GBM City Lights Aluminum Random Stripe 16 x 11 Metal Mosaic Tile Installation Guide
- June 5, 2024
- GBM
Table of Contents
GBM City Lights Aluminum Random Stripe 16 x 11 Metal Mosaic Tile
METAL MOSAIC INSTALLATION GUIDE
Recommended Tools & Materials
- Metal Tile with 10-15% overage for design cuts and patterns
- Mortar/Adhesive
- Non-sanded grout (may be optional)
- 5/32″ V-notch trowel for applying mortar or a similar size
- A rubber grout float.
- Clean sponges or cheesecloth towel
- Two or three buckets, for water mixing the mortar and grout.
- A wet tile saw/motorized tile cutter if there are any cuts to be made around certain obstacles. (Most stainless steel is a ceramic base with a metal cap)
- OPTIONAL – A flat woodblock (a 2×4 around 6″ to 12″ long works well) and a hammer or mallet.
Step 1-
Inspect the tiles for damages and defects and dry layout tiles before
starting installation.
Step 2-
Mix the adhesive as instructed on the package, then sing the flat side of a
V-notch trowel and apply the adhesive onto the surface.
Step 3-
Using the V-notched side of the trowel apply adhesive to create a uniform
level and give the tile something to grip to.
Step 4-
Place the tile sheets onto the wall or floor, lightly pressing down into the
adhesive. Your tile sheet may or may not have a paper cover.
Step 5-
Continue to apply other sheets of tile next to each other, lining up the grout
lines accordingly. You may also need to cut individual tiles to fit.
Step 6-
To ensure each sheet is at the same level as the next, you can lightly tap a
wood block on top of the sheets of tile near the edges.
Step 7-
If your tile is covered in a protective paper covering, wet it and then peel
it off. If your tile is covered in protective plastic, simply peel the plastic
off.
Step 8-
Make final adjustments to each sheet to ensure the joints line up correctly.
This needs to be done before the adhesive dries.
Step 9-
After 12-24 hours, use a non-abrasive brush or sponge to remove excess
adhesive or paper that is still on the tile. Then wipe with a damp sponge.
Step 10-
Prepare your non sanded grout as instructed on the package. Then apply with a
rubber grout float, forcing grout into the joints until they are full.
Step 11-
After 15 min to 1 hour, use a cheesecloth towel or moist sponge to remove
excess grout from the top of the tile (10 min in the case of the EMT_262-MIX-
SM stainless steel tile, paying particular attention to the cleaning of the
pewter accents), avoid applying to much pressure. This may have to be done 3
or 4 times to remove the residue.
Step 12-
After the grout has cured (typically 12-24 hours) use a clean cloth or sponge
to wipe the excess grout haze off the tile. Use an industrial alcohol cleaner
to remove any excess glue from the surface of steel mosaic tile. After the 24
hour period if you still have residue, use clean warm water and neutral PH
cleaner designed for removing tile grout. If some of the tiles have black
marks, you may use acetone or an adhesive thinner/solvent to wipe the marks
away – Use with caution and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Cutting Metal Tile
Due to the small size of the individual pieces on the mosaic tile sheet, you can normally just cut through the joints between the individual tiles and the mesh backing and simple remove them to fit your tile sheet around an obstacle or at the end of a row. However, in the case that simply removing individual tiles from the sheet will leave a large gap you will have to cut the tiles to fit. Although it sounds difficult, cutting metal tile isn’t really that challenging. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of metal mosaics are actually porcelain / ceramic tiles covered with a 1-2mm stainless steel cap. The image below shows the typical structure of a metal mosaic tile, using either a flat metal piece or a cap cover made of metal. The best method is to use a motorized wet tile saw. Because the tiles are so thin, you can often get by with a low-grade, low-cost tile saw available at most big box stores. These saws typically retail between $80-$100 for low-use DIY versions, to close to $1000 for professional versions. Many big box stores and tool rental company’s also rent tile saws. We must stress that tile saws can be dangerous, their diamond-tipped blades are sharp, and the size of a piece of metal mosaic tile is often quite small, and thus it requires enough comfort and skill to cut the piece of tile while not cutting yourself. There is one tool that will NOT work for cutting metal tile, and that is a manual scoring tool that is typically used for cutting porcelain, stone and ceramic. This tool works on the basis of scoring the relatively soft surface of porcelain or ceramic, however, metal- capped tiles don’t take well to scoring, so this method will not work. If you do not feel comfortable with these sharp, potentially harmful tools its likely best to call a professional in to make the final cuts required to finish your tile job.
TRIM PIECES
You could use a common tile edging strip. These strips, which are shaped like an “L” provide an ideal way to terminate the tile installation at the edge. These tile edging strips can be purchased at any local home improvement store. Simply install the strip at the edge of your installation using the same tile mortar/adhesive that you are using for your tiles. These edging strips often are perforated on one side, this is the side that you set into the mortar, against the wall. The finished edge will be left exposed, and you will tile up to it, and then, grout up to this edge.