Laying Mosaic Floor Tile

A little over five years ago, I redid my laundry room. The space had a concrete floor and the rest of the room took too long, so I decided to paint the floors rainbow. Which was cute until the divots in the floor slowly filled with dirt. Now we’re starting over, but this time I’ll be laying mosaic floor tile! It’ll be spectacular- especially after having floors that are impossible to clean!

how to install mosaic tile

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. It’d mean so much if you’d watch the video! I’m trying to get better at my video skills so I can grow my YouTube channel. If you have a few minutes to watch this and/or subscribe, I’d so appreciate it.

Thank you to Mozaico for supplying the product for this post. All opinions are my own.

before

I thought I would show some pictures of the rainbow floors. I swept and mopped before taking these pictures. Can you tell? No- well, me either. I like living with something that I can easily clean.

Another issue with the floor is there was a hump in the concrete floor at the door frame. That will need to be grinded down.

This tutorial will have prep work for laying mosaic floor tile over a concrete floor. If you’d like a tutorial for installing a mosaic over a subfloor, check out this mosaic we put in my bathroom.

What is mosaic tile?

A mosaic is a design that’s comprised of many small, often colorful, tile made from various materials such as glass, ceramic, stone, or even metal. These tiles are usually arranged in a pattern or design to create a larger image or surface covering.

Mosaic tiles have been used for decorative purposes in architecture and interior design for thousands of years, dating back to ancient civilizations such as the Greeks and Romans. When I was in Italy a few weeks ago I saw some of the ancient Roman mosaics and it was so inspiring!

The beauty of a mosaic is that they are versatile and can be used to adorn floors, walls, ceilings, and even furniture. Mosaic tiles are popular in bathrooms, kitchens, and other areas where a visually striking and durable surface is desired. They can even be used outside!

Here’s how to install mosaic tile in a laundry room-

SUPPLIES

Mosaic Tile from Mozaico (they created a custom pattern with Contrasting Roses, Marbella, Rosie, and a few others)
Tape measure
Exacto knife
Tile nippers
1/8″ Notched trowel
Rubber grout float
Sponge
Tile adhesive
Grout un-sanded in the color Bone
Microfiber towel
Tile enhancer and sealer

ordering the mosaic tile

My mosaic is from Mozaico. They have a TON of options and I spent awhile looking through them. I knew I wanted a floral pattern, but it also needed to work with the L shaped floor in my laundry room. Here’s the one I decided on-

I really love their square patterned mosaics. I thought I could uses ones like Contrasting Roses, Marbella, Rosie, and a few others to create an L shaped mosaic. The wallpaper in the room has big circles with flowers in it so I felt like this would coordinate and work with the rest of the room.

The great thing about Mozaico is that any design can be customized. They created a custom mosaic to perfectly fit my floor. Because they are handmade, they can change the size, color, shape, or adjust the design.

When the mosaic arrived, I was blown away. It is a work of art. The mosaic is high quality and is really going to be such a special part of the room. Mozaico has been in business for 21 years and has a team of talented craftsman.

step 1- grind the floor

The first step in how to install mosaic tile, start by preparing the floor. To do this, ensure that the floor is clean, dry, level, and free of any debris. Repair any cracks or imperfections in the floor. An uneven subfloor can result in cracking tiles, so having a good foundation is important. Since our concrete floor had a concrete hump, we grinded that smooth.

The concrete is painted. But because paint is so slick, we decided to grind it so the tile adhesive will adhere well to the floor.

Once the floor is prepped, make sure to clean it well.

step 2- skim coat

Now that the floor is grinded, apply a layer of tile adhesive. Why? This will fill in the divots on the floor and create a level surface for the mosaic to be played on. Using a trowel, spread the tile adhesive evenly over the concrete floor, making sure to fill any gaps or voids. Work in small sections to ensure thorough coverage.

Once the concrete is applied, use a trowel or float to smooth and level the surface of the floor.

Finally, allow the tile adhesive to cure. We let ours dry completely overnight. During the drying time, make sure to avoid walking on the floor or placing heavy objects on it.

When complete, vacuum the floor well.

step 3- dry fit

Once the prep is done, dry fit the tile to ensure it fits properly. Before beginning install, it’s important to lay out the tile in the room to make sure it’ll fit how you ordered it.

Make cuts to the backing board that are needed to go around obstacles like corners, doorways, or fixtures. By cutting the backing board, the extra tiles will come off in chunks or rows. I like to use an Exacto knife for this step.

For our laundry room, we have door way jambs that need to be cut around. Also, the room isn’t completely square. Because of that, we cut off a bit of the border where it was needed so the mosaic would fit.

On the back of the mosaic tiles is a backing with a clear layer attached to stabilize the tile. Remove the plastic backing on the bottom of the mosaic. This needs to be done before it can be installed. I’ve found it best to remove the backing before the thinset is applied.

step 4- laying mosaic floor tiles

Next, apply thinset mortar: Use a 1/8″ Notched trowel to apply thinset mortar onto the subfloor in sections. My tile came in three rolls so I’m doing one at a time. Make sure to only apply enough mortar that you can work with before it dries.

Once the tile adhesive is applied is the first section, set the tiles in place. Carefully place the mosaic tiles into the mortar, following the layout plan created in the last step. Pay careful attention to the seam as that’ll be the most obvious area if it isn’t lined up correctly. It’s a little tricky to get it lined up because the tiles are heavy!

Press each tile firmly into the mortar with the grout float to ensure good adhesion.

Work from one area of the room (preferably the back) towards the front for the best results.

Tip- keep a damp sponge handy to wipe up any tile adhesive that gets on the top of the tiles. Excess tile adhesive will dry quickly and be very hard to remove later (plus it looks terrible if its allowed to dry on the tile).

step 5- fill in holes

When the mosaic arrives, it comes with extra tiles. If needed, cut mosaic tiles with a nipper to cut tiles to fit around the edges of the floor or any holes in the mosaic. Sometimes the tiles fall off the mosaic backing (especially on the edges), I saved all of those so I can glue them back on.

When we laid our mosaic floor, we filled in holes after laying the tile so the wet tile adhesive holds the little pieces in place. This works great!

It may seem intimidating to cut the little mosaic pieces, but the tile nippers work great at cutting the stone into smaller pieces to fit in the holes. Find the right color of stone, cut it to size, and push it in place on top of the thinset.

Let the mosaic dry 24 hours so it can fully set.

step 6- grout

And now, that the mortar is dry, apply unsanded grout. Use a grout float to apply grout over the tiles, pressing it into the gaps between them. Make sure to fill all the gaps completely.

With a mosaic, the grout color is really important since it’s between all of the various colors. I decided to go for a beige color called Bone to go with the neutral color of the majority of the tile. To me it looks great and I’m really happy with the color choice!

After the grout has set for a short time (15-20 minutes), remove excess grout. Use a damp sponge to wipe away grout from the surface of the tiles. Rinse the sponge frequently in clean water to ensure a smooth finish.

Once the grout has dried for a few hours, give the tiles a final cleaning with a microfiber towel to remove any remaining grout haze.

step 7- seal the tile

Finally, seal the tiles. To finish off the mosaic, apply a tile enhancer and sealer 3 days after the tile is installed. This protects the tile from absorbing stains for up to 3-5 years. Since the tile is honed, it’s more prone to staining so this helps protect the surface. It also brings out the color of the natural stone.

To apply, wipe the tile sealer on with a white, clean, lint-free rag. Wait 3-5 minutes and then wipe off the excess.

mosaic tile after

The floor is done and I am thrilled with it!

It is art that doubles as a floor and I think the pattern is such a pretty focal point of the room.

Laying mosaic floor tile has lots of steps, but if you’ve laid tile I think it’s an absolutely approachable project. Plus the results are so special!

I’ve had lots of people worried that it is tricky to clean. I have a mosaic floor in my bathroom and I’ve found it just as easy as any tile floor to clean. For cleaning, I vacuum or sweep it and then steam clean.

I think the floor is gorgeous and I am so proud of it!

So there is my tutorial on laying mosaic floor tile! What do you think of it? Is this something you would put in your house? I’d love to hear in the comments. I think this tile is so cool because it is custom made and then you can roll it out and install hundreds of tiny tiles that make the prettiest picture. It’s a really special way to add art to your house!