Custom Glass Tiles – Installation and Specifications
Smooth glass for wall tiles and textured for floors: Testing performed by the Tile Council of America proved our textured glass tiles meet ANSI and ASTM standards for commercial wall and floor applications. Our glass tiles’ breaking strength surpasses floor standards by more than 700 percent. They pass freeze-thaw testing, as well as resistance to chemical substances including household and commercial cleaning materials, swimming pool chemicals, hydrochloric acid solution and potassium hydroxide. The textured glass tile surface has a coefficient of friction that exceeds OSHA standards for non-slip safety.
Glass Tile Sizes:
6”x6” Textured Tempered (L) and Non-Tempered (B)
6”x6” Smooth Tempered
8”x8” Smooth Tempered
12”x12” Textured Tempered and Non-Tempered
Specifications
Tile Council of America – Textured Glass Tile Testing Results:
ASTM C1026: Tiles showed NO evidence of freeze-thaw damage after completing 15 cycles of freeze-thaw.
ASTM C1028: Static coefficient of friction Dry = .86, Wet = .52
ASTM C373: Water absorption rate of .37% = impervious
ASTM C650: Resistance to chemical substances: Not affected by the following: Acetic acid 3% & 10%; Ammonium chloride, 100 g/L; Citric acid solution, 30 g/L &100 g/L; Lactic acid, 5%; Phosphoric acid, 10%; Sulfamic acid, 3% & 10%; Swimming Pool Chemicals = Sodium hypochlorite solution, 20 mg/L; Acids & Bases = Hydrochloric acid solution, 3% & 18%; Potassium hydroxide, 30 g/L & 100 g/L
ASTM C485: Warpage of Tile: Edge warpage: -.02%; Diagonal warpage: 0.00%
ASTM C499: Facial dimensions and thickness of tile: Average difference of 0.020”
ASTM C502: Wedging of Tile: Average percent wedging was 0.03%
ASTM C648: Average breaking strength is 1931 lbf
Mohs’ Scratch Hardness: 5 (~= knife blade)
Installation
Non-tempered glass may be cut with a tile saw (wet saw application, diamond blade). Glass tile can also be drilled with a standard diamond tip glass drill. Be sure to specify non-tempered in an email to us, if you will have to trim any glass tiles.
Epoxy adhesives provide the best results. Some epoxy adhesive manufacturers are Mer-Krete (Merpoxy 400 or 420), Custom Building Products (MegaLite™ Crack Prevention Mortar or 100% Solids Epoxy Mortar) and Laticrete (Latapoxy 300). Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for applying. It is best to use a cementitious backer board (e.g., WonderBoard, RhinoBoard, Durock, Hardi-backerboard) wherever moisture would be a concern.
Note: Handle glass tiles carefully to avoid scratching the imaged side – the hard white coating (which covers the image on the backside) can be scratched by metal tools and by other tiles.
Grouting Glass Tiles
Use spacers between the tiles to keep the grout joints even. Butting the tiles together without grout runs the risk of damaging the tiles if the wall flexes due to temperature or humidity fluctuations. After the mural is installed and adhesive has cured to the manufacturer’s specifications, use a grout specifically formulated for glass tile (e.g., Polyblend® Non-Sanded Grout by Custom Building Products or Mapei’s Kerapoxy Stain-Free Grout). Epoxy grouts are waterproof. After installation, we strongly recommend cleaning with Mineral Spirits or a non-abrasive citrus cleaner to remove any oils and tape residue from our labels.
Tempered glass is a special kind of glass that is made to resist shattering into jagged shards. It is commonly used in cars and in public buildings like bus terminals, phone booths and any other place at risk for vandalism or accidental breakage. It is less brittle and crumbles rather than splinters when force is applied. Safety is the main advantage of tempered glass. Using tempered glass reduces the risk of injury caused by jagged glass shards. Tempered glass breaks into small, circular “pebbles” because of the way the molecules bond. It will also shatter evenly and crumble into small pieces even if force is applied at one end. That means larger shards of broken glass will not crack off and fly through the air when the glass is broken.