Heavy tile nightmare

[Uzbek]

I've got some natural stone mosaic tiles from Homebase. Tried to put them on the wall but they slide out of position before the adhesive dries cos they're so heavy. Any ideas/ advice on what to do?

 

[Diyisfun]

Are they wall or floor tiles?
If you put a batten at your start point & work up from there using spacers, you should be ok.

 

[Uzbek]

They are definitely wall tiles. I'm tiling off a worktop, so no batten required. The first row is OK, but go any higher and the slump starts. As the tiles are mosiac on a mesh backing, using spacers between sheets doesn't seem to be much of an option - the weight of tiles on top just pushes the whole lot down.

 

[Diyisfun]

I suppose you could put a panel pin at the top of each tile in the mesh & then remove it when adhesive is dry

 

[Uzbek]

Yup - tried that one too! As the tile slides, the mesh hangs off the pins and so the tiles distort. Told you it was a nigthmare! Thanks for the ideas though...

 

[Vladimir]

3 options really:

1) Try to get a better non-slip adhesive if possible.

2) Get a lorry-load of spacers and some light nails and put either a spacer or a nail under EVERY little tile on the mesh. Time consuming but not too bad if a small area.

3) Duct Tape across the tiles wil stop the individual bits from slipping

V

 

[Jasonb]

If you are using a combined adhesive & grout, it will bot have the grab required for mosaics.

Go to a decent tile shop and buy a bag of powdered BAL mosaic fix, this also has the advantage of drying a bright white so if any oozes through the gaps it won't show when grouted. You should also be using a 4mm notched mosaic trowel, any larger and you will get a messy job.

Jason