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The Fixing of Glass - Splashbacks and more

Fixing Glass

Safely Handling Glass Tiles

Unfitted glass of any type is fragile and care should be taken when handled. When handling and fitting glass, eye protection and suitable gloves should be worn at all times. Do not place any glass on hard or abrasive surfaces prior to fitting.

Which Adhesive to Use

Using the correct adhesive for fitting glass is very important to ensure that the glass remains adhered to the substrate. In dry areas and moderately wet conditions (e.g. Splashbacks and Domestic Shower use), we recommend Mapei Adesilex P10 with Mapei Isolastic. In wet areas such as Power Showers and Wet Rooms, we recommend Mapei Kerapoxy Adhesive.

Mapei Adesilex P10

Mapei Adesilex P10 is a white, high performance adhesive specifically designed for the installation of glass, ceramic, porcelain and natural stone mosaics. It is a cement based powder with excellent non-slip properties and benefits from an extended opening time.

Mapei Adesilex P10 must be mixed with Mapei Isolastic (in a 1:1 dilution with water) to make it flexible and suitable for fixing glass.

The Mapei Isolastic will need to be pre-mixed with water before adding it to powder. So for a 5kg bag of Adesilex you would need to premix 0.9 litres of Isolastic and 0.9 litres of water in a bucket before adding the 5kg of Isolastic Powder.

Kerapoxy Adhesive

Kerapoxy adhesive is a two component epoxy resin based adhesive. The product is cured chemically when the 2 parts are mixed together, which means that when the product has cured the bond is very strong.

The product is easily mixed by adding the two parts together in the tub provided.

Care must be taken to ensure that any residual Kerapoxy adhesive is cleaned off the surface of any tiles before it cures.

Spacing

When fitting glass we need to think about the expansion of the glass tiles or mosaics.

With this is mind, ensure that a minimum of a 2mm gap is left between the glass tiles/mosaics and any other surface (worktop, sink etc) to provide a movement joint.

The movement joint gap between the mosaics/glass and any other surface should be filled with a silicone sealant following completion of fixing and grouting.

Cutting

When cutting glass it is very important that the correct safety equipment is used so goggles and gloves must be worn.

Use a wet wheel diamond blade designed for glass in conjunction with an electric cutter. Please note that this method is suitable for straight cuts only. Should you wish to cut a notch or corner out of the glass, this would need to be done by a specialist glass cutting company.

Glass should be cut on the wet wheel cutter with the coloured back face up.

Tip: To avoid scratching of the glass face by any debris within the cutter bed, it is advisable to place a thin cardboard sheet or similar between the glass face and the cutter.

Grouting

Before grouting any glass, the adhesive which has been used should be allowed to dry for at least 24 hours.

Grout should be worked into the spaces between the mosaics with a Soft Squeegee or float, pressing firmly to eliminate any air pockets, ensuring as a little contact with the glass face as possible.

Please note the use of hard implements to apply the grout may cause unacceptable levels of scratching to the glass surface.

Wipe surplus grout off the glass surface at once using a damp cloth or sponge.

For grouting any glass (or glass and metallic mosaics) we would recommend Mapei Keracolour SF or FF grouts as these contain finer particles and are less likely to scratch glass surfaces.

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