Materials for Tiling

[pool250]

I cut them in 2 ways. One is to glue and grout them, then cut them in situ with an angle grinder with a smoooth disk and go slow and gentle. Then chip off the excess. On a rectangular pool we tile from the water line down, and overlap the floor a bit. This is where we cut out a rectangle for the floor. I kind of score it with the disk over and over. Then I use a dremel to just take the nasty sharp edges off. Once grouted you don't notice them. The other way is to cut in the same way but dry on top of wood, but you get a slightly rageddy cut like this but it's quicker. For small areas you can nip them with tile nips. Shocking the price there, Ezarri blue mix here is 25€ sqm (about $35)

you are kidding me, $35???? you should go into the pool tile export business! Here its $30 (cheapest) for 50mm ceramic mosaics from China with Crud glue on the back.

 

[solarboy]

Pretty much all quality glass mosaic is about that price here, for example Bisazza. I'm guessing it costs a fortune to send abroad. Lovely stuff though.

 

[pool250]

Bisazza starts at about $200 per square metre here.

 

[solarboy]

Here's a pic of how we tile. That will be cut at the bottom later.

 

[solarboy]

Bisazza starts at about $200 per square metre here.

I must have about 50k $ scattered around my van and garage ! :lol:

 

[AlanH]

When setting the tiles, and assuming the adhesive has been properly applied with an appropriately notched trowel, is it "normal"/permissible (or just sloppy setting) for the adhesive to ooze up between the tiles? I've seen a number of pools where the adhesive has oozed up in places and has been left (or cleaned off flush with the tile surface) so that the grout lines are either very thin or non-existent. The grout lines appear to "blacken" or darken after several months with what appears to be a fungus or mold. It can be scrubbed off but returns fairly quickly. If the adhesive does ooze up, does it have to be removed/scored out so that the grout can penetrate between the tiles?

 

[pool250]

I imagine thats even more of a problem with paper faced (like the one's I'm thinking of getting). As I think you have to wait for them to set before taking off the paper. Only then can you see if the joints are full of adhesive by which time you would have to scrape it out. Not fun.
Hopefully solarboy can advise.

 

[solarboy]

We apply just enough adhesive that it comes about 1/4 way up through the joint line. This is done with a saw tooth notch spreader as opposed to a square tooth spreader. We spread carefully so it's very even holding the spreader at a 45º angle. Sometimes you do get blobs that bleed through and this is wiped off with a finger while wet and also scraped out while dry just before grouting.

 

[solarboy]

A tip for removing the paper; once the tiles are set, soak with a sponge the paper, then wait 5mins, then soak again, wait 5 mins. If there is any resistance to removal then soak and wait some more. The paper should almost just slide off leaving hardly any residue.

 

[pool250]

Here's a pic of how we tile. That will be cut at the bottom later.

Could you use 50mm mosaic on a radius as acute as the one in your pic (without having to bog the whole thing with dollops of adhesive) as I think mine will end up about the same radius as that?

Also, is a tile border necessary to help hide the waterline doings or is it just as good to tile all the way up in the same colour. ie is a tile border mostly aesthetic choice or serving a useful purpose?

 

[solarboy]

I normally do a 30cm radius on the floor, 10cm going up the corners, and 5cm on steps etc. The glue is thick enough that it sticks well enough. On occasion I might back butter certain tiles in awkward positions (the bottom corners of the pool are the trickiest parts)

 

[solarboy]

That pool was done at 15cm in the bottom; I left the guy to do the radii in mortar and we/he confused radii with diameter.

 

[pool250]

So a 50mmX50mm tile isnt going sit properly in that curve without dollops, is that right?
Any thoughts on the necessity of a contrasting border?

 

[solarboy]

You'll probably be OK with a 30cm fillet, not any less though. We always use 25mm or less tiles. The border tiles work nicely with reflections and the waviness of the waterline. It's an aesthetic choice really although the plain pools tend to look a little boring and the border tile makes the pool look bigger.

 

[pool250]

thanks for clearing that up.
Great tiling job, by the way.

 

[pool250]

Hey Solarboy, just wanted to see what you thought of these.
I stumbled on these Chinese 20mm glass mosaics for $20 (US) per sqm. They are pretty thin about 5mm and the glass is ribbed on the back under the mesh.
Just wondering if you know of any issues with cheap glass mosaics.

 

[Henry Porter]

Those glas tiles are commmon in pools here aswell. I had a few arks at home in different colours when we was about to choose tiles for our pool. The reason that we didn't went with them was that they are fragile and and few of them broke just by bringin them up from the box. That is a problem only when you mount them according to the pool company that have used them in many pools, once they are grouted everything should be fine.
For you comparison was the price here approx 92 usd /sqm

 

[pool250]

Thanks Henry. The surface isnt glossy, its slightly pitted. I think the glossy ones are more expensive: were yours glossy? if they were these ones, $92 is outrageous!
I know the cost of living in Sweden is high.

 

[Henry Porter]

Hi there!
No they were not glossy. They looke like the ones in the image you posted. If I looked closely upon them could I see small white spots on the surface.
I forgot to tell you that it was not just the quality questions that made us go with porcelaine tiles instead of these small glas mosaic tiles. We also felt that the colours that they came in was a little to "artificial" for our taste. I've seen pools with them mounted and they look good but I think we should have got tired of it in the long run. You know we just plain people :-D

How is it in Australia nowadays, have you survived the floods. It's scary when you see it on the news, where are we going with this old world of ours....

 

[solarboy]

To be honest I've only used 3 types of glass mosaic; Bisazza, Ezarri and Astralpool brand. The cheaper ones have nastier colours so I've never used them as the cheapest are about 10€/m2 and top quality ones are around 25€ and I tend to find that cheap materials usually cost more in labour being harder to fit/cut/grout. I've not yet worked with mesh backed tiles but a pal of mine did his pool in some and had quite a few come off.
Lovely pool you have there Henry, I looked at the photos a few months back, incredible workmanship.
Most of the pool we retile here are from 20-25 years ago and have ceramic tiles, usually 15x15cm and they seem to stand up well to the test of time apart from some of them crack but this is probably more to do with the quality of the underlying concrete.
I took some photos to day of some of the tools we use and of the clamps I mentioned made from rebar which you could use to hold a straight edge against your pool.