Preparation. Designers or clients who want to incorporate mosaics into new construction or a remodeling project should look at myriad examples to acquaint themselves with the breadth of possibilities and to gain a personal sense of what is most appealing. Books, magazines, and travel will help prepare for the plunge into the specification process in which design, materials, costs, and schedules of fabrication and installation must be sorted out and written down.
The Commissioning Process. If selection and purchase are made through a showroom, it might be possible to arrange a one-stop deal, in which the showroom staff teams up with an affiliated tile contractor and/or mosaic artist to present and discuss all the options, write up the order, make field measurements, fabricate, and install. Alternatively, an independent mosaic artist with her own resources may be contracted, especially for custom work. If the artist is local, she may install the work as well. More often, the mosaic is pre-assembled in the studio and then shipped to the site for installation.
| Issues of Quality: The Contract. The quality of a mosaic depends -- rather like a meal -- on ingredients, preparation, and presentation. As discussed earlier, different types of materials are best suited for specific applications. Examine and evaluate the proposed mosaic materials; retain reference samples. If planning custom imagery, first discuss the general goals and ultimately, the specific motifs and placement of the mosaics. The mosaicist 's portfolio and other reference books can help when formulating the design. Today it is easy to carry out this process via telephone and internet -- images and ideas can be exchanged speedily at any distance. Once the general parameters and budget have been established, the mosaicist (or another design professional) will create preliminary sketches for discussion and possible revision and then final working drawings. |
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| The fee required for this work is money well spent. The design drawings should be to scale, indicating (in selected details) both the module sizes and width of grout joints. When viewed with photos of previous work, these drawings should accurately predict the final result. |
"Byzantine Fantasy" detail is shown during the mounting process to illustrate the "jigsaw-puzzle" method of panel assembly. The wide joints disappear during installation. |
Avoiding Common Mistakes
To allow for the waste that is inevitable while installing fields
and borders in a complex layout and around built-in features,
extra material should be specified in the initial contract. Some
materials, like handmade ceramics and natural stone, may show
considerable variation. This is normal, but needs to be accounted
for so that all the darker material, for example, is not concentrated
in one area. Alternatively, glass and ceramic mosaics -- and even
certain stones -- are uniform in color. When planning fields and
patterns, specify some mixing of similar colors to liven up the
effect.
Installation
There are 1,500-year-old mosaics that are in great condition;
others fail after a few months. Why? Usually the installation
is the cause. Paranoia is unnecessary, but it 's a good idea to
inoculate yourself against foreseeable hazards. Ask the mosaicist
and/or installation contractor what problems they anticipate;
establish a plan to deal with them; and incorporate these tasks
into the contract. As with tile, stone, or wallpaper, beautiful
materials can be utterly spoiled by poor installation. Mosaic
pictures that may represent many weeks of work are often finished
in the studio -- mounted on rigid cementitious panels, grouted,
and sealed. The finished product can then be inspected either
in person or via photos prior to shipping.
Buying Guide |
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