HELP! My beautiful glass tiles are breaking!

[LUVGLAS]

I love glass tile and I had a wonderful, reputable, long-standing glass tile company custom make tile for me. This company has made glass tile for pools in the past and had no problems. They laminate their glass tile with a 2-part epoxy product. In my pool my tile steps have glass tile highlights no larger than 2 inches in diameter. I also have a few large pieces (about 12" in diameter) in the bottom of the pool (deep end) which have no cracks whatsoever. I'm thinking that the plaster "strangled" the little tiles in the steps...meaning that the plaster was such (so rigid) that it didn't allow the glass tiles to fluctuate with temperature changes. We live in mid-coast California so our weather doesn't have crazy highs and lows. BTW, the same glass tiles in the waterline also aren't cracked, just the ones on the steps. The people who make the glass tile have made glass for floor inserts for the last 20 years with no problems (unless it was an installation problem by the tile setter).

I'm thinking its the plaster...and I want to use the glass again. Can someone recommend me a good plaster to use which will work with the glass?

[Curatolo Pools]

The Problem may be that the Glass tile should be applied with thin set designed for glass tile. Regular thin set or pool plaster could cause the problem you described . If I am understanding your problem correctly, I think you are talking about the deco tile placed into the tops of each step and if they were pushed down into the pool plaster this may cause them to crack. I think it has something to do with the plaster drying and pulling moisture very quickly from the glass tile.. I don't do a lot of glass tile on my pool remodels in my area but the few I have done were done with this special glass tile thin set. Sounds like your glass step tile were set into pool plaster unless they were set prior to the pool finish . When we add deco tile into the steps ,we usually just sink them into the diamond brite and with regular pool tile it is never a problem .Just my guess. Hope it helps. Dennis, New Port Richey, florida