Our expert, Craig Phillips, started his working life as an apprentice bricklayer, and after several years of studying went on to set up his own successful construction company. In 2000, his life took a dramatic change when he won Britain’s first ever reality TV show, Big Brother. Craig put his new found fame to use, and went on to combine his knowledge of construction and media savvy to forge a brilliant career as one of the UK’s leading DIY and home improvement experts.
With his vast knowledge, we thought he’d be the perfect person to help create our series of ‘How To’ videos that are designed to answer the top ten most frequently asked questions that we receive about tiles and tiling.
In our sixth video, Craig takes you through the process of how to cut, lay and install mosaic tiles a backer sheets.
Why use Backer Sheets for Mosaic Tiles?
Well, as you probably know, mosaic tiles are individually cut tiles all held together with a fabric mesh. This makes it easier to cut the sheet to fit around any tricky areas for a uniform look. However, the mesh does make installation a little more difficult as it’s harder to get even pressure on the entire sheet when pressing the sheet into the adhesive. What often happens is you’ll end up putting more pressure on certain tiles and you won’t get a flat, smooth surface.
Craig demonstrates the difference between a tile with a backer sheet and one without.
The solution is a mosaic backer sheet. It’s self-adhesive on the one side to adhere to the back of the mosaic sheet making the entire mosaic sheet more rigid and much like a normal wall tile.
So when you are installing, you won’t push into each individual tile to ensure a nice even application and a smooth surface.
If you like the glass mosaic tiles that Craig is demonstrating, you can find them here.
Check out our full selection of mosaic tiles and why not order a free cut sample?
As a multi-award winning interior design content creator, Kimberly Duran is an Interior Design-obsessed American ex-pat, who chronicles her decorating journey and dispenses interior design advice in her personal blog, Swoon Worthy. When she’s not helplessly drooling over all the latest trends in design, she’s adding things to the imaginary ‘shopping basket’ in her head, she likes to get messy tackling DIY projects with her partner in crime, Wayne, stalking eBay for vintage bargains and filling her home with her favourite neutral – gold.
