glass mosaic tile art studio of william j enslen jr
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| Mosaic Floor...You Can Mosaic Anything...Even a Floor! Page 4 |
The stone mosaic is installed but not yet grouted. I'm prepping to grout by putting blue painters tape on the wall. I use painters tape for all kinds of things. In this case, I installed the tape at the
same height as the mosaic stone, not down into the gap. This allows me to remove the tape while the grout is still wet without disturbing the grout. It also results in a nice clean line along the wall
without getting messy grout all over it. You probably noticed that the stone doesn't exactly match the stone on the wall. The primary reason for not exactly matching the stone on the wall is that
we decided the stone on the hearth should be a better match against the porcelain floor than against the stone on the wall. We figured everything would flow good enough once we finished and
all the plants and doodads were put back on the hearth.
same height as the mosaic stone, not down into the gap. This allows me to remove the tape while the grout is still wet without disturbing the grout. It also results in a nice clean line along the wall
without getting messy grout all over it. You probably noticed that the stone doesn't exactly match the stone on the wall. The primary reason for not exactly matching the stone on the wall is that
we decided the stone on the hearth should be a better match against the porcelain floor than against the stone on the wall. We figured everything would flow good enough once we finished and
all the plants and doodads were put back on the hearth.
Here are a couple of close-ups so you an see the angles better. I don't know why the color in one picture looks so different than in the other. I took these pictures only seconds apart, so the
lighting is the same, and I didn't change any camera settings. Maybe it's my cheap camera. It's probably operator error. Oh, well.... Notice how I tape wherever I think I might slop grout. I hate
slopping grout where I don't want it because I hate having to clean it up. So, I just tape it off and not worry about it.
You'll see the finished hearth at the end, but now let's get back to the floor. You might be interested in seeing if I messed up the holes for the floor outlets. If you have a large room, such as
a great room, you probably know what I'm talking about. Outlets are in the floor so, when you arrange your furniture, you have a place to plug in your lights and other electric devices (e.g., wireless
phone, or cell phone charger). Let's take a look.
lighting is the same, and I didn't change any camera settings. Maybe it's my cheap camera. It's probably operator error. Oh, well.... Notice how I tape wherever I think I might slop grout. I hate
slopping grout where I don't want it because I hate having to clean it up. So, I just tape it off and not worry about it.
You'll see the finished hearth at the end, but now let's get back to the floor. You might be interested in seeing if I messed up the holes for the floor outlets. If you have a large room, such as
a great room, you probably know what I'm talking about. Outlets are in the floor so, when you arrange your furniture, you have a place to plug in your lights and other electric devices (e.g., wireless
phone, or cell phone charger). Let's take a look.
See the floor outlet in the upper-right corner of the picture, by the orange level on the floor. The other floor outlet is way over to the left out of the picture. (By the way, when done for the day,
I put little pieces of blue tape on the last row we laid so the next time we tile, I know which tiles I can step on versus which tiles I can't.) A close-up of the outlet shows it's basically a hole in the
concrete with a cover plate that slides down over it. They install a piece of gray PVC pipe before pouring the concrete slab and run the wire to it through a little hole in the bottom-side of the pipe.
Then they pour the concrete. When the concrete hardens, they chop off the PVC pipe level to the concrete (well, it's supposed to be level). Then, they install the outlet by connecting the wires,
and then install the outlet to the cover plate. The picture shows two cover plates, one is up-side down and the other is right-side up. I put both of them in the picture so you can see both sides of
the cover plate. See the gray ring around the cover plate that's up-side down? That ring provides a tight fit when you push down on the cover plate to install it down into the hole. It's tight
enough to provide enough friction so you don't yank the cover plate out of the hole when you unplug your electrical devices. By the way, all that red stuff is for only one small crack that's less than
1/8-inch wide. Because we're using 18-inch tile, I made a wide swath to ensure every bit of the tiles over the crack are installed over the red stuff.
These are inexpensive plastic cover plates. They make fancier ones made of brass, but they cost $50; whereas, these plastic ones cost only $15. We were torn between the brass or plastic and we
eventually decided on the cheap plastic because our two floor outlets are out of sight the way we arrange our furniture. If we ever re-arrange the furniture, I can easily replace the plastic with the
fancier brass. To remove the cover plate, first turn OFF the breaker that supplies power to the outlet. Ensure there's no power by plugging in an electrical device to see if it works (e.g., a lamp).
Using a fairly wide regular flat-tip (or "slotted") screwdriver, simply pry up the cover plate. If you don't know anything about electricity and are scared to wire an outlet, don't fret. Before you
disconnect any wires, simply wrap some blue tape around each wire and label where it goes. If there's nothing wrong with the outlet, then you might not have to re-wire anything. After you have
the outlet attached to the cover plate (usually with two small screws), position the cover plate over the hole and jam all the wires down into the hole as far as you can jam them. With the cover
plate centered over the hole, then simply push the cover plate into the PVC pipe. Push it all the way down as far as it'll go, which depends on whatever covers your floor (e.g., carpet, tile, wood).
I put little pieces of blue tape on the last row we laid so the next time we tile, I know which tiles I can step on versus which tiles I can't.) A close-up of the outlet shows it's basically a hole in the
concrete with a cover plate that slides down over it. They install a piece of gray PVC pipe before pouring the concrete slab and run the wire to it through a little hole in the bottom-side of the pipe.
Then they pour the concrete. When the concrete hardens, they chop off the PVC pipe level to the concrete (well, it's supposed to be level). Then, they install the outlet by connecting the wires,
and then install the outlet to the cover plate. The picture shows two cover plates, one is up-side down and the other is right-side up. I put both of them in the picture so you can see both sides of
the cover plate. See the gray ring around the cover plate that's up-side down? That ring provides a tight fit when you push down on the cover plate to install it down into the hole. It's tight
enough to provide enough friction so you don't yank the cover plate out of the hole when you unplug your electrical devices. By the way, all that red stuff is for only one small crack that's less than
1/8-inch wide. Because we're using 18-inch tile, I made a wide swath to ensure every bit of the tiles over the crack are installed over the red stuff.
These are inexpensive plastic cover plates. They make fancier ones made of brass, but they cost $50; whereas, these plastic ones cost only $15. We were torn between the brass or plastic and we
eventually decided on the cheap plastic because our two floor outlets are out of sight the way we arrange our furniture. If we ever re-arrange the furniture, I can easily replace the plastic with the
fancier brass. To remove the cover plate, first turn OFF the breaker that supplies power to the outlet. Ensure there's no power by plugging in an electrical device to see if it works (e.g., a lamp).
Using a fairly wide regular flat-tip (or "slotted") screwdriver, simply pry up the cover plate. If you don't know anything about electricity and are scared to wire an outlet, don't fret. Before you
disconnect any wires, simply wrap some blue tape around each wire and label where it goes. If there's nothing wrong with the outlet, then you might not have to re-wire anything. After you have
the outlet attached to the cover plate (usually with two small screws), position the cover plate over the hole and jam all the wires down into the hole as far as you can jam them. With the cover
plate centered over the hole, then simply push the cover plate into the PVC pipe. Push it all the way down as far as it'll go, which depends on whatever covers your floor (e.g., carpet, tile, wood).
Notice how the concrete has been chipped away around the hole. I wasn't concerned about the gray plastic PVC pipe not being flush with the concrete because the tile won't rest on the pipe
(see the jagged edges of the pipe). Instead of sawing the pipe flush, they just lopped it off, probably banging the heck out of it causing it to break off. The tile will rest on the concrete around the
pipe, and the top of the tile will be higher than the edge of the pipe. Since the tile will rest on the concrete, I had to remove the little uneven imperfections in the concrete that formed when they
poured it. (Good grief, where's "Holmes on Homes" when you need him?) Those little "mounds" didn't matter with the carpet because the carpet is so flexible. Tile isn't flexible, so it won't lay flat
if there's a "mound" in the concrete. Using my 4-lb hammer and cold chisel, I carefully chiseled away the concrete ensuring not to bang and break the plastic pipe. DON'T forget to wear protective
goggles! I didn't care how far I dug into the concrete because I planned to fill it in and smooth it with thinset just before laying the tile. When chiseling, my main concern was not to break the
plastic pipe. You'll see the finished tile and installed cover plate at the end, so let's move on. I'd like to show you our new front door. We love it so much. The glass is so beautiful.
(see the jagged edges of the pipe). Instead of sawing the pipe flush, they just lopped it off, probably banging the heck out of it causing it to break off. The tile will rest on the concrete around the
pipe, and the top of the tile will be higher than the edge of the pipe. Since the tile will rest on the concrete, I had to remove the little uneven imperfections in the concrete that formed when they
poured it. (Good grief, where's "Holmes on Homes" when you need him?) Those little "mounds" didn't matter with the carpet because the carpet is so flexible. Tile isn't flexible, so it won't lay flat
if there's a "mound" in the concrete. Using my 4-lb hammer and cold chisel, I carefully chiseled away the concrete ensuring not to bang and break the plastic pipe. DON'T forget to wear protective
goggles! I didn't care how far I dug into the concrete because I planned to fill it in and smooth it with thinset just before laying the tile. When chiseling, my main concern was not to break the
plastic pipe. You'll see the finished tile and installed cover plate at the end, so let's move on. I'd like to show you our new front door. We love it so much. The glass is so beautiful.
Here it is! We absolutely love it. My favorite part about it is the glass work. Please excuse my lousy photography skills, I couldn't get a decent picture that shows off the glass. The best I could do
was take a picture at night, but the different lighting makes the colors look lousy and you still can't see the beauty of the glass. Anyway, let me point out a couple of things we love about it. The
trim work makes it look so nice. Notice the keystone, blocks, and plenth blocks. Those simple things add so much to the look. Notice that we painted the door wall darker than the rest of the
room. The room is Behr's Dolphin Fin gray, while the door wall is three shades darker. The darker color accents that wall and makes the trim jump out at you. We also love the handle because it's
not brass. We're tired of brass! LOL. The coat closet still has a round brass knob, but I'll change it someday to match the door handle, which is a lever instead of a knob. Actually, the best part
about the door is something that you'll never see or even realize. The jam is all plastic instead of wood. Exterior doors with wood jams are notorious down here in Florida for rotting in 5-to-10 years.
This is the third, and hopefully last, door we'll have in this house.
Now, finally, let's take a look at the finished product! (Please go to the next page.)
was take a picture at night, but the different lighting makes the colors look lousy and you still can't see the beauty of the glass. Anyway, let me point out a couple of things we love about it. The
trim work makes it look so nice. Notice the keystone, blocks, and plenth blocks. Those simple things add so much to the look. Notice that we painted the door wall darker than the rest of the
room. The room is Behr's Dolphin Fin gray, while the door wall is three shades darker. The darker color accents that wall and makes the trim jump out at you. We also love the handle because it's
not brass. We're tired of brass! LOL. The coat closet still has a round brass knob, but I'll change it someday to match the door handle, which is a lever instead of a knob. Actually, the best part
about the door is something that you'll never see or even realize. The jam is all plastic instead of wood. Exterior doors with wood jams are notorious down here in Florida for rotting in 5-to-10 years.
This is the third, and hopefully last, door we'll have in this house.
Now, finally, let's take a look at the finished product! (Please go to the next page.)
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