Oceanside mosiac tile in shower?

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

The decision is between the Muse and Tessara lines, for one inch square tiles in the shower. Looking for input from those with experience!

For the two lines, the available colors are essentially the same, but the edge treatments are very different.

The Tessara tiles are hand cast/cut, so have those slight irregularities that create a charming texture in a tile covered wall. But those edges can be rough! The Muse tiles are more conventionally smooth in their edge treatment and are a fraction of an inch smaller.

I have Tessara in my kitchen backsplash and totally love it. But just how well suited it is for a shower? With its edge irregularities, I wonder about the chore of keeping it clean, with the constant water, and the potential for cutting skin, either for the cleaner or the bather.

Here are the links for the two:

http://www.glasstile.com/tessera-intro.aspx

http://www.glasstile.com/muse-glass-mosaic.aspx

Featured Answer

chiflipper

9 years ago

I think Muse is the better choice for the reasons you mention. A shower wall install is NOT the same as a backsplash install...get the best Pro and be prepared to pay his rate. Mosaics in a commercial setting are cleaned by means of low pressure steam, you may want to be sure there's a service provider in your area before making a final decision.

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Comments (6)

PRO
Mint tile Minneapolis
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Call oceanside glass direct they have great tech support and see if they reccomend it for a shower and inquire about their reccomended setting materials.

Some glass MFG, with certain glass, call for setting materials that are not rated for wet area shower applications.- best
tandem42 thanked Mint tile Minneapolis
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tandem42
Original Author
9 years ago
Great comments, thanks! I have talked to the people at Oceanside before, and yes they are great. Don't know why I didn't think to run this question by them!
Beth H. :
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have actually used the rougher cut ones (like the red ones in the first link). I have them in my kitchen on a wall. I have others outside on a pond accent for waterfall. they can be sharp around the edges. I don't believe these are suited for the floor though. on a wall, if laid perfectly flat and grouted correctly, you should be ok. I've had them outside for about 9 years, and they've held fast. should be ok in a shower, just not on the floor.

i used these smaller ones, like your second link, in a niche. they've been fine in there. the small ones on a wall would be a lot of grouting. you may want to figure a design for them instead of an entire wall
tandem42 thanked Beth H. :
PRO
Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Both are rated fine for showers. We've installed plenty of both and yes, the Muse is a better choice for the shower for the reasons you mentioned. Love Oceanside. Very good quality and as someone mentioned, vet your Pro installer to make sure they are well experienced with this type of installation. Good luck with your project.
tandem42 thanked Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
tandem42
Original Author
9 years ago
Beth, you make a good point about the grout for the smaller tiles, where it takes up a proportionately larger share visually, compared to the larger tiles. We'll be using the Oceanside tiles as an accent wall in this bath/shower, which is the alcove type with three tiled walls. They will cover one of the short end walls, the one with the faucets. For the other two walls, we'll use a large format tile from Porcelanosa called Glass Blanco. Those babies are HUGE! 12x35 inches! The Oceanside mosiacs should be a nice contrast with the huge panels. Thanks to everyone's comments, I have settled on Muse. Probably going for the 7/8 squares, in some approximation of a white on white textured look. Now I just need to find a properly experienced installer!