Mosaic from tiles by own hands

One of the most ancient ways of decorating a house is a mosaic. It was used in ancient Egypt, India and China for 3 thousand years before the birth of Christ. This art has arisen among the Sumerian peoples and has since been greatly transformed, the masters of each epoch have added their own versions of the technique and proposed original materials for the creation of drawings. To date, the mosaic is very relevant and is successfully used for decorating housing.

Basic mosaic versions

Basic mosaic technique involves the creation of drawings from various materials of different colors, shapes and textures, in practice applied:

• stone,
• glass,
• tile,
• clay,
• combined.

Stone mosaic appeared the very first. To create it, small colored stones were collected from which portraits of kings or landscapes were made. This option is the most durable, as the stone does not lose color, is not subject to any influences and practically does not collapse from time. Nevertheless, the picture will look beautiful only if you look at it from afar. Close up will be visible seams and all kinds of irregularities. Use it either for outdoor work, or in rooms with an area of ​​more than 100 square meters.m.

Glass mosaic originated in Christian churches, when priests began to decorate the windows of churches with stained-glass windows. This kind of decoration is quite painstaking and invested efforts often do not justify the result. Therefore, it is used extremely rarely and mainly as additional elements.

With the advent of tile began a new stage in the history of the development of the mosaic. The tile allowed to create the most beautiful and almost seamless panels, which are only slightly inferior to the performance characteristics of the stone. To date, this is the most popular way.

Clay pots served as a cheaper analogue of tile. The usual burnt clay was painted and collected by analogy with tiles. The main drawback was that the paint quickly began to lose color, and the material itself cracked. This option was completely abandoned.

Combined mosaic originated in India. The first paintings were a combination of ordinary and precious stones. Surprised by the luxury of Europeans began to create such panels in their homeland, but instead of rubies, emeralds and sapphires used colored glass or crystal. From the visual point of view, the differences from jewelry are minimal.

Ceramic tile mosaic

Since this option is the most popular and practical, let's talk about its features. The market of building materials offers the following varieties of tiles:

• billet with dimensions of 10x10 or 15x15 cm,
• separate elements with dimensions of 2х2 cm or 3х3 cm,
• full-blown paintings, with blanks of different sizes.

Most often on the shelves of building stores there are billets for mosaic. They consist of a base and a top cover, which is made in the form of small multi-colored tiles. In fact, this material is not suitable for creating a real mosaic, so it is most often used in swimming pools. The walls are quite beautiful and unusual, in addition there are some types of tiles that allow you to create patterns, but nothing more.

The finished variety of such billets - tile glass mosaic. There are combinations where tiles are combined with glass and completely glassware. With their help decorate the tile compositions. Use only this material is very expensive. Most often used for decorating walls in the bathroom.

The real tile mosaic consists of small individual tiles. They are presented in a very wide range of colors and allow you to create real masterpieces of painting. The smaller the size of the tile, the higher the quality of the picture itself. It is worth noting that the work is extremely painstaking and will take more than one week( an average of one square meter takes 2-3 hours).

As in the previous case, there are separate glass slabs on sale. A special tempered, impact-resistant glass is used, due to which, it is not afraid of mechanical damage.

A simpler version is ready-made pictures. They combine the speed of assembly of blanks and the beauty of individual elements. In the domestic market direction is new, so the distribution is bad. On the other hand, some private companies provide services for the manufacture of tiled mosaics to order. This will allow you to choose exactly the image that you want to see at home.

Mosaic of tiles with their own hands

These types have their own specificity of installation, so it is worth to carefully focus on each of them. In addition, the choice of glue for tiles primarily depends on the conditions under which the mosaic will be used.

The technology of assembling the blanks is the simplest, so let's start with it. First you need to make a plan:

• to determine where the mosaic will be located,
• to choose the version,
• to calculate the surface area,
• to calculate the amount of glue,
• to calculate the amount of grout,
• to prepare the necessary tool.

This mosaic is suitable for decorating the walls of the bathroom, working apron in the kitchen or basin bowls. In addition, it is made of a shower tray.

There are several possible versions:

• pattern,
• multicolored mosaic,
• mosaic with deco elements.

In order for the pattern to be visible, an area of ​​at least 2 square meters is needed.m, so the patterned mosaic is used most often for swimming pools. In the bathroom application is possible, but only in a large room, because otherwise the pattern will be difficult to dock.

Multicolored mosaic - the ideal solution for a kitchen apron. It is easy to clean, does not collect dirt in the seams and looks quite impressive. On the scale of the entire wall, such a solution will look poor and will not produce the proper impression, this explains the limited use of this type of mosaic.

For the bathroom more often all use mosaic with deco elements( glass inserts).They look great on the wall and emphasize the unique style of the room. The only drawback, like any glass product, is accumulated on the surface of salt deposits from steam and water. Nevertheless, it is easy enough to wash standard chemicals.means.

The area calculation is done using the standard formula: the height is multiplied by the length. At the same time, the result is 0.5-1 square meters.m. It is made in order to not buy tiles in case of breakage or damage, besides, if you have to trim, the consumption increases significantly.

The choice of glue depends on the operational characteristics, for baths and swimming pools you need a moisture resistant, for the kitchen the usual one. The consumption of adhesives depends on many factors. Therefore, it is worthwhile to carefully study the instruction and determine by it how many bags will be needed. Similarly, things are the same with the trowel. When choosing it, remember that it should be a lighter tone than tiles. Otherwise, the grout will be very prominent.

The tool will need:

• spatula,
• utensils for mortar,
• crosses,
• dry rags.

If the rest of the questions do not arise, then the rag is used to wipe the tile, if it accidentally hit a hive. After drying, remove it without damage to the tiles will be extremely difficult.

After the preparatory work is completed, proceed to the installation. The laying of the mosaic tiles is no different from conventional tiles:

• the wall is treated with a primer to improve adhesion,
• is diluted according to the instructions of the adhesive solution,
• is applied to the tile and the lower row is attached,
• after installation of two adjacent tiles, the distance between them is adjusted by crosses,
• is installed at the top and bottom,
• after installationEach tile should be checked for slope in the level.

Tip: some experts recommend the first row set not in width, but in height. It will serve as a guide and set the angle relative to the floor. This opinion is erroneous, since the wall and the masonry process do not allow you to specify a static landmark and require constant correction, in all other cases, the wall will curve either with respect to the floor or to other walls. Given that the glue freezes 16-36 hours, the level is checked every meter of masonry.

Another important point is the angles. As a rule, special bushings are used for their decoration. They are of two types:

• monolithic,
• waybills.

Overhead bushings are freely inserted into the abutment angles and fixed using grouting. Monolithic bushes are mounted before the beginning of the laying of tiles. The tile is installed from above on a special thrust plate. This method is more reliable, since the bushing will not fall out, even if the grout falls out.

After all rows of tiles are laid, they give it to stand( at least 24 hours, 72 hours are best).The next step is grouting. The work is carried out according to the following scheme:

• dilute in a small bowl mixture( it dries quickly, so do not need large portions), gently squeeze the mixture into the seams between the tiles with a spatula,
• with your finger into the slot and iron.

To avoid dirty hands use a damp cloth.

Tip: grout dries 5-15 minutes, but the layer about a millimeter freezes in just a minute, its full hardening comes in half an hour, then removing the grout from the tile is extremely problematic. Therefore, after you spend the first portion, immediately with a wet rag, clean the tile from the grout. When finished with a single wall, let it stand for 10-20 minutes, then pound well with a dry rag, and only after that wash the wall to a clean one.

All of the above is true for ready-made mosaic pictures. The only thing that should be added, these compositions are of a decorative character and decorate the walls in the halls or dining rooms, sometimes the ceilings. First of all it is connected with the price. As the central element of the image of the room, such a mosaic must be further highlighted. For this use either a bright glass fringing, or a fresco, or decorative stone.

Assembly of individual mosaic tiles

The mosaic tile, the photo of which is presented below, is a very complicated technology. It will require hard work and a lot of time. But the result will surpass all expectations.

The most important thing is the surface. To play a level on elements with dimensions of 2x2 cm is almost impossible, so the work begins with the preparation of walls. Option two:

• plaster,
• gypsum board.

Classical plaster is a pleasure expensive, besides, if the wall is too uneven, then the work will have to be done in two or even three stages( at a time the plaster layer is allowed up to 1 cm).

Drywall mounted on the adhesive, significantly saves time and money. According to performance characteristics, there is no difference.

After the wall is leveled, it should be treated with a protective primer, with the addition of antifungal agents. It must be done without fail, since the real mosaic is very much afraid of mold. Priming is desirable once for three days. Both plaster and gypsum absorb the soil unevenly, and in order for the mosaic to last a long time, it is necessary to prepare the foundation as qualitatively as possible.

During this time, you should think over the composition in detail and draw it on paper. In order to calculate the necessary materials. It is most convenient to do all the math through special programs, the simplest option is Microsoft Excel.

The installation procedure itself is as follows:

• in a convenient place the mock-up mosaic is installed,
• is diluted with glue( it should be applied to the tile as thin as possible),
• starts from one of the corners, the first tile is glued.

Unlike blanks, in the case of individual elements, seams are not allowed, so it is necessary to install tiles as closely as possible to each other. In addition, the mosaic is laid out not in rows, but in a progressive way, first the first stone, then on the sides of it, then on the sides of the three previous ones, etc. This approach allows in practice to correct any inaccuracies without global alterations of the picture.

Firms manufacturers of tile mosaic

Since the base of the tile mosaic is much thinner than other tile products, it is fragile enough. Nevertheless, modern technological novelties make it possible to compensate for this shortcoming. The most high-quality firms that possess these technologies include:

• ARCHITEZA,
• Glass mosaic,
• Piranesi,
• Kerama-Marazzi,
• Honey,
• B-Mos,
• Ocre Pebble,
• Viola Mix.

The first four companies offer VIP quality products( the price is appropriate).The range offers a rich selection of materials and designs. Buying this product, you can be sure of its uniqueness and uniqueness, since for all the variety of the model range it is quite limited.

The second four companies specialize in the production of goods for a wide range of consumers. Tiles are presented in several price formats. Although the quality of products is not inferior to the grandees, the model solutions are much less interesting and put on stream.

It should be added that the minimum price for high-quality mosaic is 1000 rubles per square meter.m.