Edward Lowe contributes the second article in a four part series which deals with tiling swimming pools with glass mosaics. Edward formerly occupied the position of technical manager at Bisazza. To download a free copy of this article and parts 3, and 4 as they become available register as a member of
www.infotile.com.au. Membership is free.
In this issue we will be covering how to tile the waterline tile band, skimmer boxes, walls, and how to bond the internal corners of the pool. With a proven commitment to providing comprehensive installation advice and having set the bar for training in advanced glass mosaic installation techniques, special thanks go to Bisazza Australia Pty Limited for kindly donating the materials and location necessary to document these aspects of tiling a swimming pool in a controlled environment. For this demonstration we have used premium quality white adhesive, 20x20mm mesh backed mosaic and a coloured epoxy grout.
In the module shown in image 1 the coping is rolled to simulate a wet edge coping abutting a strip drain. The rolled edge could similarly be a feature on steps, seats or other external feature corners of a pool. For demonstration purposes the module also has two skimmer boxes. When mesh backed mosaics are laid over a rolled edge the mosaic joints become larger than on a flat sheet. To ensure the joints remain consistent with the joint size on a flat sheet, there is a method which can be employed to prepare the sheets before being laid. The advantage of preparing the sheets before being laid is that the mosaics will require less adjustment time in the wet adhesive, minimizing the risk of breaking the initial adhesive bond, the alignment of mosaic strips on the rolled edge will also be more consistent. To achieve this, the mosaic sheets are first laid over the rolled edge to identify the joints which have opened up.
In this instance the joints which open up, are joints 5, 6 and 7. Lay the mosaic sheet on a clean flat surface and clean the mosaic face with a soft cloth. Clear packing tape is stuck over the mosaics of joints 5,6,7 and pushed flat with a soft cloth to ensure the tape has stuck to the mosaics. Using a cloth avoids the potential of cutting oneself should an individual mosaic be chipped or broken. The tape is trimmed of overlap from each end, turned over, and the mesh behind joints 5,6,7 is cut with a Stanley knife. By doing this we have transferred the mosaic mounting method from the back of the mosaics to the face on joints 5,6,7 and these joints will not now open up when laid over the rolled edge. Image 2 shows two mosaic sheets laid over the rolled edge. The sheet on the left is a standard sheet and the sheet on the right has had the joints taped and the mesh cut. Notice the difference in sheet depth on the wall.
A prepared sheet, as will be laid, can now be used as a gauge to set out for laying the waterline tile band. Whether the pool has a rolled edge or traditional coping, the first task is to lay one row of sheets around the whole pool. This is called the waterline band because the water level of the pool when in service will sit approximately halfway down this sheet, aka 'the waterline'. This is the only sheet in the pool which will also be partly out of water and therefore is arguably the most important row of mosaics to be laid in the pool.
