Hardboard will make a very good basis for your mosaics as prolonged as you limit the measurement of the over-all mosaic, restrict the tesserae dimension, and will not display screen the mosaic in a wet environment. Prevent hardboard for out of doors apps due to the fact of the prospective for deterioration. Assuming your tesserae are the dimensions of a quarter or much less and the over-all size of your mosaic is less than 24″x24″, I have found that 1/8-inch thick hardboard provides an satisfactory foundation. If your tesserae are compact, it really is shocking how flexible the mosaic is, even with grout, which usually means it can face up to some warping right before the grout cracks or glass items pop off. If your tesserae are significant or if you include significant parts of stained glass into your mosaic, the thickness of your basis ought to be greater for the reason that the mosaic are not able to face up to as considerably warping (i.e., the thicker the wood, the a lot more resistant to warping). For instance, suppose your mosaic is 24″x24″ and you use a solitary piece of yellow stained glass to stand for the vibrant sun lights up the environment. Suppose the sun’s diameter is 10 inches, which can make up a good chunk of the mosaic. It’s uncomplicated to see how a small warping can anxiety that single piece of glass creating failure (i.e., breaking, popping off). It truly is like ceramic tile on a concrete-slab foundation. As the concrete cracks and moves, worry is utilized to the ceramic tile and, if the strain is fantastic enough, the tile breaks. Consequently, you have to take into account the tesserae dimensions when selecting the thickness of your mosaic’s foundation.
More than the a long time generating many wall mosaics that are 24″x24″ or less, I have observed that my favored basis is 1/8-inch hardboard. It is the darkish-brown stuff that pegboard is built from but without the holes. It truly is slippery sleek on 1 aspect and rough on the other. I use this substance only for dry, indoor, wall mosaics that will not be exposed to humidity. I use this content mainly because it is really: 1) Reasonably slender, 2) Relatively lightweight, and 3) Rough on one particular side so the glue grabs keep of it effectively.
The 1/8-inch thickness enables the finished mosaic to healthy in a normal pre-made frame. My glass tesserae are about 1/8-inch thick, so the whole thickness of the concluded mosaic is only about 1/4-inch. This enables me to purchase a all set-made body for pretty much practically nothing. I prepare my indoor wall mosaics to be 16″x24″, 18″x24″, or 24″x24″, which are prevalent measurements for pre-created frames. If I ended up to use 3/4-inch plywood or MDF as the basis, I would then have to use a custom made body with sufficient depth to go over the complete thickness of the mosaic (i.e., 3/4-inch wood foundation additionally 1/8-inch tesserae equals almost a 1-inch thickness). Custom made frames charge up to five occasions more than conventional pre-built frames. For case in point, by getting edge of their biweekly 50% sale at my favorite pastime retail outlet, I can get a pre-built 18″x24″ body in a charming fashion and colour that most effective suits the mosaic, have the mosaic put in in the body, have the hanging wire mounted, and have paper backing put in, all for considerably less than $25. Which is correct! Less than 25 bucks. A customized-produced frame may possibly price as a great deal as $150.
Not only do I save on framing expenditures, the hardboard is low-priced in contrast to 3/4-inch plywood and MDF. I invest in a pre-slash segment of hardboard instead of a complete 4’x’8 sheet. The pre-reduce part is 24″x48″. Being aware of the peak of my indoor wall mosaics is commonly 24″ (which is the width of the pre-slice part), this lets me to reduce the hardboard supplying me a 16″, 18″, or 24″ width for my mosaic foundation. For example, suppose I want my mosaic to be 18″x24″. The pre-lower width of the hardboard I buy is 24″. I measure and slash 18″, which benefits in a piece of hardboard which is 18″x24″. The piece matches correctly in a normal 18″x24″ pre-manufactured frame. I evaluate and cut the hardboard using a regular round noticed and a “rip fence” that I make by clamping a 3-foot level to the hardboard with two C-clamps. The rip fence lets me to press the observed along the straight edge of the degree to ensure a straight and correct cut.
I prepare the hardboard basis by painting it with two coats of white primer. The key cause for painting it white is to get a white background onto which the glass tesserae will be adhered (Notice: I often adhere the glass to the tough side of the hardboard). While I ordinarily use opaque glass, the white history aids brighten it up. The dim-brown colour of the hardboard makes the glass parts surface boring and darkish, even nevertheless the glass is intended to be opaque. The secondary benefit of painting the hardboard with primer is that it seals it. I will not know if sealing hardboard does everything, but it will make me experience better believing it’s sealed. I do not know the product or chemical attributes of hardboard and how it can be created, so I do not know if it requirements to be sealed, but painting it presents me a great, heat-and-fuzzy experience. I have a behavior of sealing every thing whether or not it desires it or not.
After implementing the tesserae and grout, you can be surprised at how versatile the mosaic is without producing glass or grout failure (assuming your tesserae are comparatively modest). When I 1st employed 1/8-inch hardboard as the basis for a mosaic, I experimented and located that I could bend the mosaic a whole two inches with no affecting the glass and grout. I was also fearful to bend it additional than two inches! Following the experiment, I assumed if the mosaic can bend a whopping two inches, then it can endure any warping that may possibly manifest. Then, soon after the mosaic was installed in the pre-made frame, I realized that the mosaic was put in in this kind of a fashion to inhibit any warping at all. The mosaic was pressed and held in-put with the little fasteners in the again of the body to retain it from falling out. The only way the mosaic can warp is if it is sturdy sufficient to cause the body to warp with it. I have in no way had a challenge with any indoor wall mosaic warping when utilizing 1/8-inch hardboard put in in a regular pre-built body.
1/8-inch hardboard is also light-weight more than enough so the weight of the in general mosaic isn’t so heavy that you have to remodel your dwelling to produce a help construction stout sufficient to maintain the pounds of a mosaic. Frequently, my 24″x24″ (or much less) mosaics are gentle ample to sufficiently dangle by means of a image hook and nail installed in drywall. I don’t have to minimize into the drywall to set up 2″x4″ pieces involving the studs and then substitute the drywall. This is incredibly beneficial, especially when advertising or supplying away the mosaic (i.e., you won’t reduce buyers that you may in any other case lose if you inform them they have to hang the mosaic by performing something much more than pounding a nail into wall).
