| MORTAR: Lightstreams Glass Tiles are designed to be installed using a WHITE latex-modified thin-set mortar appropriate for the substrate. The following mortars have been tested with our glass tiles, proven to exceed ANSI standards for bond strength for impervious tiles, and are the ONLY mortars we currently recommend for the installation of our glass tiles. Furthermore, it is imperative that the manufacturers' recommendations on substrate and installation be carefully followed. 1. Custom Building Product MegaLite Mortar in WHITE 2. TEC Superflex Mortar in WHITE 3. Mapei GraniRapid Mortar in WHITE GROUT: Please use Laticrete Spectra-LOCK epoxy grout or Custom Building Products' Polyblend sanded grout and use caution against scratching any smooth surfaced glass -- particularly when using sanded grouts. Refer to the grout manufacturers for instructions in using their products. Please use a minimum 1/8" grout spacing between Lightstreams Glass Tiles. For grout color suggestions , please see our "Grout Color Suggestions" page. SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS
Refer to the 2006 TCA Handbook for Ceramic Tile Installation, with focus on the section for Special Installation Guidelines for Glass Tiles regarding expansion joints, substrates, and setting materials. COLOR: Because Lightstreams Glass Tiles are transparent, ALWAYS use one of the above recommended WHITE thin-set mortars. These mortars have been found to dry rather uniformly and as such, are recommended for their visual quality as well as their mechanical adherence. TEXTURE: Because Lightstreams Glass Tiles are transparent, trowel notches can show through. Therefore, smooth notches in the uniform setting bed with the FLAT edge of the trowel and ALWAYS back-butter individual tiles COMPLETELY and EVENLY using the FLAT edge of the trowel. The tiles must be clean and dry before back-buttering to avoid any water stains that could occur on the surface. GROUT AND MORTAR RESIDUE: Like any rough surfaced tile, the textured surface of the Renaissance Collection glass tiles can be very difficult to clean if mortar and grout are allowed to fully cure on the surface. Make sure to pay particular attention to the clean-up of the grout on the textured iridescent surfaces. Clean glass tiles with a non-abrasive cleaner and cleaning pad. CUTTING AND DRILLING
Lightstreams Glass Tiles can be cut using a continuous wet diamond tile saw. We find an MK 215 blade to work very well. Tiles can be drilled using a diamond core drill bit with water coolant. For a printable version of this document click here. | | | |