Mrs. Dan's Master Bathroom Remodel

[ss3964spd]

Progress has been very slow due to family events and the holidays, but I'm fixin to get ready to get going again.

I thought I had the tile selections nailed down, until I didn't. But the designer offered some new options so I think I'm just about ready to order tile.

I do have a question about this mosaic accent though; Sassi Glitz Glass 2" x 6" mosaic. It's pretty cool looking but introduces some challenges, of course, one being it's not as thick as the wall tile so will have to compensate for that.

My big question, however, concerns the backing applied to this mosaic. The glass is clear, the pattern is painted/applied to the back. Then that has what appears to be a clear, thin but stiff plastic film on each individual tile and the mesh is stuck to that holding the sheet together.

I can't find the manufacturer online, and thus can't find the setting instructions. Designer says regular tile setting mortar but she's not a tile setter. The plastic film concerns me.

Is anyone familiar with this mosaic? Anyone have experience setting it?
https://www.discountglasstilestore.c...square-foot-2/

[makethatkerdistick]

Hi Dan,
I certainly would use a highly modified mortar for setting this, not just a regular one. Is this supposed to be inside the shower? If so, are you confident that the backing which contains the pattern will not degrade? Is it suitable for wet area use? If in doubt, I'd take a sheet and submerge it in water for a day to see what happens. You'll need a glass cutting blade for this to minimize chipping.
Making up the difference in thickness will be easy. You could use an extra layer of Durock membrane underneath etc.

[ss3964spd]

Wolfgang,

Yup, it'll be in the shower. Probably a 4 or 6 inch wide horizontal band at around 5 feet high, and a matching band on the bump out for the wall hung toilet. Likely will use it for the back splash as well.

I'm not too concerned about the backing that contains the pattern, I'm more concerned about the thin plastic that covers the backing, specifically about mortar sticking to that plastic. The modified is probably a good idea.

[Davy]

I've never set that particular tile before but I would think a good modified thinset would work.

One thing we have troubles with is the glue that holds the tiles to the netting. Sometimes it's water soluble and soaking it in water may cause the glue to turn loose. This also can be a problem when trying to cut a full sheet on the tile saw with water spraying on the blade. When this happens I turn the water down on my saw to a minimum and cut slow. Not what I like to do but the last thing I want is the sheet falling apart on me. Once the tiles that have the water soluble glue is set in thinset, it usually stays together till the thinset dries.

[ss3964spd]

Thanks for that Davy, good advice.

As I start to gear up for tile setting I also need to, well, to gear up; tools. I need to up my game here. I have approximately 1 bazillion of the squishy plastic X spacers in various sizes from previous amateur tile jobs, and an MK370 saw that I get along with pretty well. The squishy spacers aren't going to cut it and, given the 12X24's, nor will the MK (except for the shower floor tile).

With the exception of the above mentioned glass mosaic, the rest of the tile will be good quality rectified porcelain, and most of that will be 12X24's. Haven't yet decided what pattern I'm going to lay the 12X24's on the floor, but a herring bone pattern is under consideration, and therefore lots of cuts. Regardless of pattern, a good quality snap cutter will be needed.

I'm looking for recommendations on the following:

1. Good quality snap cutter, able to snap a 24" tile along it's length cleanly
2. A high quality 7" porcelain blade for the MK
3. A high quality 7" glass blade for the MK (read a thread in the Pro's hang out about the joy of the Montolit CPV blade)
4. Tile spacers (horseshoe? wedges? both? other?) Haven't decided on grout joint size, but it won't be more than 1/8".
5. Tile leveling system (read a thread somewhere here about the new Rigid system - it seems promising)
6. Rub stone? (the 12X24's have a micro bevel that I'd feel like I should duplicate)
7. Am I missing anything?

[makethatkerdistick]

The 10 in T3 Razor was recommended to me by the pros. I love that blade. RTC also makes a 7 inch Razor, I believe. My T3 Razor has a thinner kerf and cuts through porcelain like butter. Never cut glass tile, so can't offer much help.
Not sure if you can create a micro bevel with a rub stone on a hard porcelain tile.

[Davy]

For the snap cutter and saw blades, any of them will probably work for a one time job.

4. Since tiles are never the exact same size, I like using wedges instead of spacers.

5. I seldom ever use a leveling system. Others can help on that.

6. Like Wolfgang said, you won't match the factory bevel with a stone but you can sand the sharp edge down and smooth out some of the small chips that the snap cutter leaves.

[Raymond S]

a belt sander should work for that bevel. Just a couple of passes should do it. It can also eliminate those finger - slicing edges.

[ss3964spd]

Thanks for the feedback gentlemen.

This job will be challenging enough for my skill level, so the last thing I want to do is make it more challenging by using inferior tools.

This probably applies mostly to the snap cutter. Even if I use it on only two bathrooms (I have a 2nd one to do after this one) it'll pay for itself, and I can put it on CL afterwards. So any recommendations there are appreciated.

[rmckee84]

Montolit and sigma are hard to beat. I would put them in that order, I have both and havent looked at my sigma since I bought my monti.
I would pick up some diamond hand pads instead of a rub stone but thats just personal preference.

[Radas]

Hell of a thread Dan, looking forward to seeing more progress shots.

Montolit CPV owner here, it doesn't disappoint. Make sure you break it in on a couple scrap pieces and keep a dressing stone nearby. Once initially broken in, the blade will cut through glass like butter.

I'm curious what you end up with for porcelain, my old DeWalt blade has done it's due diligence on ceramic and porcelain for a while now but it's time to swap it out with something better.

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[ss3964spd]

Good tip on breaking in the Montolit, Ali, I'd not have thought of that. I'll likely go with the T3 blade Wolfgang recommended for the porcelain on my MK. And a good friend of mine has a bridge saw I can use, just in case. Still need to shop for a snap cutter.

Some progress yesterday. Filled all the screw head dimples in the Durock foam backer with their sealant. Then cut, dry-fitted, and installed the Durock membrane on the shower floor. Bought a new bag of Versabond, mixed a loose but ridge holding batch, and had at it with a 1/8 X 1/8 cheepy trowel. Used an old spongy grout float to smooth it out. Air bubbles are no fun, and I found if you work an area too much with the float it tends to start pulling off bits of fleece. Once I got my technique down it went well. I think the skim coat of mortar I applied to the foam pan helped; as the trowel teeth did not yank out bits of foam at all. At least that what I'm telling myself.

Since I couldn't get a definitive answer from the plumbing inspectors office, I am building a temporary curb so I can fill the pan with enough water to do the leak test. It added some complication to laying the membrane but I think it'll work fine. I'll prop a 2X4 against that flap, use a couple of buckets against it to keep it in place. Once finished I'll just cut the flap at the edges and lap it onto the Ditra mat.

Still needed to do the rest of the membrane bands, and pre-formed corners, but want the mortar under the pan membrane to completely set up first.

[Radas]

Not familiar with the liner you used, but would a drywall knife have worked better? They use them in all the kerdi videos I've seen. It should make your band install go alot easier than the grout float and will keep the corners tight.

Progress looks great so far.

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[ss3964spd]

The membrane (liner) is part of Durock's shower "system", installs and works the same as Kerdi.

I considered a drywall knife but all mine have really pointy corners and didn't want to sacrifice one of them, or inadvertently tear the membrane. As for the rest of the membrane install, which is just the bands, I will resort to my go-to 5" putty knife. As has been mentioned here the Durock membrane is pretty easy to get a nice crease into, and is pretty easy to work with. It'll take longer to mix up another batch of mortar than it will to finish the water proofing.

I couldn't believe the inflatable 2" test plug was over 20 bucks!

[ss3964spd]

Not my cleanest work, but all preformed corners and banding are installed.

Although I did purchase some of Durock's preformed corners and used one of them for the niche (because I ran out of the Kerdi's), on cx's recommendation I used Kerdi preformed corners. Although difficult to tell just by handling them the Durock corners are clearly thicker when installed. That said, not too thrilled with either, I wish the creases for the corners were sharper. I was able to get a much tighter crease with the Durock membrane, at the shower floor to wall junctions for instance, that the Kerdi corners refused to conform to. I'll fill those tiny openings with Durocks sealant.

I'll water test the assembly this weekend, and hopefully get the inspection scheduled for early next week.