Glass tile & supermodels take work to be beautiful

It takes a lot of work to be beautiful– ask any supermodel!
The same is true for popular glass tile installations. Glass tiles can be stunning accents or features, but special care needs to be taken to make sure the look you want is actually achieved.
You don’t want that ‘perfect’ glass feature of your project installed by a contractor who can’t make it look as good as it does in the catalog or showroom. It takes specific adhesives for glass tiles, and translucent ones require particular attention to setting material color, coverage, and even trowel ridges.
Each glass tile manufacturer has specific recommendations for their product, but the TCNA Handbook points out that the look and performance of glass tiles can be affected by the following:
— Glass tile is more sensitive than ceramic to thermal shock, so it should be used carefully in areas where there will be rapid temperature changes (i.e. exteriors, kitchen countertops, fireplace surrounds);
— Glass tile expands more than ceramic, so more movement accommodation is necessary;
— Glass tiles require a more rigid substrate than ceramic;
— Glass tiles are impervious, so it may take longer for setting materials to cure;
— Some low-temperature, coated glass tiles should not be installed with cementitious materials, because the mortar’s “high alkalinity may deteriorate those low-temperature-applied backings.”
Your beautiful design will last as long as its installation. And, as any supermodel will tell you, it takes a lot of behind-the-scenes know-how to really make a fantastic finished product.

Best tile tool? Cell phone.

One of our favorite remodeling contractors likes to tell his clients that his favorite tile tool is the telephone — where he’s got our number stored!
He’s a great contractor, a master at pulling a project together, and a skilled trim carpenter, but he’s tried a few small tile jobs and is smart enough to know what he doesn’t know.
As current economic times have pressed down upon our business, we’ve discussed branching out to do other types of flooring, but we keep coming back to the same answer. We know tile. We’re good at it; we’ve been doing it a long time, and to branch out to other trade specialties would no doubt diminish the quality of what we do. We’re tile specialists, people call us because they want their installation to be beautiful and to last. It’s all we can do to keep up with the ever-improving world of tile products and methodologies.
Our basic guidebook, the Tile Council of North America‘s handbook for ceramic, glass, and stone tile installation, is 296 pages with 204 different tile and stone installation methods. A committee of industry professionals is constantly reviewing methods and updating this guidebook to the proper installation of tile.
Though home & garden TV may make it look easy, construction requires skills and craftsmanship. And each specialty trade has complex requirements and systems that make the final project work as a whole. Truly, the ‘jack-of-all-trades is master of none.’ We plan to stick to what we do well.

Demolition of tile

Before we can beautify an area with tile or stone, we often have to remove the existing tile or damaged building materials. Consequently, we’re pretty good at careful destruction. 🙂
Tile removal is very challenging and dusty work — especially if it’s a mud-set installation or one where there has been a long-time shower leak. Our crews prepare a site by papering any areas where they’ll be walking; putting up sheets of plastic as dust guards; wearing masks and gloves; using pneumatic scrapers; and carrying away all the debris.