Tile mini-bricks - total pain to install?

15 years ago

Hi tile experts :-) -

I had seen a bathroom that I loved that had marble mini-brick mosaics on the walls up to about 40" high. I was thinking about doing that in a bathroom we are remodeling (and having the minibricks on the walls of the shower as well) but when I mentioned it to my tile guy, his eyes about popped out of his head. He did say they could do it, but mentioned something about getting them completely even is a hassle. Are mini-bricks just a total pain for larger spaces? Tile-unsavvy as I am, I guess I just figured since it's on mesh it can't be that big a deal.. but I have a feeling I was deluding myself.. :-)

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Comments (14)

pirula
15 years ago
We have these, actually the "midi-brick" which is even smaller, on powder room floor and the master shower floor.

We installed them DIY and yes they were tricky, but DH did a beautiful job. You just have to take extra care, I can't believe a professional tile setter would have THAT much trouble with them. But defer to the experts....
bill_vincent
15 years ago
It depends on the tile "installer".

Catch my drift?
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kerrygw
Original Author
15 years ago
Drift caught. :-) That said, these particular installers have done other jobs for us before that we've been happy with, so I'm hoping this will go as well as possible.. Bill, if you heard that a client wanted to cover 2.5 walls of a 4x4ft shower, and the bottom half of the walls of a 10x12ft bath with mini-bricks, would you inwardly groan or would it really just be like any other job to you? I remember that one job you posted that seemed covered with hex (if I remember correctly) - I don't really want to create someone's nightmare job! :-)
bill_vincent
15 years ago
I've got two comments about this. First, although yes, I would INWARDLY groan, you as the customer would never see it, except in the price. It's a little more labor intensive, and the price would show it. However, as the saying goes, if it were easy, anyone could do it, and I'd be out of a job! Secondly, we've discussed some of our biggest nightmare jobs on several different occasions over at John Bridge's Pros forum, and I'll say the same thing that I said there-- it's usually those jobs that have me pulling (what's left of) my hair out-- the ones that I just can't wait till they're over and done with, that looking back, are the projects I'm most proud of.

Like the Hex job

Or the roman tub

or my technically perfect showers and tubs

or my steam rooms

These are the projects (especially in the case of the tub) that nearly had me ready to throw in the towel. With reference to the slate showers and tubs I did in that one house, I seriously believe that project had alot to do with my divorce. but these are the jobs that I'll show off time and time again, because there aren't many who can do that level of work, and those are the projects I'm most proud of.
kerrygw
Original Author
15 years ago
Wow. I had never seen the projects that you referenced (except the hex) - that tub is amazingly insane, and the others are just gorgeous. You do incredible work and are justifiably proud of it. I think I am dealing with 2 issues - one is that my tile installer felt it appropriate to have an outward reaction when I mentioned the mini-brick idea, and the other is that I questioned my choice when he did in an effort to make his life easier. Several of the guys making this remodel happen have worked with us before and we tend to invite familiarity - perhaps in this case however it worked to my disadvantage. I'll speak to him in more detail on the mini-brick idea to gauge his thoughts - I've never had him (or his crew) do anything THAT intricate before so I should probably get a better idea of how they'd handle it. (And fwiw, even though I didn't think the mini-brick idea was un-doable, I did assume I'd pay up for the difficulty level.)

Thanks again Bill - your insight is greatly appreciated. (And I'm going to have to show DH that tub. Dang.) :-)
ladyamity
15 years ago
Mr. Vincent.... Bill *grin*,

The pics....those aren't tile jobs, those are beautifully orchestrated and displayed pieces of ART.
pirula
15 years ago
For what it's worth, DH had alot more trouble installing the 1" porcelain hex floor in another bathroom than he did with the midi brick. And it shows in the installation a bit. They're all terrific, but the 1" hex has a couple of spots that aren't perfectly even. Only I see it (and him of course).

Nice work Bill! I won't show Joel the hex, he'll get mad. LOL!
bill_vincent
15 years ago
Ivette-- I keep forgetting you haven't been around for a while. That one pic is nothing. I guess it's time to show off again. :-) The owner of the house is a well known architect that used to work for Trump, among others. One of his favorite designs is flooding an area with the same medium, to act more or less as a backdrop, or canvas, if you will, to start painting a picture from. In his master bathroom, that canvas turned out to be about 1100 square feet of 1" hex tile. Walls, floors, ceiling, shower, tub deck, watercloset-- all of it, hex tile. Here are the pics. I'll show some ungrouted, so you can get an idea of what I went through putting this together:

Keep in mind-- this octagon area with all the windows-- is the shower.

In this next pic, the door to the left leads to the watercloset, which is an 8x8 room with a 7' ceiling, again, all hex.
bill_vincent
15 years ago
Amity-- Thank you very much. I have a hard time, though with what I do being called art. Atleast any of what I've shown here. When I think of ceramic artistry, I think about things like the works of Eric Rattan. You want to see art? Go to the following link and prepare to be left breathless:

Here is a link that might be useful: Welcome to Santa Fe Studios
pirula
15 years ago
WOW!!!! Just showed Joel and he said "HOLY S$#*&^$##*&&! That's amazing, that's incredible, that's extraordinary, WOW!"

So, there you go.
gldnfan
15 years ago
I think Bill is being too polite ;-)

As a homeowner who just had some tricky glass mosaic installed I would not have felt comfortable with your installer. I would insist on seeing some examples of similar work or find someone you know can do the job - not only is that tile not cheap it is not something you want to look at everyday if it is not done well.

I definitely think you SHOULD do it - those details are the things you end up really loving about your space.

Bill that tub is something else - wow.
bill_vincent
15 years ago
The tub is only HALF the bathroom. The other half is DOWNSTAIRS, where I was supposed to have a much easier time, just setting the sheets of tile in a 7 foot circle in the middle of the floor, and cutting in the perimeter. But no no no no no! When I was getting ready to start it, the homeowner let it be known she didn't want to see any cuts along the outside edge! So now, how do you use a square tile (albeit a SMALL square tile), not cut in a circular edge, and not have huge gaps? Start with a 6" disc of marble in the center, and cut the sheets down into single tile 1/2" strips, and start from the middle going round and round, one row at a time till you get to the 7 foot diameter, INCLUDING mudsetting the part that goes into the shower!
pirula
15 years ago
Speechless.

If those pictures aren't proof that you LOVE what you do, then I don't know what is....
pepperidge_farm
15 years ago
Bill, a true craftsman must employ some degree of artistic talent. The eternal debate over what is art surely includes all of the elements that you must recognize are present in your work! Yes, the link to the above artist is beautiful, but that is art that is integrated into something functional. Your work is functional that has art integrated into it!!

Sorry to get philosophical, but you deserve the kudos!!