How to Lay Mosaic Floor Tiles Directly on Wet Cement
Mosaic tiling can provide an inexpensive accent to your home or garden by adding a splash of color to your floors. You may even be able to use tiles from previous home renovation projects, further reducing the cost of making your mosaic. Tiles can be set directly into wet cement, which acts as both the adhesive securing the tiles to the floor and the grout that fills the gaps between tiles. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Broken tile pieces
- Cement
- Water
- Bucket
- Mixing stick
- Rubber gloves
- Trowel
- Sponge
Instructions
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Lay out your tiles on the floor in the space you plan to tile to plan your design. Keep in mind the spacing between tiles and color coordination when you design your mosaic. Take a photo of the design so that you can refer to it when you lay the tiles into cement. Then remove tiles.
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Mix cement and water in a bucket according to instructions found on the cement package. Use a sturdy mixing stick such as can be found at your local hardware store and protect yourself by wearing rubber gloves.
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Spread a thin layer of wet cement with your trowel on a patch of floor no larger than one foot by one foot. The smaller the space over which you spread your cement the less likely it is that the cement will dry before you place your tiles.
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Press tiles firmly into the wet cement in the pattern you designed. Lay the tiles evenly and press them deep enough into the cement so that there are no raised edges to trip on. Continue to lay tiles until you have filled the area covered by the wet cement.
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Wipe excess cement from the surface of the tiles.
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Repeat the steps, working your way out from the original patch of tile until you have covered the entire space you wish to mosaic.
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Allow at least 24 hours for the cement to dry fully before placing objects on or walking on your mosaic floor tiles.
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Tips & Warnings
Rubber gloves should be worn at all times to protect your skin from contact with the wet cement.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit mosaic image by Stanisa Martinovic from Fotolia.com
