days since the day job is in the way.

 

[platipus]

It’s hard to say!...Wild guess? I’d probably have to retail them for at least $12 per tile if I were to pay myself a living wage … and more to make a tidy profit

$1,728 sq/ft..... ale:


LOL! Would be amazing though!!!


plat.

 

[kellyfair]

It’s hard to say!


My process is somewhat labor-intensive: Crush glass scraps into bits, sprinkle those on sheets of glass and fuse together, slice the thick fused slabs into 1x1 chunks on a tile saw and smooth out all of the edges on a grinder, then fire them in the kiln again to polish the ground edges. It’s a great way to make a lot of pieces at once, though, for a small home studio. Wild guess? I’d probably have to retail them for at least $12 per tile if I were to pay myself a living wage … and more to make a tidy profit

I used to sell a lot of art pieces and such, but mostly do it for fun these days since the day job is in the way.

Completely agree with you! I have assisted my daughter with some of her custom designs and it really isn't possible to charge enough to cover labor, materials AND make a small profit!

 

[Frank Rizzo]

Hey, what is under your tiles?
I used the same color tiles in my pool (check my build) - but they were from AIM (artistry in mosaics) and I used 1x2 on the waterline and 1x1 on the spa seat....and the radius trim on the spa seat and around the corners and spillover.

Im guessing there is something wrong with what is underneath. Did you take any pics of the products used when they installed the tiles? How long were they installed before they started to fracture?


?

 

[platipus]

Hey, what is under your tiles?
I used the same color tiles in my pool (check my build) - but they were from AIM (artistry in mosaics) and I used 1x2 on the waterline and 1x1 on the spa seat....and the radius trim on the spa seat and around the corners and spillover.

Im guessing there is something wrong with what is underneath. Did you take any pics of the products used when they installed the tiles? How long were they installed before they started to fracture?


?

Unsure, but the thinset was purchased from NPT as well and this was info provided to them by my builder and NPT did not see it as an issue.

Your very last question touches on what seems to be a possible issue here. These tiles, it appears, may need to be protected from direct solar heating until water is in the pool to help buffer the heat loading. I don't "know" that to be true, but there was an article posted that pointed to this as a possible issue and also NPT did seem to ask this same question about how long the tiles were in place and raise it as a possible issue.

I'd be interested to see the results of tarping these tiles so that they received no direct solar heating until water was in the pool. Not really an option now other than doing that for the next week or so until we're plastered.

Thanks
plat.

 

[Frank Rizzo]

I'll go out on a limb and say the tiles were not installed correctly. You should have installed a series of products under the tile including a waterproofing membrane and a specific thin set mortar for glass tiles and a high performance (non epoxy) grout. The membrane isolates the tiles from minor movement and prevents cracks and normal "thin set" mortar purchased from the home improvement stores wont work well, it does not stick to the glass correctly. Im thinking that your tiles are adhered incorrectly and the movement of the substrate is causing them to crack. Even worse, the cracks are allowing water to get under the tiles and making the problem worse.

NPT has some good info: http://www.nptglasstile.com/pdf/NPT_InstallGuide2012.pdf

When I purchased my tile from MasterTile, they had a good indicator on how to install glass tile:

 

[platipus]

I'll go out on a limb and say the tiles were not installed correctly. You should have installed a series of products under the tile including a waterproofing membrane and a specific thin set mortar for glass tiles and a high performance (non epoxy) grout. The membrane isolates the tiles from minor movement and prevents cracks and normal "thin set" mortar purchased from the home improvement stores wont work well, it does not stick to the glass correctly. Im thinking that your tiles are adhered incorrectly and the movement of the substrate is causing them to crack. Even worse, the cracks are allowing water to get under the tiles and making the problem worse.

NPT has some good info: http://www.nptglasstile.com/pdf/NPT_InstallGuide2012.pdf

When I purchased my tile from MasterTile, they had a good indicator on how to install glass tile:

Interesting. This does not seem to be anything that NPT currently recommends as they did not mention it when I spoke with them. Good info though and possibly worthy of it's own pinned thread on glass tile or maybe in the build FAQ...


Thanks!
plat.

 

[Sharkygirl]

Well, I am still reading these posts. My tile is only 4 years old and, yep, it's cracked. So badly in some spots, the tile has cracked all the way through. Clear glass and yes, it is only the areas where the sun shines directly on the tile all day long. I talked to a tile store today and she said now the manufacturers are putting a backing on the tile to help prevent the heating and cooling of the tile, and there is now special substrate to attach the tile to, to help with movement. I am living with it for now, hopefully I can at least get another 5 years before I have to replace all of it.