mosaic tiles on outside wall

[doug]

Hello,

I have a section of plywood below a frosted window (beside our front door) which I'm interested in tiling on top of. I'd like to do a nice design with various pieces of broken tile. I've done a fair bit of floor and wall tiling inside the house but I have a couple of questions about this new project. First, what kind of mortar/mastic/whatever should I use (it is an outside wall but it is protected from direct rain). Secondly, is it even possible to tile a design on an existing vertical wall with small tiles without them moving and falling?

thanks doug

[Jeff Cochran]

Assuming the plywood is solidly affixed (no flexing) you can use a standard cement backer board and mortar mix. Seal the grout, caulk between dissimilar elements (tile, siding, window sill, etc.)

Grab a book on mosaics, there are a number of methods for working with wall panels. A Kraft paper/white glue method works well, assemble the piece on a table, upside down on Kraft paper, using standard white glue. Mortar the entire assembly into place, then wash the Kraft paper and glue off, then grout. On larger pieces I prefer to use the paper/glue with tiles face up, then cover the entire piece from the front with a clear adhesive shelf liner. Cut the piece into manageable sections, soak off the paper/glue, then mortar into place and remove the shelf liner, grout and seal.

If it's an abstract piece, you can mortar each piece in place n the wall, but that's harder to change your mind on later. :)

Maybe start at mosaictiles.com and do some more Googling for other sites.

Jeff