Flowerpot disaster what did I do????

15 years ago

Ok, today was a very bad day. The second of my two mosaiced flower pot's lost the majority of it's tiles . Don't have a pix of what it looks like at present, looking closer, I noticed there was a crack in the thinset, where it meets the pot, and a large section of tile, thinset and all, broke off, . Really strange, it sorta pealed off, the tiles are in large sections, some 6-8 inches long, still have their curves from the pot, the tiles are all together, with the thinset holding them together.

The tiles themselves didn't break off individually, just complete sections of tile and thinset, does that make sense?? Any ideas, gals??

I also grouted my yellow brick road concrete pot, it was a real PITA, and I lost multiple tiles I'll have to glue back on. IT was so so hot and humid it just made things miserable.

help please, any body else have a problem like that, with another day like today, I think I might have to throw in my mosaic towel.

What would have caused this??? I used thinset as grout and glue These are fake clay pots, made of fiberglass or some such lighter weight material. I might have tried to seal the pots with weldbond, in fact,I'm pretty sure I did ,at least of them. They have been outside several months now.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

texaswild
15 years ago
Therein is your problem. Weldbond re-hydrates outside. Simple as that. Same thing happened to me in my early days of mosaicing. Only disaster I've had, exactly as you described. So sorry. That's why I keep saying DON'T USE WELDBOND FOR OUTSIDE PROJECTS - EVEN TO SEAL.
theeggshelllady
15 years ago
Oh man! I hate it when things fall apart. the only thing I can think of is that the thinset was not compatable with the flowerpot material. If there was a very smooth finish on the pot that also may cause the thinset to pop off. So roughing up the surface may help or you could try a primer. I'll bet another type of adhesive will do the trick. I think weldbond or silicone will stick to fiberglass. I wish you luck. Don't throw in the towel. I find that a cup of tea makes everything better!...or a glass of wine.
Related Discussions
I did not flush an soak my rockwool, what do I do now?
Q
Comments (6)
I have to disagree with homehydro on this one. You should probably start over unless you feel like you cannot afford to do so. The pH being wildly thrown around has surely adversely affected plenty of those seeds. I have a hunch that quite a few may not even sprout (although I could be wrong). If you want less headache, less worrying, and a higher probability of success, restart. There are already so many "ifs" in hydroponic growing, that if there is any way you can block a probability and make it a definite, you should probably do it. The only reason NOT to would be for saving cash. Also, about the rockwool cubes: I would soak them. Some say you need to, others say you don't. I say you most certainly should soak the rockwool cubes in a pH balanced water. In fact, I reccomend soaking them in tap water or RO water for say 10 or 15 minutes. Pull them out of that water. Get some new water, and make sure it is as close to 7.0 pH or lower as you can get it. Soak them in this water for 45 minutes. That should do it, and honestly you will be better off because your pH will already be shifty, especially if you are using hard tap water. Using this method of pre-treating the rockwool cubes, you wil have less trouble in the long run! If you don't want to mess with getting a pH perfect solution, you can actualy purchase rockwool conditioner that apparently many people find to work great. Some of it even includes a great balance of nutrients for your seedlings. Theres my 2 cents!
...See More
Forsythia test I did, but what do I do now?
Q
Comments (3)
I've taken cuttings in the spring time, right before plants bloom. That's what I was told to do. I have done this more than once and have always had the same results.. The average success is way less than poor.. 3 out of 20 rooted. On the other hand, my neighbor cut off some of the side brances that kept poking her when she was mowing her lawn in August of 2005. I picked up 15 of them and decided to just stick them in a pot with just good dirt, no rootone either, cut them back some (12 inches) and pinched off the growing tips so there was only 3 leaves on each side shoot, watered them good and set them in the shade of one of my bigger forsythia. That's all I did. As far as watering goes, every time I watered my flower beds via rainbird sprinklers, these cuttings got watered throughly (5-6 hours at a time). This spring, 3 died and the other 12 are blooming up a storm and growing like crazy.
...See More
Pantry disaster- what should I do??
Q
Comments (11)
Move-in has nothing to do with the end of the project when you are doing a large project. Many people move in before they are completely finished. You should not confuse MOVE IN with the END OF THE PROJECT. It is hard to live in a house with the contractor lurking around, but this is a common thing that happens in a large construction project. You need to talk to the builder and help him figure out where he needs to concenrate so you can move in on time. Tell him that the pantry will be fixed after the move in. Work with the builder so you can move in on time and still have what you want. For example, you can do the trim and moulding (if you can live with some sawdust), fixtures, etc after you move in but you can't finish the floor after you move in so that is a must. Painting is more difficult with your stuff but it can be done. The exterior of the house can be done quite easily while you live there if there is still painting or trim work to be done. (How did you do the exterior paint in the winter?) Find out what is requred for you to get the certificate of occupancy so that the builder can work to satisfy that before dealing with things like pantry. Don't let the contractor bully you into accepting what you don't like/want. You are paying his paycheck. If it was me, I would work on what I really want even though there will be guys around after I move in. But then I have done several large remodels while living in the house so I think nothing of the construction crew showing up in the morning as I run off to work. Toward the end of the project, you need to go through the house and have a punch list of the things that needs to be fixed, addressed, repaired etc. I would start making my own punch list since you are near the end. This way, you have a record of things that you can show with the builder as you are finishing up. Until the punch list is done, you don't pay the contractor in full.
...See More
color choice disaster--what to do?
Q
Comments (3)
By baby poop ... do you mean greenish poop? That color has a definite green undertone. Color is relative ... if your color is too greenish, putting something that is definitely greener in there will shove it towards neutral. Blues or yellows will intensify the greenish tinge. What everyone Should Know About Beige: http://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-everyone-should-know-about-beige.html Here is a link that might be useful:
...See More
Mermaid
Original Author
15 years ago
ahhhh Slow.. I remember you saying that you had a problem using weldbond outside, which is why I mentioned it, but I'm so braindead I can't be positive I DID use that, sure hope so, don't want a problem like that. There is still one teeny piece left on both pots, debating on cleaning them up and slapping more thinset on. or just give up on it totally..
You do make me feel better knowing you had a similar problem. Thanks , I was extremely annoyed with myself,

I will never used weldbond outside again.. oh no.. I sealed my yellow brick road clay pot for Sir Wiggle. Screaming.. Oh well.. If it falls apart too, you'll hear me screaming. We'll call it a science experiement. I'll post it as soon as I get my camera set up again...
gin_gin
15 years ago
I think it's because of the fiberglass substrate. The thinset had nothing to grab onto, I believe it needs a porous surface. I think you'd be better off with silicone as an adhesive in this case. As for attempting to seal the pot with weldbond, I'm not sure why you would've needed to as the fiberglass pot wouldn't have been porous, nothing to seal. I'm sorry this happened, it's frustrating when something like this happens!
Mermaid
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Gin and Eggshell,

I wish I had the original labels on what those pots were made of, I just know they aren't made of clay. I tend to err on the side of caution, and figured, might as well seal.. Sigh..

Not sure what I'll do with my pots, but I'll sleep on it and tomorrow should be a better day...
thanks again, Slow, Eggshell and Gin, appreciate all your thoughts
flagtruck
15 years ago
Mer- you don't have to seal fiberglass..it is a structure unto itself. Only seal terracotta or concrete and on the inside only, the outside will be sealed with thinset.
As Slow told you, Weldbond is the culprit...DON'T use it OUTSIDE! When it gets a little bit of moisture, it will rehydrate as Slow told you and when it rehydrates, wammo..
the tiles come off. They are being held together by the thinset. I know that the fiberglass pot will not get wet from the inside, so why seal? Seal your finished work with Tilelab sealer after it is all done and you are set.
Put your Weldbond up high so you can't reach it, you don't need it outside..
tillyslilypad
15 years ago
Totally off the subject...your dog is beautiful. What kind of dog is he or she? Adorable.
Mermaid
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks Flag for the tip. I used the last of my bottle of weldbond yesterday. I still love that stuff cuz it has no odor. I'll have to make myself a sign by the back door, no weldbond allowed through door!! LOL

Still debating on how to fix this, do you all think I could scrub it down and use thinset ?? or just chalk it up to a lesson learned??

Tilly, that's Rascal, my aussie. Isn't he adorable? you should see his sister, the beauty queen.
flagtruck
15 years ago
Mwe- I would be inclined to scrub it down and adhere what you have with thinset. I think you will be surprised how good it will look.
texaswild
15 years ago
Believe me, MER: If you could see FLAG's back yard, you'd know she knows what she's talking about. Follow her advice. I'd say also to use some hot, soapy water to scrub that wicked Weldbond off and begin again w/thinset. What you really did was glue your tesserae to the Weldbond - not the fiberglass substrate, so when the glue rehydrated, your tess fell off. Took me awhile to figure out that's what happened to my pot. Makes sense doesn't it?
texasfern
15 years ago
Don't give up my dear! We all have those horror stories, but look at what these gals are doing now!
We will grow up to be mosaic queens too!
Mermaid
Original Author
15 years ago
Slow and Flag, I have seen the photo's of both of your places, and believe you me, I trust you know what you are doing.

I will scrub those dump pots and try again with thinset. Second try and a bit wiser.. Thanks.

Texas, no, I won't give up, it is way too much fun, I was just so frustrated to see those big chunks falling off. and yes, we are going to be the next batch of mosaic queens. ROFL

Flowerpot disaster what did I do????

Comments (12)

texaswild

theeggshelllady

Related Discussions

Mermaid
Original Author

gin_gin

Mermaid
Original Author

flagtruck

tillyslilypad

Mermaid
Original Author

flagtruck

texaswild

texasfern

Mermaid
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Flowerpot disaster what did I do????

Comments (12)

Related Discussions

MermaidOriginal Author

MermaidOriginal Author

MermaidOriginal Author

MermaidOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Mermaid
Original Author

Mermaid
Original Author

Mermaid
Original Author

Mermaid
Original Author