Red Guard

Expansion Joints, Luther Burbank Park Playground, Mercer Island, Mosaic Installation, Public Mosaic Installation, Red Guard

Installing Tiled Mosaic Mural: Days 3-5

Link | Posted on by Sandy Brown Glass

IMG_3214

Mixing thinset

Wednesday through Friday have been sunny, dry, and warm. We’re grateful for the tarp canopy that provides some shade while we continue to install the tiled mosaic mural at Luther Burbank Park.

The dry warm and sometimes breezy weather causes the thinset to dry faster. José makes small batches so that our adhesive doesn’t dry out before we are able to install the panels of mosaics. 

 

Making progress on the mosaic mural

Day 3: By the end of the third day of installing, we’re able to see Jose’s painting coming together in the tiled mural! We start at the bottom (E) and move up in a stepping pattern, taking care to maintain the 1/16″ spacing between tiles and using a small level to assure that the vertical and horizontal lines remain plumb.

Installing Expansion Joints 

In addition to painting a coat of RedGard® on the wall, we’re installing expansion joints to prevent damage from cracks in the concrete.The rope is removed after grouting. The space is then filled with a flexible caulking instead of grout to allow for expansion due to small cracks in the concrete.

Liking this pink rope for our new expansion joints
Series of expansion joints over the crack
Also an expansion joint ever 8 ft.

The mural continues to grow…

We continue to install about 35 -40 square feet each day during days 4 and 5 (8/11 and 8/12). Whew! Thank you to Carole for working with us on Thursday and for talking us to Master Wholesalers to buy more thinset in “Beastie” and to Libby for helping out on Friday. 

Carole makes installing fun!
Creating a system…
More progress.
Love how Jose Orantes’ tree looks.
Thanks, Libby!

We’re taking the weekend off but will be back
at 7AM on Monday!
♦♦♦

Expansion Joints, Luther Burbank Park Playground, Mercer Island, Mosaic Installation, Public Mosaic Installation, Red Guard

Installing Tiled Mosaic Mural: Days 1 & 2

Link | Posted on by Sandy Brown Glass

José Orantes and I are back at the Luther Burbank Park playground installing mosaics on the 5′ high x 38′ long concrete wall. Here’s the progress we’ve made on Monday and today working from 7 AM – 3PM.

~ Day 1 ~

1. Build Tarp Canopy for our workspace 

Materials:
~ 16’ x 20’ tarp (cut into two to 8’ x 20’ lengths)
~ Four bar clamps to attach to the top of the concrete wall
~ Eight 1” x 2” wood strips to create structure.
~ Canvas drop cloth (9’ x 12’ cut to 4.5’ x 9’) to cover ground

2. Paint the wall with Red Guard to reduce cracking

We applied a coat of RedGard® to provide a flexible barrier between the concrete and the mosaic installation as a precaution to reduce the effects of cracks in the concrete. We’ll also be install several expansion joints in the affected area and every eight feet as recommended by tile experts.

Materials:
~ 3.5 gallons of RedGard®
~ Rollers and extension rod
~ Paint pan and disposible liner
~ Tape to protect surfaces

Day 2

Another busy work day that included lots of measuring and remeasuring, creating a gridded prep table to set out our tiled mosaic art in position before installation, installing stainless steel schluter edging and beginning to install the mural.

1. Create Tile Prep Table

Our prep/set-up table is carefully measured, gridded and labeled to hold our mosaic panels in position before installing them onto the concrete wall. Numbers along the top are marked on blue tape so that we can update the columns as we move across the wall in our installation process. The letters A, B, C, D, E represent placement from top to bottom.

Adjustable numbers
Complete!

Materials:
~ Three work horses to hold plywood table
~ plywood cut and assembled to fit 5′ x 7′ of mosaics
~ Roller and paint pan
~ Primer
~ Ruler, pencils and Sharpie markers

2. Installing Schluter and mosaics!

We’re feeling brave! 

Installing (B2)
Installing tile (C2)
Jose & “roadmap”
Installed so far…
Shop closed until tomorrow!

We’ll be back again tomorrow at 7AM.