![]() ![]() (When installed indoors, the sides and bottoms aren’t exposed to moisture, and that is why Hardibacker is a great backer for inside tile work but not for outdoors.) Hardibacker is great for indoors, but it does contain cellulose fibers that would be vulnerable to mold and moisture wicking. By eventually, I mean surprisingly soon unless you live in a desert. Humidity will eventually make it warp and crack grout and pop tiles off. Plywood cannot be sealed well enough for it to be used as a backer for an outdoor mosaic. Plywood, Hardibacker, and even concrete backer board each have problems that prevent them from being used as backers for outdoor mosaics. ![]() That is why I prefer flagstones as bases for steles and “tombstones” and other freestanding vertical mosaics. Other options include stacking bricks or fieldstone to form a support the mosaic could lean against.īUT, all of these would require some clever use of vegetation or stones or something to make the mosaic look integrated with the garden and less like a board with nothing behind it. There are many ways to install and support a mosaic such as this, and the simplest way might be merely to lean it against a fence with the bottom of the mosaic resting on a couple of bricks to ensure that it wasn’t sitting in damp soil. I would also install the mosaic in a way that allowed moisture to drain away from the backer. One way to minimize the risks of mold and freezing rain would be to seal the sides and back with multiple applications of a tile and grout sealer, but outdoor paint might be even more effective since paint is an actual coating. This presents two problems: The vulnerability of the Hardibacker to mold and moisture being the first problem, and how to support the mosaic. A Case StudyĬindy from Wisconsin made this very colorful mosaic for her garden using a piece of Hardibacker as the base. Cindy’s Garden Mosaic makes great use of contrasting colors in intense hues. In this way, the project advanced as time allowed instead of being one master project executed on a schedule with contractors and little opportunity for real art. Each square in the quilt was its own design made at leisure. Mosaic Stepping Stone Patio by Victor Kobayashi. I prefer square because you can make different mosaics on different stones and then put them together in a “crazy quilt” pattern similar to what Victor Kobayashi did for his mosaic patio. If you prefer a square base with straight edges, these are perfect, although they also come in circles and rectangles and other shapes. ![]() Mosaic Stepping Stone Bases made from concrete are available at building material stores such as Lowes and Home Depot. (Of course that means slate is probably a poor choice.) You can get a feel for what varieties break easily by paying attention to the piles of flagstone at the lawn and garden center. I would probably cover the entire stone in thinset to make the color consistent.Īvoid thinner stones and types of stone that tend to break easily. Note that this would need a second coat of thinset mortar to totally encase the steel to prevent rusting. Flagstone reinforced with expanded metal on the back side. If possible, I would include a few plies of hardware cloth in that sandwich, but the thinset by itself is probably strong enough. This would be done simply by putting thinset mortar between them to make a sandwich. You can even laminate several flagstones together to make a thicker “tombstone” that could stand vertically without breaking. This problem can be solved by cementing a piece of expanded metal or several plies of hardware cloth (metal mesh) to the backside of the flagstone. The only potential problem is for the stone to break if it is very large. Flagstonesįlat irregularly-shaped flagstones are perfect for making a mosaic “relic” such as fragment of an ancient Roman floor mosaic. The “Lethe” mosaic pictured at the beginning of this article was made on a similar piece of flagstone. Flagstones for use as mosaic backers are available at lawn and garden centers. The last section of this article explains why you shouldn’t use plywood, Hardibacker, or (sometimes) even concrete backer board. I wrote some instructions for using packing tape and contact paper to lay up a mosaic design. Of course, thinset mortar must be used to attach the tiles, but that isn’t difficult to do, especially if you lay your mosaic up in advance on mosaic mounting tape or mounting paper. The flagstones are great if you want a natural irregular shapes, and the molded stepping stones are great for square and rectangular shapes. Outdoor mosaics must be made on concrete or stone or masonry, but that doesn’t mean you have to pour a concrete slab or do some other form of heavy construction.įlagstones (flat paving stones) and concrete stepping stones are readily available at building material stores and lawn and garden centers. ![]()
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