Installation Guide

HIGH FIDELITY
Installation and Maintenance Guide
These instructions are meant to be a general guide
to most installations, under normal conditions.
Please read and understand this information
before installation. If you have no specific
experience with the installation of glass products,
or if you have any doubt about the installation,
the use and/or care of glass tile products, obtain
professional installation and advice.
When working with glass tile products it is
strongly recommended that all components,
tile, mortar, grout and substrate, be brought to a
workable and consistent temperature
(Above 60 degrees F) and maintained throughout
the installation.
APPLICATIONS:
• High Fidelity Mosaics and Loose tile pieces:
Interior walls in wet or dry locations and Exterior
Covered Walls.
• High Fidelity Mosaics: Swimming pool
waterline only.
Acceptable substrates include cement backer
units and/or concrete masonry block; gypsum
wallboard can be used for dry interior walls only.
Cement mortar beds are acceptable after a
minimum 10-day cure time.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
Verify products BEFORE installation for any
visible defect and/or other aspects that may
be questionable, such as, but not limited to:
shade variations, chipped edges, scratched
surfaces, correspondence between ordered
and supplied products, etc. Installation of
products claimed to be defective or not
corresponding to customer’s expectations
constitutes acceptance of the product “as
is” and no claims will be accepted after
installation.
It is strongly recommended that you not use the
following setting materials:
• Organic Adhesive (mastic) may become yellow
and their bonding strength is generally weaker.
• Epoxy is not flexible enough, it may degrade
and change color in sunlight.
As with all tile installations, expansion joints are
necessary. Follow Tile Council of North America
guidelines EJ 171:
“Be advised, Crossville believes it is necessary to
emphasize and remind owners and installers
that glass tile does expand and contract more
than ceramic and porcelain tile. This movement
needs to be accommodated in the installation,
particularly where high and low temperature
changes may occur. Be sure to use flexible
sealant/caulk joints anywhere tile work abuts
restraining surfaces such as perimeter walls,
inside corners, dissimilar floors, curbs, counters,
backsplashes, columns, pipes, ceilings , cabinets
or any projection through the tiled surface and
in compliance with Tile Council of America
guidelines. This recommendation is standard
installation procedure though frequently ignored
with ceramic tile. It is critical with glass tile
installation.
For setting the tiles and mosaic sheets, a
consistently white thin-set mortar, modified with
polymer or latex and compliant with ANSI 118.4
specifications.
First, use the flat edge of the trowel to “key”/
press the thin-set onto the substrate.
Second, a ¼” x ¼” square or round notched
trowel should be used to gauge the proper
depth of the setting bed.
Third, all trowel ridges in the thin-set must
then be smoothed out using the flat edge of the
trowel to achieve a smooth setting bed, before
setting the tile.
Following steps 1-3, any Un-mounted
individual tiles, additionally should be
“back- buttered” with a thin, continuous
layer of the mortar. An important note, when
back- buttering individual glass tiles, do not
OVERBUILD the mortar. As the mortar cures,
shrinkage may occur that can crack the glass
tile. Work small areas of 4 to 6 square feet that
can be accomplished in 15 to 20 minutes. This
will assure bonding mortar remains fresh.
Any thin-set mortar that has pushed up into the
joints must be removed. Scraping the joint with
a wooden shim (as wide as the grout joint is) will
work best and won’t damage the glass.