Hardboard helps make a very good basis for your mosaics as extended as you limit the dimension of the all round mosaic, limit the tesserae size, and will not screen the mosaic in a moist atmosphere. Stay away from hardboard for outside programs simply because of the prospective for deterioration. Assuming your tesserae are the size of a quarter or much less and the overall size of your mosaic is considerably less than 24″x24″, I have located that one/8-inch thick hardboard supplies an satisfactory basis. If your tesserae are tiny, it really is stunning how flexible the mosaic is, even with grout, which implies it can stand up to some warping before the grout cracks or glass parts pop off. If your tesserae are massive or if you integrate huge items of stained glass into your mosaic, the thickness of your basis need to be better because the mosaic can not endure as considerably warping (i.e., the thicker the wood, the a lot more resistant to warping). For case in point, suppose your mosaic is 24″x24″ and you use a one piece of yellow stained glass to represent the vibrant solar lighting up the globe. Suppose the sun’s diameter is ten inches, which can make up a very good chunk of the mosaic. It truly is straightforward to see how a little warping can anxiety that solitary piece of glass triggering failure (i.e., breaking, popping off). It is like ceramic tile on a concrete-slab foundation. As the concrete cracks and moves, stress is utilized to the ceramic tile and, if the anxiety is excellent enough, the tile breaks. Consequently, you should take into account the tesserae dimensions when picking the thickness of your mosaic’s foundation.

Above the a long time making a lot of wall mosaics that are 24″x24″ or much less, I have identified that my favored basis is 1/8-inch hardboard. It is the dim-brown stuff that pegboard is made from but without the holes. Mozaiek glas on a single aspect and tough on the other. I use this substance only for dry, indoor, wall mosaics that will not be uncovered to humidity. I use this substance since it is: 1) Relatively slim, 2) Comparatively lightweight, and three) Tough on a single side so the glue grabs keep of it nicely.

The one/eight-inch thickness allows the concluded mosaic to in shape in a common pre-produced body. My glass tesserae are about one/8-inch thick, so the overall thickness of the finished mosaic is only about 1/four-inch. This enables me to acquire a all set-made frame for practically nothing. I plan my indoor wall mosaics to be 16″x24″, eighteen”x24″, or 24″x24″, which are typical sizes for pre-manufactured frames. If I were to use 3/four-inch plywood or MDF as the basis, I would then have to use a custom made body with enough depth to go over the total thickness of the mosaic (i.e., 3/four-inch wood foundation additionally one/eight-inch tesserae equals virtually a 1-inch thickness). Custom made frames expense up to five moments more than common pre-created frames. For illustration, by taking gain of their biweekly 50% sale at my preferred hobby store, I can get a pre-created 18″x24″ body in a wonderful design and shade that greatest fits the mosaic, have the mosaic installed in the body, have the hanging wire put in, and have paper backing set up, all for significantly less than $twenty five. That’s proper! Considerably less than twenty five bucks. A customized-made body may expense as considerably as $a hundred and fifty.

Not only do I help save on framing charges, the hardboard is low-cost in contrast to three/four-inch plywood and MDF. I get a pre-cut part of hardboard instead of a total 4’x’8 sheet. The pre-minimize segment is 24″x48″. Realizing the height of my indoor wall mosaics is generally 24″ (which is the width of the pre-minimize section), this permits me to cut the hardboard giving me a sixteen”, 18″, or 24″ width for my mosaic foundation. For example, suppose I want my mosaic to be 18″x24″. The pre-cut width of the hardboard I get is 24″. I evaluate and reduce eighteen”, which final results in a piece of hardboard that’s eighteen”x24″. The piece fits flawlessly in a standard eighteen”x24″ pre-manufactured body. I measure and cut the hardboard utilizing a regular round observed and a “rip fence” that I make by clamping a three-foot amount to the hardboard with two C-clamps. The rip fence makes it possible for me to drive the saw alongside the straight edge of the amount to guarantee a straight and correct reduce.

I prepare the hardboard foundation by portray it with two coats of white primer. The major purpose for portray it white is to get a white track record on to which the glass tesserae will be adhered (Note: I usually adhere the glass to the tough facet of the hardboard). Even though I usually use opaque glass, the white background helps brighten it up. The darkish-brown colour of the hardboard makes the glass pieces show up uninteresting and dark, even even though the glass is supposed to be opaque. The secondary advantage of portray the hardboard with primer is that it seals it. I will not know if sealing hardboard does anything at all, but it makes me feel much better believing it really is sealed. I do not know the content or chemical houses of hardboard and how it is created, so I do not know if it requirements to be sealed, but painting it presents me a nice, warm-and-fuzzy emotion. I have a habit of sealing everything regardless of whether it wants it or not.

Following making use of the tesserae and grout, you may be surprised at how adaptable the mosaic is with no leading to glass or grout failure (assuming your tesserae are comparatively tiny). When I 1st utilized one/8-inch hardboard as the basis for a mosaic, I experimented and found that I could bend the mosaic a total two inches with no affecting the glass and grout. I was also concerned to bend it a lot more than two inches! Right after the experiment, I assumed if the mosaic can bend a whopping two inches, then it can endure any warping that may happen. Then, following the mosaic was put in in the pre-made body, I understood that the mosaic was put in in this sort of a way to inhibit any warping at all. The mosaic was pressed and held in-location with the little fasteners in the back again of the body to maintain it from falling out. The only way the mosaic can warp is if it’s powerful adequate to cause the frame to warp with it. I have by no means had a difficulty with any indoor wall mosaic warping when making use of one/8-inch hardboard set up in a common pre-created frame.

one/eight-inch hardboard is also lightweight enough so the excess weight of the overall mosaic is not so large that you have to rework your home to create a support construction stout adequate to keep the weight of a mosaic. Typically, my 24″x24″ (or considerably less) mosaics are light-weight adequate to adequately hold by indicates of a image hook and nail mounted in drywall. I don’t have to cut into the drywall to set up two”x4″ items in between the studs and then change the drywall. This is very beneficial, especially when promoting or providing away the mosaic (i.e., you is not going to get rid of clients that you may well normally lose if you tell them they have to hold the mosaic by performing something much more than pounding a nail into wall).