Nitrile Gloves Disposable 9.5-Inch Medium 1 Pair are powder-free, latex-free 4 mil thick examination gloves for detailed work with thinset mortar and Weldbond adhesive. These are more durable than the latex gloves we used to sell and allow the wearer more dexterity than our heavy-duty grouting gloves.
Nitrile Gloves Disposable 1 Pair
material: nitrile
1 pair
size: medium 9.5 inch
weight/gauge: 4 mil
color: blue
powder-free
latex-free
When To Use These Gloves
These gloves can keep your hands and fingertips clean when working with thinset mortar for an extended period, but they are thin and fragile and will not protect the hands from cuts. For that reason, you would NOT use these gloves for grouting, which involves a lot of rubbing and wiping over the surface of the mosaic and exposes the hands to sharp edges. For grouting, we recommend the Heavy-Duty Grouting Gloves, but even those can be sliced by a jagged piece of mosaic tile. Tip: It is better to keep grout gaps fairly narrow to make grouting easier and prevent fingertips from getting in between tile where they can be cut.
We use these gloves at our studio for making found-object mosaics from artifacts and thinset mortar, which involves a lot of careful positioning of small objects in concrete. The gloves are thin enough to not interfere with dexterity, yet they still keep the mildly caustic mortar from contacting the skin and drying it out. Some people also wear these gloves for working with Weldbond adhesive, but that is merely based on preference and not safety. We have never observed any problems with Weldbond on the skin, even when in contact for long hours day after day. Weldbond is a water-based adhesive and was selected by NASA for use in space because it is non-toxic.
Tip: Talcum powder can be used to help get the gloves on and off. We keep a dispenser of baby powder in our studio for applying to our hands before inserting them into gloves. Without the powder, the sweat from the hand makes getting the glove off a lot more difficult.
How To Make Mosaics
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or mounting, cutting, and grouting tile, please see our page of Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions or our Mosaic Information Guide, which lists instructional pages described by topic. We also post new articles about making mosaics at our How to Mosaic Blog.
Millefiori Gems 10mm-12mm (3/8 inch to 1/2 inch) are the rounded gems used to make millefiori beads, but they do not have beading holes and are used for mosaic art. The sides are rounded so the pieces are ovoid bead-shapes instead of being cylinders with straight edges like standard millefiori. The gems are sold in 2-ounce units (approximately 50+ pieces) and are much cheaper than traditional Italian millefiori.
Note that the designs are fairly uniform, and there aren’t many different designs, usually only three or four designs per color. Don’t expect an assortment of many different designs.
What Is Millefiori?
Millefiori is a traditional form of art glass that is disk-shaped with different multicolored patterns and is commonly used in jewelry and mosaic art.
Product Coverage
This is a problematic question because the millefiori was intended to be used as an accent instead of as area coverage, and the piece size can vary. That being said, one 2-ounce bag should cover roughly 5 or 6 square inches, but that will depend somewhat on how efficiently you nest the pieces.
Compatibility
The thickness is about 1/8 inch and is the nominal thickness of most of the glass mosaic tile we sell, so it should be fairly easy to incorporated these into your art.
Cutting Millefiori Gems
Millefiori Gems can be cut using the Mosaic Glass Cutter we sell, but these are small enough to use without cutting.
Millefiori Gems 10mm-12mm
Price is per 2 ounces (approximately 50+ pieces)
Diameter: approximately 10mm to 12mm (3/8 inch to 1/2 inch).
Thickness: roughly 1/8 inch.
Coverage: each 2 ounce bag should cover roughly 5 or 6 square inches.
Material: glass with color throughout.
frost proof.
impervious to liquids.
Suitable for indoor and outdoor installation.
Not suitable for floors.
Using Millefiori Gems In Mosaic Art
Millefiori Gems are more consistent in thickness than most millefiori assortments. They can be used in thinset mortar for mosaic art in outdoor and wet projects. For dry, indoor projects, you can attach it to backers with a high-quality white PVA adhesive like the Weldbond we sell. A pair of tweezers are indispensable for positioning the tiny pieces like these and keeping your fingertips cleaner of glues and cements.
How To Make Mosaic Art
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or mounting, cutting, and grouting tile, please see our page of Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions or our Mosaic Information Guide, which lists instructional pages described by topic. We also post new articles about making mosaics at our How to Mosaic Blog.
Millefiori Beads 10mm-12mm (3/8 inch to 1/2 inch) are sold on a strand of approximately 30 to 32 beads. The beads differ from ordinary millefiori because the sides are rounded instead of being straight cylindrical edges, and there are the holes used to string the beads. The glass is more translucent and vibrant than the mostly opaque glass used in traditional Italian millefiori. They can be used in mosaic artwork, although grout may penetrate the stringing holes if not sealed with glue.
What Is Millefiori?
Millefiori is a traditional form of art glass that is disk-shaped with different multicolored patterns and is used in glass fusing, jewelry, and mosaic art. These pieces are beads with holes for stringing.
Product Coverage
This is a problematic question because the millefiori was intended to be used as an accent instead of as area coverage, and the piece size can vary. One strand of 30+ beads should cover roughly 1.5 square inches, but that will depend somewhat on how efficiently you nest the pieces.
Compatibility
The thickness is roughly 1/8 inch inch. This makes it about the same thickness as most of the glass mosaic tile we sell. Stringing holes can be sealed with Weldbond mosaic glue to prevent penetration by grout.
Cutting Millefiori Beads
Millefiori beads can be cut using a Mosaic Glass Cutter, but lampwork beads made by fusing and stretching strips of glass will often break along the layers and not as predictably as homogeneous glass tile does. Still, it can be done.
Millefiori Beads 10mm-12mm
Price is per 1 strand of approximately 30+ pieces.
Diameter: approximately 10 to 12 mm (3/8 inch to 1/2 inch).
Thickness: roughly 1/8 inch.
Coverage: one strand should cover roughly 1.5 square inches.
Material: glass with solid color throughout.
frost proof.
impervious to liquids.
Suitable for indoor and outdoor installation.
Not suitable for floors.
How To Make Mosaic Art
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or mounting, cutting, and grouting tile, please see our page of Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions or our Mosaic Information Guide, which lists instructional pages described by topic. We also post new articles about making mosaics at our How to Mosaic Blog.
Free shipping does not exist. If a mosaic tile retailer is offering “free shipping,” they have inflated their prices so that you still pay for this phony discount. Instead of “free shipping,” we offer Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes, the best shipping value on the Internet. These boxes are cheaper and faster than UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.
HONEST PRICING AT MOSAIC ART SUPPLY
We do not offer “free shipping.” No one does, not really. If you doubt this, simply compare the TOTAL cost of your order. Compare the quality of goods. We don’t inflate our prices to offer fake discounts.
THE CHEAPEST SHIPPING AVAILABLE FOR MOSAIC TILE
The cheapest shipping available for heavy products like mosaic tile is Priority Mail Flat-Rate. They are usually faster than UPS or Fedx ground services, especially when shipping to the West Coast, Alaska, or Hawaii.
Our new software automatically calculates the weight and size of your order and determines the cheapest shipping option for you during checkout. It will also offer alternative shipping options such as UPS Next-Day Air that you can select for rush orders. However, the cheapest option will usually be USPS Flat-Rate Priority Mail shipping.
FLAT-RATE PRIORITY MAIL SHIPPING FOR MOSAIC TILE
Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes cost the following to ship (excluding insurance) to addresses in the US and Puerto Rico. There are special rates for Mexico and Canada. All International flat-rate boxes are limited to 20 lbs, but US and Puerto Rico are not limited by weight. See current international rates at USPS.
Priority Mail Flat-Rate Boxes are the best shipping method and the cheapest.
For customers in the US and Puerto Rico, flat-rate boxes are not limited by weight but by volume. Don’t expect a lot of grout or stepping stone molds to fit. (The 12″ stepping stone molds won’t fit at all.) However, you can fit a lot of tile into these boxes relative to the cost.
The SMALL flat-rate box holds at most:
10 sheets of 3/4″ tile
or 24 sheets of 12mm Morjo tile
or 4 12-ounce bags
or 3 pounds of loose tile
or 3 tools (cutters, nippers, combo)
The SMALL flat-rate box will NOT hold:
More than 5 feet of mesh
Glue
Cutting Oil
Porcelain Tile Nippers
Ceramic and Marble File
Running Pliers
Silver Tip Counter Brush
Mounting Paper
Mounting Grids
Molds
Safety Glasses
Apron
Sponge
Stained Glass
The MEDIUM flat-rate box holds at most:
60 sheets of 3/4″ tile + 4 pounds of loose tile
or 80 sheets of 3/4″ tile + 2 pounds of loose tile
or 60 sheets of 3/4″ tile + 4 tools (cutters, nippers, combo)
or 1 Mosaic Starter Kit + 3 pounds of loose tile
or 24 12-ounce bags
or 14 pounds of loose tile
or 140 sheets of Morjo 12mm tile
or 110 sheets of Morjo 12mm tile + 4 tools (cutters, nippers, combo)
or 60 sheets of Morjo 12mm tile + 6 pounds of loose tile
or 42 half-pound bags of Morjo 12mm tile
or 20 tools (cutters, nippers, combo)
or 2 containers of grout
or 12 bottles of Weldbond 8-ounce
or 20 sheets of stained glass + 4 tools (cutters, nippers, combo)
or SOME partial combinations of the above.
BUT THERE IS A WEIGHT LIMIT OF 20 POUNDS FOR INTERNATIONAL ORDERS.
The LARGE flat-rate box holds at most
144 sheets of 3/4″ tile
or 60 sheets of 3/4″ tile + 1 half-gallon glue + 1 tool (cutters, nippers, combo)
or 1 Mosaic Starter Kit + 12 pounds of loose tile
or 1 Mosaic Starter Kit + 4 pounds of loose tile + 60 sheets of 3/4″ tile
Most artists prefer to choose their own materials, so buying art supplies as a gift can be problematic. However, we offer several options that minimize the stress of choosing.
Gift Certificates
Mosaic Art Supply sells Gift Certificates in amounts of $30, $50 and $100. The certificates can be mailed to you or directly to the recipient. If this is a last-minute gift, we can even email you an electronic copy of the certificate that you can print out at home.
Mosaic Starter Kits
We also have a Mosaic Starter Kit With Compound Nipper that is the perfect way to equip someone new to mosaic with the essential tools needed to work with glass, porcelain and ceramic. Note that our kit is NOT a children’s project kit with materials for making one particular design. Instead, our kit contains the same tools we use in our studio for executing commissioned artwork and is intended to outfit your artist to pursue their own unique design. The kit contains an 8-ounce bottle of Weldbond adhesive and two pounds of sanded grout plus a small selection of glass mosaic tile, which allows your artist to make a simple trivet or mosaic plaque before planning more ambitious projects.
Hint: An ideal gift would be the Mosaic Starter Kit plus a Gift Certificate.
The kit comes in two versions. The kit with the compound tile nipper should be ordered if you think your artist might want to work with stone or porcelain. We have our more economical Mosaic Starter Kit that has a regular tile nipper for artists who only use these harder materials in limited quantities. Both kits contain a mosaic glass cutter.
Our Mosaic Art Starter Kit with Compound Nipper is the same as our regular Mosaic Starter Kit, but it includes the Compound Tile Nipper for hard porcelain and stone.
Mosaic Art Starter Kit includes professional-grade tools plus grout, glue, 300 glass mosaic tiles, and access to our online mosaic instructions.
Mosaic Tile Assortments
Mosaic Tile Assortments are great for giving your artist a sampling of many of the things we sell.
If your order has a deadline, place the order and e-mail us immediately at [email protected] so that we can work with you to ensure your order arrives on time.
Weekend orders cannot ship before Monday.
Most orders ship within 1 to 2 business days. Large or special orders may take longer.
UPS Next Day orders placed after 2pm Eastern Time cannot ship before the following weekday.
UPS Next Day and 2nd Day mean business days, not counting weekend days.
We cannot cancel orders after they ship.
European Union
Information Regarding Directive 2011/83/EU
All products listed on the website have detailed product descriptions provided.
Business information including address is listed at the bottom of each page.
All customer service interactions are handled via e-mail: [email protected]
Delivery to the EU can take multiple weeks and is subject to Customs delays. EU customers are encouraged to e-mail us before ordering for transit time information.
Reimbursement will be made for the original cost of the order, or as applicable, partial cost if only some of the materials are returned.
Pursuant to Article 14(1), the customer is responsible for the price of return shipping.
European Union information concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal
Right of withdrawal
You have the right to withdraw from a sales contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you
acquires, physical possession of the goods.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us by e-mail to [email protected] of your decision to withdraw from the sales contract by an
unequivocal statement in the e-mail.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your e-mail concerning your exercise of the
right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from a sales contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you for that particular order, including the costs of
delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of Priority Mail Express International, or any other type of delivery other than the
least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us, which for almost all international orders is Priority Mail International), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from
the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from the sales contract. We will carry out such
reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly
agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement
You shall send back the goods to Mosaic Art Supply, 2964 Alcove Dr, Scottdale, GA 30079 USA without undue delay and in any
event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to
us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired.
You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods.
You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is
necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
All Customers
When will my order ship?
Mosaic Art Supply, LLC ships all orders from Scottdale, Georgia, which is in the US Eastern Standard Time Zone.
Orders are shipped on weekdays only.
Most orders ship within 1 to 2 business days. Large or special orders may take longer.
We do not ship orders on US postal holidays. For a list of postal holidays please click here.
Orders placed after 4 PM EST cannot be mailed until at least the next business day.
Orders can’t be cancelled after they ship.
When will my order arrive? (United States)
When your order will arrive depends upon which shipping option you choose! If you choose “USPS Ground Advantage” – usually the cheapest option – it should be no surprise that it is also the slowest! As of March 2025, we are seeing USPS Ground Advantage packages take an average of 5 days, if not more. If you have any kind of timeframe, deadline, need-by-date, etc for your project, please e-mail us right now to let us know! You’re not going to want USPS Ground Advantage it will take too long.
For most orders, USPS Priority Mail will be the second-cheapest option. It is also usually the faster than USPS Ground Advantage.
USPS Priority Mail usually delivers within the lower 48 states within 3 or 4 days.
USPS Priority Mail does NOT guarantee a specific delivery date.
UPS Ground is usually the cheapest option for large and bulky items such as 3 litre Weldbond jugs or full rolls of mosaic mesh.
UPS Ground does NOT guarantee a specific gelivery date.
If your address is incorrect in any way (ZIP, street, apt number, etc.), then UPS’s additional fee of $13 for address corrections will be charged to your credit card.
We reserve the right to use UPS Ground for orders containing multiple sheets of stained glass or other products that we determine may get broken in Priority Mail flat-rate boxes.
Can I get a guaranteed delivery date?
If you absolutely need your order by a certain date please e-mail us right now at [email protected] so we can work with you.
UPS offers 2nd-Day Air and Next-Day Air delivery, which you can select during checkout.
UPS 2nd-Day Air and Next-Day Air services refer to business days only, they do NOT include weekends or US federal holidays.
Orders ship only on weekdays (not including postal holidays) from Scottdale, Georgia, and must be placed before 2 PM EST in order to go out on the same business day.
We strongly encourage you to e-mail us as soon as possible at [email protected] so that we can let you know what your options are.
UPS Saturday Delivery is an extra charge and is very expensive. Our website does not quote Saturday Delivery as a shipping option.
When will my order arrive? (Outside of the USA)
As of March 2025, we are seeing 3-4 weeks MINIMUM for ALL international destinations.
We are seeing 4+ weeks for packages even to Canada, which historically was the fastest.
Packages to all other destinations, including the European Union, are likely to take even longer.
Do not order from us if you have a hard deadline and you are outside the USA.
Please remember that your country’s customs agency can delay a package for any reason, and they may elect to charge you duty on the value of the goods.
Can I get a guaranteed delivery date outside of the United States?
No, international customs bureaucracies will take time to inspect your package, and can cause delays.
Priority Mail Express International is the fastest international service we offer.
If you order PMEI we need to have the order before 1 PM EST (13h00) and we need you to e-mail us at [email protected] in order for your order to ship the same day.
Simply copy-and paste the following text then change it to include your order number:
I just placed a Priority Mail Express International order, the order is #XXXXX, please ship as soon as possible.
Can you mail a package outside the USA with a service other than USPS?
No, UPS will charge you a hefty customs brokerage fee when you receive your package.
We don’t have relationships with any other international carriers.
You are responsible for paying your country’s taxes and duties, if applicable.
My package is missing items. What should I do?
Please e-mail us immediately at [email protected] so that we can fix the problem. If you wait until your deadline is near to report the problem, we may not be able to help. We cannot ship replacement items by express shipping methods if you wait to report the problem.
My package never showed up, or it was delivered opened or damaged. What should I do?
Please e-mail us immediately at [email protected] so that we can file a missing package inquiry or a claim with USPS or UPS as soon as possible.
Damaged package claims must be reported to us as soon as possible or else USPS or UPS may deny the claim.
US Postal Insurance does not cover theft of packages after they are delivered.
Please follow the tracking information we email you and make sure you retrieve packages from porches and mailboxes quickly and report problems in a timely manner.
We do not assume liability for thefts occurring at your home.
USPS insurance does not cover theft from your porch, and we cannot reimburse orders stolen after delivery to your address. Ship to your work address if needed to be safe.
United States and Other Countries
Sales and Retail Prices
By placing an order from our website, you agree that:
Mosaic Art Supply, LLC is entitled to keep the calculated retail price displayed with the sale price as long as desired.
Displaying the calculated price is absolutely necessary in this market to avoid artists designing projects over a long time frame (multiple years) being surprised that they may need a quantity that requires a new factory order at the calculated retail price.
You will not seek damages from any perceived or actual violations of any law including but not limited to any limitations on how long a sale price can remain in place along with the calculated retail price.
How can I return an item?
Please send us an e-mail at [email protected] to request a return authorization.
Authorization may be granted if you had ordered samples before ordering large quantities and the return is made within 2 weeks.
Please tell us your order number and tell us what product(s) you’d like to return and the reason for the return.
We can’t refund shipping costs for obvious reasons.
We can’t accept returns if you haven’t e-mailed us first and we have not authorized the return.
We can’t accept returns of broken or damaged items or opened containers of Weldbond, Grout, Thinset, or Cutting Oil.
ATTENTION CONTRACTORS: Do not order large quantities if you are not sure about the products you need.
Please e-mail us at [email protected] to ask about Sample Boards or for help selecting the tiles you need.
Update in Nov 2024: We now cut the boards ourselves with a table saw. There may be minor imperfections on some edges, but every board is suitable as a backer for indoor mosaic art. The new boards no longer have a shiny smooth side for the back. You can choose which side you think looks nicer, and use that one for the back. Mosaic on the side that you don’t think looks as good. We still have a limited quantity of 8 x 10 size with the old glossy backs, but when they run out that will be it.
Our Plywood Mosaic Backer Boards are cut from 1/2-inch cabinet-grade plywood (either maple or birch based on availability) and are suitable for indoor mosaic projects such as plaques and trivets. The edges are unfinished cuts, which can be left as is or painted with a neutral color of acrylic paint, stained with wood stain, etc.
The faces of some boards may have small splinters missing from the sawing process, but these will be covered by the mosaic.
Plywood Mosaic Backer Boards
Material: cabinet-grade plywood (either maple or birch based on availability).
Dimensions: as stated
Tolerance: within 1/32 inch of nominal dimensions.
Thickness: Nominally 1/2 inch, exact is 15/32 of an inch
Suitable for dry indoor use only.
Backers for Mosaic Art Projects
Using Mosaic Backer Boards
The Mosaic Backer Boards are plywood and are meant for indoor use only.
Should You Pre-Seal The Boards?
Ideally, the bare side of the wood should be painted with dilute Weldbond or another PVA adhesive to make sure that the wood doesn’t suck water out of the grout while it is curing. You can dilute the Weldbond 1:1 with water to help it spread more easily on the wood. However, many mosaic artists get enough glue smeared over the face of the wood while they are mounting the tile, and so this step of sealing the wood with dilute glue is not necessary for them.
The important thing to remember about pre-sealing is that you would never want to use paint or wood sealers on anything else (other than a PVA glue) because these other materials are likely to interfere with the glue or delaminate over the years.
Drawing Your Pattern
The pattern for your mosaic can be drawn directly on the wood with an ordinary pencil. You should do this before coating the wood with Weldbond. If you forget, you can draw the pattern on the wood with a Sharpie marker after the dilute Weldbond dries.
Make sure that your tile doesn’t stick out beyond the edge of the wood, which would make it particularly vulnerable to being knocked loose or chipped by random blows over time.
Indoor Vs Outdoor Mosaics
Outdoors
Wood of any type including plywood should NEVER be used for outdoor mosaics and wet mosaics because wood swells and contracts with changes in humidity, which will cause tile to pop off long before the plywood begins to show signs of warping. For outdoor mosaic projects, you must use stone or concrete if you want the mosaic to last for more than a year or two. For wall murals, mount the mosaic directly on a stone or masonry wall or use concrete backer board such as sold for underlaying bathroom tiling. For garden mosaics, use slabs of field stone or concrete stepping stones. Remember to scuff these with a wire brush to remove contaminants, sealers and loose material before mounting the mosaic with thinset mortar.
Indoors
Indoor mosaics not subject to water can be made on plywood to save weight. There is no need to use stone or concrete backer board as the backer or thinset mortar to attach the tiles. Instead, the tiles can be mounted using a white PVA adhesive such as Weldbond and then grouted.
How To Make Mosaic Art
For more advice on designing your mosaic project or mounting, cutting, and grouting tile, please see our page of Mosaic Frequently Asked Questions or our Mosaic Information Guide, which lists instructional pages described by topic. We also post new articles about making mosaics at our How to Mosaic Blog.
Summaries of some of the most important tools and supplies we offer for working with mosaic tile.
The mosaic supplies you need depend on the type of mosaic tile you are using (glass or ceramic or stone) and how you plan to install them. Five minutes of reading can save you five hours of frustration on your mosaic project.
For a complete listing of tweezers, sponges, gloves, dental picks, spatulas, etc., visit our mosaic tools page.
The glass cutter nips off pieces of glass.
Mosaic Glass Cutter
The most important tool for working with glass mosaic tile is the Mosaic Glass Cutter, which is a compression tool like a tile nipper, but the replaceable blades are shaped like wheels.
While a regular tile nipper tends to crush and splinter glass tile, the Mosaic Glass Cutter allows the artist to make cleaner, more precise cuts. (Tile Nippers were made for ceramic materials.) With proper use, the wheel-shaped blades stay sharp and effective for hundreds and hundreds of hours of use.
An amazing product. Weldbond is a water-based adhesive that looks and handles just like plain white glue yet cures stronger than many of the smelly solvent-based glues. The manufacturer’s brochure calls Weldbond “the most versatile, non-toxic, non-flammable adhesive on the North American market.” We don’t think this is an exaggeration. Weldbond is probably the most-used adhesive among mosaic artists with no close second. It bonds to hundreds of different materials and is very water-resistant once it dries.
The new 160ml bottle (pictured) is light weight and easy to handle, but we also sell a 420ml bottle and 3 litre jug. We recommend using the jug to refill one of the smaller bottles. Easy clean-up with soap and water.
Note that Weldbond is very water resistant but not water proof. Artists use Weldbond for back-splashes and vertical surfaces where water can drain off, but you shouldn’t use it for shower floors or pools or fountains. For outdoor and wet mosaics, use thinset mortar instead of adhesives.
Sanded grout. Just add water.
Grout
Our grout is a traditional portland-cement grout that includes sand. Sand is needed for strength when the gaps between tiles are 1/8″ or greater, but sanded grout can also be used when the gaps are smaller. All of the mosaics at the Riverson gallery were made with sanded grout.
Choosing A Grout Color
Grout can totally change the look of a mosaic, and it is possible to ruin a mosaic with the wrong color grout. To make the individual tiles stand out visually, you have to choose a grout color that CONTRASTS the colors of the tiles. Avoid choices like grey grout with grey tile. In my experience, a grout with some color almost always looks better than white grout.
How Much Grout Do I Need?
The amount needed depends as much on the gaps between the tiles as it does the total area. If your gaps are the standard 1/16 inch, then you will probably use less than 1 lb. of grout per square foot. If you have thick tile with large gaps, you could use over 1.5 lb. Keep in mind that you have to budget extra for all of the wasted grout that falls off the sides of the mosaic.
Fiberglass Mesh
Fiberglass mesh can be used for laying down tile in advance for rapid installation.
Ceramic and Marble File
Ceramic and marble file for smoothing and shaping sharp edges formed by cutting tile.
Grouting Bags
Grouting Bags are for dispensing grout and thinset neatly for detailed work.
Compound Tile Nipper
Compound Tile Nipper for cutting extremely hard tile, porcelain, and stone.
Mosaics are sometimes laid up on a thin and flexible fiberglass mesh for rapid installation. Tiles are glued to the mesh using a white PVA adhesive such as the Weldbond brand adhesive we sell. Once the mosaic is assembled on the mesh, the mosaic artwork can be pressed into thinset mortar or adhesive and mounted to the surface to be covered.
Our mesh is sold in uncut lengths like fabric in linear feet. The roll is 38 inches wide, so each linear foot actually gives you 3 square feet of mesh.
When Not To Use Mesh
If your mosaic will be in a pool or shower floor, you may want to avoid mesh because it involves glue to attach the tile to the mesh. For these “wet” mosaics, you lay them up face down on mounting paper using a temporary glue such as Elmer’s School Glue in what is called the “reverse method” because you glue the tiles upside down on paper. These finished sheets are pressed into thinset mortar, which is allowed to harden overnight, and the next day the paper is misted and removed. Note that this is different from how fiberglass mesh is used, which goes underneath the tile and is permanent. Most people prefer mesh to paper because the “reverse method” of using paper means that you have to lay out your mosaic upside down.
When You Can Use Mesh
Note that mesh and glue CAN be used on kitchen and bathroom back-splashes and other vertical surfaces where water does not pool. You CAN use mesh for dry indoor floors, walls, etc. You CAN use mesh for mosaic tables and plaques, but why would you? Sometimes it makes sense to draw your pattern on the surface to be mosaiced and simply start gluing tile to it.
Mosaic Butterfly by Caroline Lahman
Caroline laid this butterfly mosaic up on fiberglass mesh. It is ready to be installed. In this instance, the artist glued the background tile around the butterfly on the same mesh. However, if she wasn’t doing that sort of background she could have trimmed away the surrounding mesh and used the mosaic butterfly as an insert into a space in existing tiling.
Caroline’s completed butterfly after installation.
Tips for using mosaic tile mesh:
Tape a piece of clear plastic or kitchen wrap over the top of your pattern so that you don’t accidentally glue the mosaic tile mesh to the pattern or work table.
It may be easier to work in small sections, such as 1 ft x 1 ft, than to lay the entire mosaic on one piece of mesh
Some people lay the mosaic on one large sheet of mesh, and then cut this sheet with a box cutter to make it easier to mount to the wall.
Picking the correct adhesive or glue is a very important decision when starting a mosaic, possibly the most important. If you choose the wrong one, your mosaic will not last as long as it should.
The best way to make a decision is to understand the different choices of adhesives and which ones works better with certain surfaces and tesserae. The primary deciding factor will be where the mosaic will live once it is complete: indoors or outdoors.
Indoor mosaic glue
Most mosaics intended for indoor use such as this mirror can be made using Weldbond and sanded grout.
Weldbond Adhesive 160ml (5.4oz) the best mosaic glue made.
Weldbond is the best. It’s a water based PVA glue, has no fumes, dries clear and water resistant, bonds to most any surface, is non-toxic and cleans up easily. We’ve extensively tested it, which you can read about here. However, I prefer to use thinset bonding mortar for floors. It gives a more stable and durable walking surface and better resists water seepage when cleaning the floors.
Outdoor mosaic glue
Thinset is the best adhesive for outdoor mosaics such as this garden stone.
In choosing adhesive for outdoor mosaics, it’s probably best to avoid adhesives altogether and use thinset mortar (a sticky concrete with added polymers) instead. To use thinset, you should read and follow the instructions on the package for mixing, handling and disposal. We also have a guide to using thinset. In brief, thinset is like grout and other concrete products. This means that the best place to mix them up is outside, and you should wear a dust mask if have trouble mixing it up without creating a lot of dust. (Our artists merely stand upwind and mist it with a spray bottle until they get it mixed up.)
I usually mix up about 1 or 2 pounds at a time and smear it on the wall with a small trowel or putty knife. I spread it out to about 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick and press my mixed materials directly into the concrete. I wear rubber examination gloves and keep a damp rag so I can wipe away any excess that squeezes up to the face of the tiles. If you keep the concrete in the bucket covered so that it doesn’t dry out, then it should stay workable for several hours. I made the mosaic columns at the gallery using thinset mortar in this way. I always keep a small bucket with a little water and rag to clean my hands from time to time and a dry rag in my lap.
Marbles and round stones can be a challenge. Unless they are being pressed into cement face-up on a horizontal surface like stepping stones, the right adhesive choice is important. You may be able to use a thick cosntruction adhesive for this purpose, though it isn’t recommended to do this for outdoor mosaics. It is probably best to use thinset in these cases.
Understanding Different Types of Mosaic Adhesives
PVA Glues
PVA glues like Welbond are water soluble adhesives that will clean up with water. PVA glues should not be used on any outdoor project. Even if it isn’t exposed to rain, humidity can also loosen the bond. When working in the indirect method, PVA glue can be used to adhere tiles to fiberglass mesh. It also bonds well with any type of tile and wooden or acrylic surfaces. Again, Weldbond is the best and it dries clear.
Thinset Mortar
Thinset is a sticky cement which can be messy to work with, but it is necessary for outdoor projects if you want them to hold up. It can be found at any hardware store, and is often only sold in large quantities. The best surfaces for thinset are porous, such as cement, cement backerboard, and wood and terracotta. To use with non-porous surfaces like glass, the thinset has to be mixed with admixes instead of water, which are either latex or acrylic liquids that make the thinset sticky. Premixed thinset is not as good as dry mix.
Stained glass was glued with clear silicone to square pieces of clear glass to make these sun catchers.Silicone
Silicone is used most often on glass surfaces because it comes in transparent varieties. It usually comes in a caulking tube and can take some time to get used to. It is difficult to remove and if you apply too much, it will come up between the tiles and make grouting more difficult and incomplete. When used under larger sheets, the areas towards the inside may never cure completely.
Epoxy
Epoxy is used on metal surfaces, but works on wood and glass also. It can hold up outdoors in ideal conditions, but it is very difficult to use and has a noxious odor. Once it is mixed, it must be used quickly. But when it is used successfully and correctly, it is a very strong adhesive and it dries clear.
Other Glues
In speaking with other mosaic artists, you will likely find that everyone has their own preferences for adhesives and that they are used in different ways from artist to artist. Understanding the characteristics of each type of adhesive will help you in finding the best solution for you in your various projects. When working with a new glue, be sure it is what you need for your project. Is it for interior or exterior, is it toxic, and will it work with your surface? Other than Welbond, the most popular brands for mosaics are Liquid Nails, MacGlue, and Gorilla Glue. Once you’ve experimented with several types of adhesives, you will get a feel for what you prefer and what works best.
NOTE
Always clean up excess glue before you grout. After water soluble glue has dried for a day or two, I come back and mist the mosaic with water. After about 10 minutes, any traces of glue that are sticking up on the sides of the tile will start to turn white. I then take a razor knife like a box cutter or exacto knife and trim away the excess glue. This cleaning step ensures that there will be no glue sticking up and not covered by grout.
