Mosaic Tabletop

Mosaic Tabletop

What You'll Need: dishes or tile dishes or tile old towel wood mallet or small hammer  tile adhesive (Mastic) grout  safety glasses butter knife grout sealer gloves hammer giant sponge bucket of warm water 24 inch x 3/4 inch plywood round cafe table base Directions: 1. There are three ways to break your tiles or dishes. The first is to cover the item with a heavy towel and hammer away (this is for those who have a lot of angst they need to channel). The second is to place it in a large plastic bag before breaking it. The third, (and my preferred method) is to use tile clippers and cut them by hand. This gives you the most control over the size and shape of your tile pieces and leaves them spotless. The other methods may cause the surfaces to be scratched but is much quicker. Note: Wear safety glasses, and put on gloves before picking up pieces if you use the hammer. 2. Spread out your mosaic pieces so you can see them then plan your design. 3. Buttered it with Mastic using a butter knife and stick it to your table, make sure your put a fair amount of mastic on the back of your tile (we're not on a diet here) but don't let it sqeeze through so that it's higher than the tile. Your tiles should not be nore than 1/8 of an inch apart from eachother on all sides or the grout can crack. If your design is more free form, spread glue onto one small area at a time and press the mosaic pieces firmly into the glue but remember, if you have to stop for the night, wipe away all excess mastic, once it hardens, it is impossible to remove and you won't be able to put a tile there and will have to chip it away with a screwdriver. 4. Apply grout with your gloved hand or using a floater. Spread until the grout fills all the cracks and crevices. Depending upon your desired look, the grout can be flush to your pieces or, if the pieces are curved or irregularly shaped, sometimes a little above. Wipe up as you go along with a damp sponge. Remember that you can always wipe off the excess after your mosaic is dry so don't sweat it if there is a dusty layer. Clean with soap and water using a sponge.  5. Using a brush, apply sealer to the grout to make it water-resistant. If the table will be indoors, you can leave this step out.