Description
XPS Foam-Core Mosaic Backer Board is 1/2-inch foam core backer that has been hand-cut to size. Compare to “wedi” brand building board. Dimensions can vary by approximately 1/16-inch. The edges are unfinished cuts, which can be painted with a neutral color of acrylic paint our enclosed by a frame, such as can be made with miter-cut wooden molding.
This material is an expanded polystyrene (XPS) foam laminated front and back with a fibreglass mesh and a very thin layer of polymer-modified cement.
XPS Foam-Core Mosaic Backer Board
- Material: polystyrene foam laminated with fibreglass mesh and cement
- Dimensions: as stated
- Tolerance: within 1/16 inch of nominal dimensions.
- Thickness: Approximately 1/2 inch, but has texture from the mesh
Backers for Mosaic Art Projects
Using XPS Foam Core Mosaic Backer Board
May irritate skin; wear tiling gloves while handling if you have sensitive skin.
This material is has been rated for use on walls in wet locations such as showers. It should NOT be used in permanently-submerged installations such as pools or bird baths. It should NOT be used for floor-mounted mosaics. Not for commercial installations. We would recommend the smaller cut pieces we sell to be used as plaques for mosaic wall art, or for a light-duty installation like the inset top of a small decorative end table. The main advantages this material has over plywood backers is the lighter weight, and suitability for use in humid environments.
Make sure that your tile doesn’t stick out beyond the edge of the backer, which would make it particularly vulnerable to being knocked loose or chipped by random blows over time.
Indoor Vs Outdoor Mosaics
Outdoors
This material should NOT be used as a base for mosaic stepping stones. It should only be used for wall art or very light-duty applications.
Indoors
Indoor wall-art mosaics can be made using this material instead of plywood to save weight. For dry indoor installations, the tiles can be mounted using a white PVA adhesive such as Weldbond and then grouted. For humid locations or outdoors you should use thinset to adhere tiles to the board.
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.
