Installing a Hexagonal Mosaic Marble shower Floor, step by step

[@wasntme3651]

Sal is by far the best guy on KZbin, he’s old school.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks for watching my video.

[@bigdaddy7670]

absolutely a beautiful job! True craftsmanship. A rare thing these days.

[@SalDiBlasi]

😊👍

[@robertgatien2543]

Great job. Would love to see how you cut those small tiles around the drain.

[@scrim555]

Stunning shower design btw, the nook was the icing on the cake!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks for watching my video.

[@CarlosAlvarez-gb1of]

Hi. I see many your videos and they helped me a lot. Your work is very good and the truth is that I do not know English. So I just have to see you. thank you. greetings from Argentina

[@Tyrik121]

Amazing work as Always Sal! I am a professional installer Sal and I still watch your videos to better myself. I always pick up a tip or two from every your videos. Thank you for sharing

[@SalDiBlasi]

there is always more to learn, just got back from a Laticrete PTK training myself.

[@dijonezable]

Awesome work my fellow tradesman. I am in my 3rd year of carpenter apprenticeship and greatly appreciate these types of videos and look forward to God willing uploading my own as well. Thank you for sharing your gift/talent.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Awesome, thank you!

[@alexmac101]

Beautiful job. Thank you for taking the time to show us so clearly step by step and sharing all your experience. I learned a lot

[@aprilreeves1356]

Thanks for video. So helpful! I’m about to lay down penny round on our bathroom shower floor. We already laid it all out and dry fit it but took it all out. I would have never thought to leave it all in there and just remove a few at a time to be sure it all stays lined up.

[@skiponeill8927]

Awesome job I have the same tile for my shower floor you made it look easy and I know it’s not. So I decided to do this myself everything in the video is exactly like my shower floor, drain exact I had to run out to my addition to see if you came and done it and of course it’s still not done. Lol haha great job great video thanks for the education. God Bless Carl from Florida.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks, glad it helped

[@FredMarles]

Very nice job. Good patients pays out well.

[@WelchFamilyHomestead]

I’m doing the exact same floor in my cabin shower floor. Thank you. This was extremely helpful.

[@wesleygold6195]

Just what I needed. I was wondering how to keep my reference with exactly where the muddled tile goes, and when you troweled right up to the edge of the next tile it makes so much sense. Here I go, thanks.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Glad I could help!

[@phillipsprangiii3112]

This helped tremendously: doing my first hex tile shower floor. But what I REALLY want to know is: where can I find one of those rapid-fire speed-squeegee tampers you use in this video!?

[@jimmeh213]

Rubber backed float from Home Depot

[@geoffbrown586]

This was very helpful Sal. Thanks and greetings from northern New South Wales, Australia

[@SalDiBlasi]

Greetings from Boston Massachusetts.

[@doitnewitt4163]

Always a pleasure to watch Sal at work !

[@SalDiBlasi]

👍😊

[@hereticxxx9317]

Hope you do a video on the bench, looks awesome.

[@satveerdhaliwal2078]

I would like to see a video about how do you seal the grout and how it supposed to feel when it's done?

[@johnnysmythe7767]

@@satveerdhaliwal2078 with marble or other porous natural stone, you seal the tile before grouting. This prevents staining of the tile by the grout. You can then seal the grout after its set. With porcelain or ceramic tile, theres no need to pre seal the tile.

[@brettishihara5317]

Check out Schluters website and there are tutorials on how to install their bench with 2 inch and half inch kerdi board and waterproof it with kerdi roll and Schluter set

[@captainquint25]

A master to behold. Excellent vids. Thank you.

[@peteranoia3713]

you have to show us how you cut round tile around the drain thank you

[@blackdogproductions2044]

fantastic work!!!! I'm about to install a similar hex tile on a shower floor this morning. Nice to pre-game the install with coffee in here on youtube. Mine isn't going to go so smoothly or look anywhere near as good though. blah. tileing is hard. I have mine all laid out and had a hell of a time getting all my spaces right. Used spacers. Can't believe you just eyeball it and it goes together so perfect. Man you're good.

[@EastRiverHomestead]

Sal, thank you so very much for this video. Not only is it a pleasure watching your work, but the marble you worked with was almost as amazing as your craft.

[@SalDiBlasi]

👍😊

[@ClownCarCoup]

which way does the Schluter drain components assemble? There are tabs on one end of the circular insert, do they go at the top or bottom? Why did you decide to flip the flange at 1:15 ? Does that have a correct install position or does it not matter?

[@sheilamontoya5546]

😲 that bath is awesome. Now i want that floor in my new walk in shower. Thank you for inspiration. Nice detail work around drain

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@charlesslocumjr1693]

Excellent display of just what I am about to do !

[@NativeNYerChicHK]

I feel like I’ve seen this video before, like it’s been re-uploaded? Either that or you do your jobs exactly the same each time LOL And I’m not complaining, thanks for that. I have 2” hexagon tile I’ll be doing on my shower floor with the kerdi drain, so very similar to what you’ve done here. So this video and videos like it are extremely helpful.

[@deranium]

Nice video! Was wondering how you cut the edge of the tile so cleanly? Seems like it would be tricky with the saw as there is so little overhang on the edge to hold. Thanks so much!

[@teh60]

Nice work Sal. That bench looks amazing, would love to see a video on that.

[@ryanksiazek]

Nice work Sal. Done this tile many times and noticed how clean your inside corners are on the small hex.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks 👍

[@geebs43]

Very helpful video, but I do have one question. Most videos I've seen have recommended using a v-notch trowel for mosaic tyle. I see you are using a square notch. Is there really a big difference? What would be the advantage of one over the other?

[@DanielZajic]

This was really helpful! I'm just about to tile a shower almost exactly this. 👏

[@c.a.s1900]

How did it turn out. We are starting right now. Any issues with the marble floor? I'm nervous about it. People say it stains

[@jpj]

Great info and tip with the dry fit! Thanks for sharing. The super speed tile taps made a very satisfying sound!

[@johnsidaway7017]

As always. Beautiful work Sal

[@thetruthfree]

Beautiful work sir. I respect your craft. Thank you for sharing.

[@gimydaloot]

Thank you so much for making this video! I will be giving this a go for my client next week. How did you safely cut the small tiles for around the drain though?

[@45gfx55]

Thank you for sharing your valuable experience Sal. Your videos are fantastic, really appreciate the effort. Hope you are well sir. Have a great day.

[@buddymilhoan]

Very nice thank you. What size trowel do you use

[@buckeye44wbg]

Thank you Sal! Great video.

[@SalDiBlasi]

😊👍

[@brianvisconti2213]

That came out great! Do you have any recommendations for cutting the tile with a tile saw that's set up like a table saw (from below)? The tiles keep lifting when contacting the blade.

[@SalDiBlasi]

You need a good quality saw, those cheap table saws are junk

[@bbadstew1]

Ok, appreciate seeing this as I'm about to do my own shower with the same pattern for the floor, but is the seem where the wall and floor meet just filled with thin set/grout? or filled with caulking? I know most have said that the gap is for any type of movement with the pan but haven't seen any real answer?

[@jpbiscaro8694]

I don't know if you have done any videos of the topic. But would you ever do one of a roman bath tub or pool if the job comes up?

[@billblack2871]

Thank you for your video. If you have to remove drain strainer in the future(due to plumbing problems) how due you do that since the drain is bonded to the floor with thinset?. Also did you set the drain you little bit lower than the tile to make a slope to drain into or did set tge drain flush with the tile. Thanks.

[@SalDiBlasi]

inner Grate is removable, couple of screws

[@WildcatWilder]

I’m installing tile in a small bathroom and the schluter has some humps I tried to level the best I could, would you suggest leveling on top of it before I lay tile? Same type you are laying here maybe little bigger pattern

[@davegordon6943]

Do you not need a preslope on those shluter pans. I know some already have a preslope but others are just flat.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Just the single slope to the drain

[@johnkeith5341]

Really well done vid Sal. Do you have a video for the seat and niche build?

[@SalDiBlasi]

I have almost 1000 videos, I know I have covered it several times.

[@ritakhurana5631]

Hi Sal, I'm getting my bathroom renovation done. My installer finished laying out the same hexagon tiles on the shower floor and finished the grout. I was checking it and felt many sharp edges of the tiles in the floor...what can I suggest to my installer to convince him to finish it properly. Thanks. Looking forward to hearing from you asap. Thanks

[@caroljohnson8817]

A beautiful job Sal. Very masterful. Love that niche area and that ceiling too.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thank you kindly

[@treystills]

Beautiful work! If you were using 2" hex tile on a 12"x12" mesh backer would you pre-cut the ends off (1:48) that would be placed next a tub border? Thanks again!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Anywhere the tile will be seen, you want a clean even line, it is often easier and quicker to cut the ends of rather than try to add in the cut pieces one at a time.

[@jackgraham5714]

How did you cut the edge off of the small hex tiles? Do you show that on another video?

[@SalDiBlasi]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaWxhYWloMxpjNk

[@douglaswells2739]

Watching an artist at work without a bunch of music is so satisfying. I learn so much from these videos. Sal, how big is this shower roughly? Nice size, giving me ideas...

[@jesusisgod9208]

wondering what grout you used on the flooring, sanded,(which would be hard to fill in the grout lines) or non-sanded (which they say NOT to use on floors because it will crack) I have 1/16 inch grout lines and need something for heavy traffic area grout. Awesome video!!

[@quinnhaynie7767]

For 1/16 you have to use unsanded, not recommended for flooring esp wet application. Check out 3/32" spacing, you can use sanded grout.

[@wushufuzz9629]

quick question, I heard something about triple sealing marble before it gets put down in the showers?? what's the standard, and best way from your perspective. if you don't mind. thanks enjoy your videos.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Six sided sealing but has to be a breathable sealer and a lot more to it than just the sealer.

[@CaptainMedina]

Alot of people probably think that it's sped up at certain parts. It's not. When you do tile for 35 years, you can pat the tiles down like that.

[@shoneycutt7767]

That bench is amazing!!

[@DevilsAngel]

How to manufacture mosaic tiles ? I have a Marble Gangsaw and want to add elevation stones and mosaic stones to my catalog.

[@roachtv995]

Without any weep holes, won't water sit above the membrane below the drain grade?

[@SalDiBlasi]

It's a sealed system

[@mannymadrigal2714]

Awesome job Sal, ur the best!!!

[@dwaynenero535]

You did a great job. I just finished doing a job yesterday using the same tile but the back of the tile packet said to use a 1/4 x 3/16 V notch trowel, so I did, now seeing that you used a square trowel makes me worried that the mortar wasn't deep enough or substantial enough to hold the tile down. I will have to check it tomorrow. Also with so many little tiles I noticed afterwards that there were full lines that butt up together with the same equal space between them, 😫 my mistake of course..

[@handydandyhomes]

if that was the manufacturer recommendation you will be fine just make sure to use the right thinset

[@ClTlZEN_X]

What thinset you'd recommend for installing marble mosaics with mesh on the back? Thank you!

[@c.a.s1900]

I am going thru a bathroom remodel now. I picked out similar marble hex for my shower floor. I'm on the fence, people are telling me not to use it cuz it turns yellow and stains. What are peoples thoughts on this? Yes or no to marble floor?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Depends, the quality of the water in your location can have an impact, the quality of the stone and how you maintain it.

[@mosconi4539]

Great job.Is it possible to cut mosaic sheets nicely without a wet saw?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Yes, absolutely

[@mosconi4539]

@@SalDiBlasi Thx.Bought myself a Sigma cutter and a nice stone mosaic for shower floor(boxer rodano white 0290).Will renovate my bathroom and put this mosaic on shower floor.Have laid tiles few times using the knowledge i acquired from you.This is our small bathroom renovation,i hope it will turn out fine.

[@SalDiBlasi]

@@mosconi4539 Should have mentioned it was stone, will need some kind of saw for that, wet or dry.

[@mosconi4539]

@@SalDiBlasi Thx.I have the diamong cutting blade for the grinder,hope it will work.

[@frankmiller668]

SAL, Your The Guy ! Thanks

[@jayrob7418]

Awesome. Sal can you post the link on how to lay the Kerdi membrane please.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGPTZo14f62jZs0

[@lisarienow3385]

What size trowel are you using? How deep are the grooves? Also, what brand of thinset you use?

[@JoseRodriguez-fx7uc]

Only been doing tile for a year and glad to see I’ve ended up doing the same technique as you use. Definitely learnt a thing or two. I always tried squaring up the drain to the walls and would end up with a centered drain but diff size pieces around it. My question is why would I want to use a brush like that on marble tiles? Wouldn’t you scratch it? Granted it’ll get scratch when homeowners wash it but I don’t want to deliver the product scratched.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Do whatever it takes to get the job done. Vinyl brush will generally be safe on marble.

[@JoseRodriguez-fx7uc]

@@SalDiBlasi Thanks for the reply. I’ll keep that in mind and keep watching your videos. Just subscribed aswell

[@SalDiBlasi]

@@JoseRodriguez-fx7uc 👍

[@RoxVrod]

What saw did you use to cut the little pieces around the drain?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Same wet saw as the rest of the bathroom.

[@MikeyMuerto]

Newbie question - are you eyeballing the space between sheets instead of using spacers? Or do mosaics butt together with correct space already?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Eyeball, but use whatever method gets it done correctly.

[@banman17]

Great craftsmanship. May I ask why you didn't use Schleuter edging? Do you need it at all really since it looks like you just butted the tiles against one another.

[@douglasnorman8748]

Is that a 1/4 x 1/4 notch? I'm doing the exact 1 inch hex.

[@nenaxen]

20:16 Schluder's video show they even backbuttered grate back side in advance before placing assembly to the floor

[@brianbelto8801]

Thanks for your excellent video

[@wadejensen4146]

New viewer. Great Chanel Sal. Fellow contractor.

[@SalDiBlasi]

👍😊

[@angelacolombo1330]

I’m trying to figure out how to repair spots that didn’t lay down properly. I laid this exact floor with a Greek key border trim in my kitchen and I had to repair up some of the tiles that did not set in properly, my bad. Is there a better way to do it, a trick, than how I’m doing it which is a few pieces at a time instead of picking up the whole sheet

[@russguar59]

Excellent work. What type of mortar should be used on top of a schluter pan to set tile?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Any of the Schluter mortar, or a premium unmodified from another company.

[@OneWheelLess]

Nice one Sal!

[@PuertoRicoSeGoza]

Thankyou for the video , these tiles are beautiful

[@SalDiBlasi]

Glad you like them!

[@martinjoehooker5524]

Beautiful job Mr. Sal don’t know have a video on how you to do the seat.

[@jackiewalker115]

What grout did you use on the floor?

[@mcasman52]

What size trowel did you use?

[@pamelam3970]

Very nice. Are the hexagons inside the niche all flat or do some protrude? Should they all be flat or is that a stylistic choice? Should I be able to feel the edges or should it be grouted so that the entire niche is smoothe?

[@SalDiBlasi]

Should be flat

[@pamelam3970]

@@SalDiBlasi Thank you!

[@jillianemanuel09j]

Thank you so much for this video! It has helped me a ton! You are so great at what you do!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vvdv3444]

how to you apply the motor on the edges where a laid sheet matches an unlaid sheet. How do you get the adhesive in those small areas?

[@emyunster]

Is this marble tiles? Are they ok for the shower floor? Won’t stain overtime? That’s my main concern - the color change

[@hussainnavid9871]

Great work! What’s the black thing you put it around the floor west how can buy

[@SalDiBlasi]

Sorry, don't know what you are referring to.

[@hussainnavid9871]

Sal DiBlasi the black circle you put around the floor wast/ drain

[@SalDiBlasi]

That is part of the drain system comes all together.

[@johnaustin1825]

Were the tiles already cut to fit against a wall? Usually hex tiles supplied that have to be cut!!

[@SalDiBlasi]

No I cut them.

[@chrisstringale1429]

Nice work. I did the same tile in my bathroom. Had some trouble with little dots of grout left behind on the marble. Should the tile be sealed before grouting

[@SalDiBlasi]

Yes.

[@elenapleasant7598]

Wow, that’s amazing, looks beautiful!

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@timjones1583]

What size trowel did you say??

[@treystills]

1/4" square notch trowel 11:36

[@larryzdanis5377]

Nice looking work.. One question.. do the new drain systems no longer utilize the drain holes at the bottom of the drain, where you're supposed to put pebbles to provide a way for water that seeps under the tile layer to escape? Seemed like you pack the the holes at the bottom of the drain with mortar.

[@SalDiBlasi]

This is a sealed system, no weep holes.

[@thinkingadvocate4572]

Sal, Great video … complete and detailed! I have a question about the trowel you use for the mosaic tile. I think you said it was a 1/4" square trowel. I'm doing my half bath with the same kind of tile. The tiles are made by Daltile. Daltile's recommendation is a 3/16" V-notch. I've never done this before and ask if the 1/4" would be best? Thanks for your consideration.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Depends on the tile, some are thicker with a deep pattern on the back of the tile, so a bigger trowel is needed, some mosaic tiles are thinner and have a flat back, so a smaller trowel will work. Try the smaller trowel first, check your coverage, if needed move to the bigger trowel.

[@jrichardsonsms]

Yes, I just did 1/2 of mine with a 1/4 square and wish I had used the 3/16 b/c I got SO much thinset in the joints...took me longer to clean than to lay the 12 tiles. Definitely going to try the 3/16 for the other half and hopefully save some time on the cleaning/oozing. I am using a flat-backed ceramic 1.5" mosaic with no mesh so coverage-tiles are held together with the blob of glue between them-should be fine with the 3/16. Thanks Sal for the great videos and taking the time to respond!

[@jonathanrodemich197]

Hey so I recently had an issue with a marble mosaic not bonding properly useing Schluter allset thin set. Tile was set the same way you did in the video and I also wiped any would be dust off of the back of the tile with damp sponge and dried it before installing and it did not adhere properly. Even pulled up the first couple peices to check coverage and still didn't adhere to the tile where the fiberglass mesh is. My question is what are your thoughts on the TCNA saying that for fiber glass reinforced marbles to use a epoxy mortar?

[@BADMONTESS]

Sounds like to me your thin-set was to stiff, not tacky, creamy enough to adhere to the tile. Plus the kerdi product tends to pull the moisture from an already stiff thin-set reducing your open time. Does not hurt to take a grout float or beating block to tamp your mosaics down into the thin-set. This promotes a better bond and brings a lot of the mosaic tiles into the same plane, reducing any lippage, ripples between adjacent sheets etc. Epoxy mortar, that is called out to ensure maximum performance, a residential application would be just fine without that being used. Are you putting the tiles on a shower floor over a mud bed or over a product similar to the Schluter products being used here. Why do you say you are not getting a good bond? The tiles look clean when you lift them? Mosaics rarely come up hollow or such. They tend to lock themselves together and prevent the others from popping up. Thin-set gets into the grout joints from the underside and dries adhered to the edges of the tiles too. Then when you grout the whole field is monolithic and actually quite strong rarely will they shear away and lift.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Resin back tiles are notoriously difficult to bond with thinset mortar, even the high polymer content mortars. There are several types of resins used on these mosaic tiles and they are not all good and some will delaminate from the tile because of the poor quality. The only way to set these types of tiles is to use an epoxy mortar, all other adhesives will fail. My suggestion is to reject any tile that has a resin back and have the homeowner choose something else.

[@jonathanrodemich197]

@@SalDiBlasi Awesome thank you very much

[@jonathanrodemich197]

@@BADMONTESS Nope was a fresh batch. And it was only 32sqft that was pre cut and ready to rock.

[@Questchaun]

Nice maaahble. Thanks for the video Sal!

[@allenadams181]

I see you used small mosaic tile. I want to do the same thing as my chosen tile is 1 1/2 inch across in a hexagonal tile. Schluter says not to use smaller than a 2 inch tile . Did this system work well for you as I'd really like to use Schluter shower kits with good results. thank you so much . and by the way, you did a beautiful job!

[@SalDiBlasi]

I have a mud base so size of tile is irrelevant, if you use a foam tray you need to stay within Schluter recommendations. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ2aZKeHh66Ae6c

[@mwworkman]

Great video. Thank you for sharing your detailed work. Question: Is there a grout joint where the tile meets the actual drain or do those cut pieces go right up against the drain, no grout? I'm thinking there's no grout joint because water could potentially fall through the grout joint before it made it to the actual drain, right? Thank you.

[@SalDiBlasi]

I will usually leave a small grout joint there, but fill it with grout, this is a sealed system the amount of water absorbed by the grout and mortar will dry in between uses.

[@danemmerich6775]

Very nice job!!

[@alexvasquez8884]

How long do u usually take to get a shower protect done ? Only the shower not the complete bathroom?

[@TrashyLobster]

Sal! Did you make that margin trowel ? Pretty slick.

[@SalDiBlasi]

amzn.to/3OR0SpT

[@caroljohnson8817]

How much space do you leave between the wall and the tile edges. And what is the measurements of your trowel? Thanks for your help.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Watch this video for trowel selection, kzbin.info/www/bejne/rWa1oq2FdtOSqsU As long as the wall tile covers the gap between the floor tile and backer board, you are good, but leave at the very least 1/8" gap

[@leticiaruvalcaba-arballo3181]

Beautifully done.

[@robertallen8385]

Sal, I’m going to do a kitchen backsplash with a 2” hex travertine 3/8 thick mosaic sheet tile which I think you are using in this video. I was planning on using Mapie Prostone adhesive for convenience but was told it would be better to use a thin-set like LFT Ultraflex that I mix myself. Also, installing two 12 x 20 tiles above my cooktop as a feature. What do you recommend for adhering and what size notch trowel? Also concerned about cutting hex sheets but it looked like no problem watching you do it in the video. I watch a lot of your videos and really appreciate your expertise. Your reply will be very much appreciated.

[@SalDiBlasi]

Mastic has very limited uses, I have not used any in years. You need to use a white thinset mortar with a natural stone product. Ultraflex LFT is a thinset used mainly for Large Format Tiles (LFT) but will work with the mosaic, read the mixing instructions. You can use a smaller trowel with the mosaic tile, set a sheet and check your coverage, if not good move to a larger size. Be sure to keep everything clean as you work and to clear any thinset from grout lines while the mortar is still fresh. Seal the tile before you grout.

[@robertallen8385]

@@SalDiBlasi ; I’m using the LFT Ultraflex because I have the two 12 x 20 x 1/2 that I’m installing above my cooktop for a feature and the Ultraflex only comes in a 50lb bag. So, I figured I might as well use it for the whole backsplash and save a few bucks. I plan on using a 3/8 deep, 1/4” notch trowel. Do you think 3/8 might be too deep and cause bleed-out between the mosaics? A

[@SalDiBlasi]

@@robertallen8385 The 3/8 trowel is too deep for those mosaics, you can use a 1/4 or even a bit less.

[@macrapidito1]

@@SalDiBlasi I’m about to do the same tile in a backsplash, I’m using Type 1 Mapei tile adhesive applied with a 3/16s trowel, then I will use Mapeis Flexcolor CQ premixed groud, are you suggesting to seal the mosaic first then do the groud? I was planning to use 511 impregnator sealer. What would you do? Thanks in advance

[@SalDiBlasi]

@@macrapidito1 First ditch the mastic, it can stain the marble. Yes seal before you grout and be sure to check your coverage with that trowel, you may need to move up to a 1/4x1/4x1/4. The sealer is good.

[@robertwestover2125]

Great video

[@SalDiBlasi]

Thanks!