A mosaic can add a really classy touch to any paved area around your home and it need not be as expensive or difficult as perhaps you thought. We've recently tiled a walkway around the perimeter of our home as well as two terraces and we wanted to break up the strict geometry of the paving with something a little more artistic - hence the idea of a mosaic. I found a site on the internet which had a good selection of mosaic designs - geometric, medallion, landscape, art, animals etc and which used the high quality Lebanese marble which I had heard of.
We went through their catalogue choosing large (1.5 metre diameter) for our terraces and the floor of a new room and 0.5 x 1.2 metre high floral designs to go on a wall and next to our front door. We agreed a very reasonable price (approximately $3000 for 6 mosaic designs including delivery but not import tax). We were a bit concerned about giving our credit card detail to a Lebanese company (I confess) but we kept an eye on subsequent transactions and they behaved most correctly.
It is possible to buy a local mosaic - they make them in Assisi - but the quality of the stone does not compare with that of genuine Lebanese marble.
Each design comes in a roll and the first thing you need to do is unpack and unroll them to flatten out any bumps. You also need to check for missing pieces and set them aside for later. Customs here are extremely 'casual' about opening packages and we had to replace quite a few pieces courtesy of their rough handling of our parcels.
When you are ready to lay a mosaic, make sure the concrete you are placing it on is smooth, level and generally free of any detritus.
Remove the backing polythene and place the mosaic on the concrete floor using a pencil to mark the orientation you require.
Apply strong tile adhesive to the concrete using a comb spreader. Make sure you cover the whole area of the mosaic but no further.
Lay the mosaic onto the adhesive and hammer level with a wooden or rubber mallet being careful not to chip the stone.
Replace any missing pieces using polystyrene cement or general modelling adhesive to fix them into place.
A few days later, mix up some tile grout and seal the gaps between the marble chips. Use a light-coloured adhesive unless you wish to 'dull-down' your mosaic. As soon as you have filled the gaps with grout, start cleaning the excess off of the surface of the design as it sets very quickly.
Finally, once the grout is dry, use a special stone polish which is normally available from masons and large d-i-y stores to bring out the true and vivid colours of your new mosaic.
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