Oh Hazie, how sad. I've made a couple of birdbaths, one with stained glass, on a cement base, and one with broken dishes on a terra cotta base. I used GE11 for both of them and had them out in all but the coldest winter months, They've stuck on fine. I also sealed the grout with tile lab grout sealer. When they get grungy I hose them out and fill with water and say a quarter cup of bleach, let them sit for a bit, scrub a little with a soft brush, let them dry and re seal. I do that about once a year. I haven't had any tiles come loose. I am in the midst of doing another one on a cement base right now.
If you want to use mastic perhaps a swimming pool product would be better to handle the water.
Cindy

Thanks for the info Cindy!
I was so bummed!...I used a grout that was suppused to be for pools, but I think that mastic was where I went wrong.
I sealed it twice too!. Slow suggested I take it all off and redo it, but I had just finished it, and didn't want
to destroy it.......instead mother nature did it for me!
I wish she'd just finished the job...so I didn't have to bust the rest off!

I'm glad to hear you used stained glass on the cement base,
with no problems with the GEII. That's what I'll try this time, and I'll bring the top in out of the snow next year.

Hazie

Hi Hazie! My bird bath seems to be okay, everytime I check it it has frozen water in it, and I remember thinking, I'm gonna haul it in with all the other goodies for winter, well, it's all still out there, the frog unstuck from his swing but he still is sitting pretty sooo hopefully...

Glad to hear it!
What adhesive did you use?

Hazie

I took Slow's idea and used mastic. Then gouted with some expensive (bought new instesd of recyled) outside grout. Then a super sealer also bought new from tile store. It's not bad for a first but everyone here has inspired me to make a real bling one now!

Do you all have some pics of your birbaths
I would love to try one but need some photo inspiration

Thanks, Sharon

Here's one of my bird baths, I used a large terra cotta saucer and broken dishes for this. Used a metal stand from a thrift store to stand it on.
Cindy

I thought Slowme used thinset mortar for all her outdoor stuff.... or was this from a long time ago?

Klinger, LOVE the birdbath. I want one now too!

I think she does.
I e-mailed her this summer when I was about done with mine,
and she thought I should redo it, with mortor. I didn't have the heart to bust off my tiles, after I tried, and they
started breaking! So I decided to see how it went! It was a miserable failure!.....but I have grown so much over the last few months......I had only done a few mosaics then..
I'm ready to do something much better!

I think I'll just buy a new top for my birdbath, and not try to chip the rest of those suckers off!.........I have way better ideas now!
I've really only been mosaicing for about 8 months....I did some stuff years ago........but it was just basic..all one color stuff. I just started playing with glass last October!
So I'm still really new to all of this.....and am dying to
go nuts with my birdbath!!

Hazie

Here's a before and after pic of my birdbath.
Click on pic to enlarge.





My Pics

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See your discussion on mastic/mortar. I used Mapei UltraFlex 2 polymer modified mortar for adhesive AND grout. Holding fast even through the recent freezes w/snow coverings.

Oh Hazie, I'm sooooo sorry to read that. Such a disappointment to be sure.

Hazie, I'm so sorry your birdbath went for a swim, so to speak, but I wanted to thank you for posting about it. I have been hanging out at the kitchen forum for a while and am nearing compoletion on that project, but I saw this forum in the list and came to seek advise on coloring grout for the birbath I had just completed piecing. I was getting it ready for a fundraising auction this weekend. Afetr reading your post, I went and put water in it. After letting it sit, the tile loosened. I nearly died thinking what could have happened! I plucked the tile off, scraped the adhesive, dried the birdbath and started over. I need to go finish it, but I wanted to let you know you saved some heartache and some embarrassment. This is only my second mosaic project -- other than a school project that was just laying tiles on benches, so quite the novice here.

I'm sure I'll be back -- I was out today and found an egg candy dish at the dollar store and a ceramic shoe dish I had to buy to mosaic. I really want to do a teapot now too. This is bad....

Hazie, here is a birdbath I made last year on a clay base. The base is concrete and I didn't like the design on it so tiled over it and then grouted to try to match the top dish.
Debbie
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

Debbie, what a pretty design, I love those little fish,
Cindy

lascatx! I'm so glad my problem helped you out!
You have to post a pic of it for us!

Debby...that is almost exactly what I want to do with mine when I redo it!

Cindy...Mine wasn't near that fancy!
This is mine....

Hazie

WAIT!!! HAZIE - was that the BB we discussed last fall and I opened my big mouth and advised you on what materials to use? OHMYGOODNESS. I am soooooooo sorry. My stuff holds up in the winter just fine. When you say mastic, what do you mean. That term always throws me cuz there are so many kinds. My dictionary says it's a cement used for glueing tiles to a wall, so it sounds like a type of mortar. Boy, am I sorry if I told you something that didn't work. Like I always say - no advice, I just tell y'all what I do. Hope your next efforts are more successful.

D3bbi, That design is wonderful!

Yes Lascatx, you certainly sound like you belong with us on the forum! Join our next swap, it's bowl!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm definitely going to have questions if I'm going to continue down this path.

I have finished piecing my birdbath (for the second time), and I think it looks better so there was a benefit beyond correcting the adhesive. I'll be grouting it this afetrnoon -- a first time to mix paint into grout. I'm not sure this project will hold up to pictures against your projects, but we'll see.

And I spotted a watering can out on the patie that might need to be covered......LOL

OH Slow...No reason to be sorry! I talked to you after I used that mastic, and you said it probably wouldn't work,
and you were right! I should've taken your advice, and taken it apart. I used that mapei Type one, for floors and wall tiles. That was my mistake!

Hazie

Phew! Still very sorry, but now you know how and what so w/be looking forward to the new BB.

It's back to KMart I go to find a BIGGER TC tray!!!!!!