It’s rainy and crappy out, so here is today’s project – trying to replicate this (or come up with my own design):
I don’t have much in the way of tiles because it is super expensive, but I want to try to make one or two just to see how it goes. If it works out, I would like a bunch of them to put in between my raised beds because I think they are pretty.
SARAH WENK
Gorgeous!
John Cole
@SARAH WENK: I didn’t make those- that is the sample from the DIY page.
WhatsMyNym
I like the step where they glue onto kraft paper, instead of just sticking them straight into the mortar like the Romans had to. Should allow you to have some practice/failures as you go..
Heidi Mom
Great idea, John!
artem1s
John,
you can use almost anything for tiles if you aren’t planning on walking on them. broken bits of pottery, plates, or glassware. pebbles. beach glass. Your local Michaels or craft store should have a selection of glass or ceramic beads for floral arrangements (used for the bottom of the vase to keep flowers in place). Or you can contact your local arts center or community college and see if the ceramics department has pot sherds they want to discard.
schrodingers_cat
Nice! I have seen people use old discarded china to make their own “tiles”. But those might have sharp edges and could cut you. So probably not recommended for someone accident prone.
hw3
In college, I once “tiled” a counter top with the shards of old flatware from this box — great way to avoid studying for finals. Didn’t cost much and ended up looking ok. Final grade not so much.
chris
Expensive? Go nuts, man!
Barbara
So basically, you create your own pattern backing, rather than buying prefab patterned tile at Home Depot or wherever. That’s very clever.
bobbo
these are cool. I wanna make them now.
Another Scott
If you go forward with it, make sure you put a good clear sealant over the mortar. We have a bird bath with lots of tile work on it that looks great, but some of the tiles have flaked off because water got in cracks in the mortar and lifted them when it froze.
Have fun.
Cheers,
Scott.
jla
protip, line your mold with saran wrap and spray with Pam, a friend who did this found it made unmolding much easier.
Kelly
My brother has similar pavers made by friends and family. Started out with his grandkids, gradually spread to us all. Mementoes.
A simple, inexpensive way to dress up concrete is adding pigments or dyes to the mix.
Josie
John, you can also go to a place that sells tiles for kitchens, bathrooms, etc. and ask for discards. My friends and I found some really pretty stuff for very little money that way.
cliosfanboy
@John Cole: tease. They are nice looking.
satby
@artem1s: I was going to say this too. A lot of those places also sell tumbled rocks that look like river rocks, that would be pretty too. Broken glass and china works as long as you sink any sharp edges into the concrete. I have a glass tumbler so I tumble that stuff for mosaics, but you don’t have to if you’re careful to sink the sharp spots.
@jla: even easier, look at resale shops or goodwill for silicone cake baking dishes in round or square shapes. They peel right off the molded stepping stone when it hardens, and they’re easier to level the concrete off so that it’s absolutely flat.
Mai Naem mobile
John you can get tile dirt cheap or free on Craigslist, Habitat, sample boards. The old non stone brightly colored tile are especially cheap. You can stick the bigger ones in a cloth bag and break them up with a mallet. Just wear gloves handling because of the sharp edges. I have a ton of tile I would happily send you if it wasn’t so expensive to ship. My plan,if I ever get around to it is to use it making abstractish designs on the back fence.
L85NJGT
Concrete coloring agents and stains are an option.
Bob7094
The article is a bit confusing as it calls the material grout, cement, and concrete. Another article on that site says to use Type S Mortar Mix, and rebar.
NotMax
Habitat ReStore sells tile for a song.
opiejeanne
Those look very nice. A nice embellishment for your garden.
When I was a kid my mom bought a kit to make a pair of small mosaic dishes. Probably about 1960, when I was 10. The base was a slightly dished metal dish with a low rim and I enjoyed gluing the pieces into place. Mom kept them on the coffee table for many years.
sukabi
@John Cole: go to your local thrift or goodwill and get a bunch of colorful plates and use your hammer on them. Instant mosaic pieces.
NotMax
@artem1s
Also too, aquarium gravel*. Comes in a variety of colors.
*Probably goes under some fancy schmancy name now., Last time I had an aquarium was nearly 60 years ago.
NotMax
@opiejeanne
Had a kit like that as well, for making ashtrays. Square copper-colored metal base with canted sides and flat bottom.
Safer to use than the woodburning kit. :)
laura
My gal pal has made these pavers for both her garden and the median strip in her driveway. They are so lovely. Yours will be too. It’s a great DIY project IMHO.
How’s the bee beard / birds nest in your beard coming along? Cant wait for pics!
scuffletuffle
@NotMax: Still have my completed “ash tray,” some 55 years later!
Martin
Didn’t expect Cole to go full Etsy, but I approve.
thebewilderness
Tiles get very hot in the sun, so they are best for people who wear shoes in the garden. Ask me how I know.
Dr Ronnie James DO
If people like mosaics, come to Philly where we have Isaiah Zagar mindbending building sized works incorporating mirrors, tableware, and any other kind of ceramic you can think of, on what feels like every block:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah_Zagar
I would love to know how the hell he acquires that much broken ceramics, how he catalogs it, plans his works, etc.
J R in WV
@Josie:
John, so much this!! We bought some normal beige tile for a floor, not much tile and inexpensive. Then I asked if they have left over scraps that we could select a variety from for some detail work. They welcomed us into their basement, told us to knock our selves out.
I have a friend who knows an outfit that makes custom ceramic tile in Columbus OH… she dives their dumpster for scraps and rejected seconds, makes great bathrooms and kitchen floors from them. Big thick works of art.
We wound up using commercial tile because I hadn’t gotten my head around what Dixie was talking about until Iater on I saw a gorgeous bathroom she built with that rejected custom tile… so superior to the commercial tile, amazeballs!
Joy
I once used China (plates, cups etc) I bought at a thrift store, broke them into pieces and then made a mosaic from them. Pretty cheap.