After recently installing a laundry splashback using 50 x 100 stone mosaics on a brick bond pattern sheet I thought I would write about the properties of stone tiles and how they look once installed. Like other stone products they can have a rough finish and each individual tile is slightly different both in shape and size. If you think about the desired visual impact they are intended to have that rough stone look and therefore when laying the tiles it is best to lay an area and then stand back and adjust the tiles to look as straight as possible. Sometimes it is necessary to cut the backing sheet to move individual tiles as they may not have been glued on the backing sheet in exactly the correct place. This can be done while the tiles are in place while the adhesive is still wet. Cutting stone is sometimes difficult to achieve neatly so I use a combination of scoring the surface with a tile cutter and if they do not snap cleanly then I use a diamond grinder to grind along the score line for a clean and straight cut. These mosaics I used recently where quite thick and brittle so they were very difficult to cut. Using these methods combined with a lot of patience and perseverance it is possible to achieve a great looking job. The same method can be used for glass mosaics as they too can be difficult to cut and they too often need adjustments as sometimes they do not sit on the sheets properly.
Care must also be taken when grouting especially with a contrasting colour when the grout becomes a feature. With stone it is important to polish the dried film off after grouting as sometimes this can be difficult to clean if it becomes hardened over time. The grout lines can be polished to make them look even and straight to enhance the look of the tiles.