Author Topic: Glass Tile  (Read 1809 times)

wildbeast

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Glass Tile
« on: April 02, 2018, 04:30:02 PM »
Does anyone have experience installing glass tile as a backsplash? 

I'm wondering if it's a simple material to work with or if safety would be an issue.  And if the tools needed would be expensive/hard to find for the average diyer. 

We have no tiling experience at all, though dh is pretty handy.  Our kitchen is kind of dark, and I've been thinking that the light reflectiveness of the glass would be a plus.  But if it's hard to work with, or dangerous, then I'll just go with regular tile. 

nereo

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2018, 06:23:55 PM »
Does anyone have experience installing glass tile as a backsplash? 

I'm wondering if it's a simple material to work with or if safety would be an issue.  And if the tools needed would be expensive/hard to find for the average diyer. 

We have no tiling experience at all, though dh is pretty handy.  Our kitchen is kind of dark, and I've been thinking that the light reflectiveness of the glass would be a plus.  But if it's hard to work with, or dangerous, then I'll just go with regular tile.

If you have ever tiled before it's pretty easy to do.  Many (most?) of the glass tile sold today are paper-backed, which is good because it helps hide any imperfections with the thin-set.
In terms of tools, I found a simple snap-cutter works best (follow link) - just score it once, then use the 'breaker bar' to snap the tile clean across the score line.  For me it snapped perfectly about 85% of the time, so you'll want a few extra tiles for when it doesn't snap exactly right.
Also, use WHITE modified thin-set.

If the tiles are very long and skinny (e.g. 0.5" x 4") it's damn near impossible to score and snap it along its long axis, so plan accordingly.  You can use a diamond blade but it dulls the edge.

john Bridge is a great forum for all things tile - just be aware that the members there are super-fastidious.  Tiling is great for people willing to take the time to make sure everything lines up, and spend 2x the time laying stuff out (before you apply thin-set).

g'luck.

wildbeast

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2018, 07:05:33 PM »
Thanks @nereo.  If you were doing it for the first time and had a choice between the mosaic sheets and the 3"x6" subway tiles, would you have a preference, either for ease of install or looks?

A second question for anyone who has a glass tile backsplash:  How do you like it for practicality?  I like the look a lot, but am wondering how it holds up in a kitchen that gets daily use.  Have you noticed if it shows more dirt/stains/splatters than regular tile?

I learned after the fact how much work it is to keep stainless steel appliances looking clean and I'm wondering if a glass tile backsplash falls in the same category. 

nereo

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2018, 07:37:16 PM »
Funny you shuold mention those two tiles - i've got white subway tile as my kitchen backsplash and a mosaic of glass tiles behind the bathroom sink.

I'd say the glass tiles were slightly harder to put up, but only barely, and mostly because I occasionally snapped a glass tile off line and had to replace it with a different one (which meant carefully placing spaces to make sure the grout lines all lined up.  I cut the subway tile with a wet tile saw and had no such issues.  That said the wet tile saw cost about 5x what the manual snap cutter did.

As for cleaning - yeah, the glass tile shows toothpaste and water stains.  I wipe it down with the same vinegar+water solution I use on the mirrors and sink.  Thankfully glass wipes off really easily so I seldom need to do more than spray and wipe.  White subway tile has its own quirks - splatters from tomato sauce (or anything else) also really show up, so it, too, needs to be wiped frequently.  If hiding stains is your thing, you might want to chose a tile has a surface texture and pattern.  Anything that is either clean-white or glass will show spots.
Stainless (especialy glossy) is much worse.

Here's a tip a pro told me - if you want to think about what's easy to clean and/or hides dirt, pay attention to what is used in commerical spaces that get a lot of traffic.

wildbeast

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2018, 09:25:51 PM »
Thanks for the reply.  I guess they each have their own challenge, either in detail work or cost.  Have you done any glass in the subway tile size?  That seems to be really popular right now, although in the glass I like the mosaic iridescent ones the best.     

I'll probably do a blue/green, or aqua, color on the tile and use a bone/sand grout so that stains will be less noticeable.  I've got white cabinets and I like the bright pop of color. 

That's a good pro tip!  I'm going to start looking around.  :)   

Dicey

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2018, 09:38:35 PM »
We put it in my old house before we sold it. Oh, I hated to sell it once we did all the upgrades needed to sell! Ours were mosaic, with some iridescent tiles mixed in. DH installed it. I just nudged him and he says to make sure it has a backing, it's far more forgiving.

We look at open houses all the time. I also used to be in the flooring business and lots of my accounts carried tile. It's important to think about how easy it will be to clean. The more texture, the more places for grease and grime to land and stick. Plus, the more erose the surface, the more it's going to chew up whatever you use to clean it.

nereo

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2018, 05:03:49 AM »
...Plus, the more erose the surface, the more it's going to chew up whatever you use to clean it.

Excellent word! Had to loook that one up...
+1 to what Dicey said.  very smooth tiles are easy to wipe off. Tiles that are a single light color show dirt and splatter really well (but look oh-so-crisp when clean). 

One more piece of advice - seal your grout!!  Its always listed as an 'optional' step, but IMO it's optional like rolling up your windows during a rainstorm.

SmokeySnow

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Re: Glass Tile
« Reply #7 on: April 09, 2018, 01:23:53 AM »
I've installed both glass tile as accent pieces and glass mosaic tile as a backsplash in a few houses. I didn't have much luck scoring & snapping pieces without some unsightly (albeit small) chips in the glass. A wet saw worked much better, and I had better results (less chipping) when I used painters tape instead of the grease pen I use on regular ceramic tiles. It also helped to move those glass tiles quickly through the wet saw to reduce chipping. You will have some waste, but it should come out nice!