Mosaic Tile Shower Surround in Carpentersville
About This Project
This Carpentersville bathroom shower received new tile from the pan up to the ceiling. The homeowner chose a small-format beige and cream mosaic tile on mesh backing. Mosaic tile on mesh sheets is set differently from individual tiles: the mesh allows some flexibility in the sheet, which needs to be accounted for so the grout joints between sheets align with the joints within sheets. We trim the mesh edge carefully and butt each sheet tight to avoid a visible seam where sheets meet.
The shower pan was a standard acrylic pan that was already in place. We waterproofed all three wall surfaces from the pan threshold up, with extra attention to the corners where movement can cause standard mortar to crack over time. All corner joints were filled with flexible silicone rather than grout.
What We Did
Waterproofed all three shower walls; paid special attention to corners
Set mosaic sheets in small-notch trowel to prevent squeeze-through
Aligned sheet-to-sheet joints to match within-sheet joints throughout
Grouted in matching beige; silicone at all corners and pan transition
