Decorate a Wall With a Blue (or Any Colour) Tile Gradient

Tiles basically last forever.

Sure, they might chip or crack, but the pieces of fired clay with silica-based glazes can last for thousands of years, even buried in the soil.

I found one such dump of broken blue tiles from a demolition job near my house... and it gave me ideas.

"Wouldn't the walls of my storage building look great if they were covered with a tile mosaic?" I thought to myself. "And doesn't the wife love blue ceramics more than anything?"

As it turns out, the answers were YES and NO. The walls do look great, but she still loves lamps more.

Oh well.

If you have a bare wall, a counter, or another surface that could use a refresh, here's how to make a colour gradient using broken tiles that would otherwise be considered trash.

Here's what you'll need for this project:

Tools

bucket(s)

trowel(s)

hammer

tile nibblers (aka wire twisters)

cardboard or other large panels for laying out tiles

sponge

scrub brush

squirt bottle(s) (I use a water bottle with a nail hole in the lid)

grout spreader (thick foam rubber, plastic trowel, etc.)

plastic trays for grout

Materials

tile adhesive

water

tiles, whole or pre-broken

tile grout (sanded or unsanded

PPE

gloves (to keep both sharp tiles and caustic cement off your tender mitts)

goggles (to protect your eyes when smashing)

superglue (no matter how careful you are, trust me, you'll cut yourself on a tile at least once or twice. When you do, you can clean the cut and superglue it shut so you can keep working)

You'll need a surface to decorate with your tile colour gradient (aka an "ombre").

I happened to build a small storage building in the backyard, with the bottom walls made out of blocks and covered in cement plaster (top walls made of bamboo-framed 'wattle-and-cob'). I knew I was going to tile these walls, so I scratched the final plaster coat to give it more tooth for the tile adhesive to connect to.

You can choose a vertical or horizontal surface of finished cement, but make sure it's not too smooth. It also doesn't have to be too flat/straight, as you can fix lumps and bumps when tiling.

Wash your surface thoroughly to get off all dust, dirt, or loose particles so that you're ready to tile.

(BTW, you may recognize the faux stone foundation from my previous instructable. If not, you can check out how I made that here.)

Where can you get tiles for a mosaic?

I found mine buried near my house, digging out around 50% of the amount I needed. These tiles were dirty, so I soaked them and scrubbed them a bit. It was easy! These are the light blue tiles with floral designs in my pics.

I also found some dark blue tiles outside a neighbour's house and asked about them. They'd been removed from a bathroom and had sat there for 10+ years, so they just gave them to me.

I got various white tiles from different construction sites - just ask if they have broken tiles, and they'll let you have their garbage.

Finally, I went to tile shops and bought some boxes that had been dropped or otherwise damaged. You may not be able to see in my images, but I got 3 full boxes of tiles that all had their corners broken off. Tiny bits of damage, but this made them essentially unsellable. I picked them up for peanuts.

Oh yeah, and I bought one box of really cheap whole tiles cuz they were pretty!

So:

1. Scrounge.
2. Ask the neighbours.
3. Ask at construction sites.
4. Ask for seconds at tile shops.
5. Yeah, you can always buy some.

If your tiles aren't already broken, you'll want to smash them up a bit.

I found the best way was to simply lay them on cardboard and smash them with a hammer. Gently, gently.

You're looking for a lot of random shapes and sizes to make your mosaic pretty.

Pro Tips:

-Square-ish and triangular shapes are easier to work with, so if you end up with long spears (see pics), I recommend breaking them down further.

-Lay out all your smashed tiles face up so you can quickly and easily find that perfect piece you're looking for.

SAFETY: Naturally, you'll want to wear gloves and goggles to protect yourself - Remember that freshly broken tiles have VERY sharp edges!!

I wanted my wall to fade up from dark blue at the bottom, through medium blue, to light blue, and then white at the top.

Yours may go the opposite way, left-to-right, or even from all edges toward a lighter or darker center.

Draw a picture or lay out your tiles to help you envision how your colour gradient will look.

There may be other ways, but here's how I tiled my walls:

1. Mix tile adhesive according to the manufacturer's instructions. Normally, you need to leave it for a time to slake afterward. My product said to mix to a medium-thick consistency (creamy, not sloppy) and then slake for 10 minutes before using. REMEMBER this is a cement-based product, meaning it's caustic. Don't get it in your eyes or on your skin!

2. Wet your wall. I normally wet a big area originally and then wet a little bit at a time as I went along - around 30 cm x 30 cm (a square foot). If conditions are not hot and dry, you may not need to wet the wall, but I found that the adhesive dried out too quickly if I didn't.

3. Using a trowel, spread some of the tile adhesive on the wall where you're going to start tiling. Again, I recommend just a little at a time, as finding the right puzzle piece can take time. I recommend that you start on the extreme ends of your surface with the most different colours, then work from one colour to the other.

I did a line of white at the top of my walls, then dark blue at the bottom, and filled in the middle from the bottom up using progressively lighter shades of blue.

4. Choose a tile that fits well next to its brethren and press it into the adhesive. Then, use a large, flat tile to press it in further. Press down until your big tile touches the other tiles, and the level should be right. If the joints between the tiles fill up with adhesive and overflow, wipe or scrape that away and press again, as this extra adhesive will have snuck in and messed up your level.

5. For very big pieces of tile, it's useful to back-butter (I love that word!) the pieces with adhesive to make sure you get them fully covered. Use a trowel to apply adhesive to the back of the tile like you're buttering a piece of bread, then press it into the adhesive already on the wall.

FAQs

How do you maintain a consistent thickness?

I used a long, straight piece of aluminum (aluminium? aluminumnumnum?) that was long enough to reach between the top white and bottom dark blue tiles. I set up these rows and pressed them in with the aluminum, keeping it plumb.

After those first rows are set up, you have a level to work from. Check with your straight piece of whatever once in a while to make sure you haven't stuck out or pushed in too far. If you do a little at a time, those tiles will fix in place quickly, and then you can use a big whole tile to push up to them. That keeps things pretty level.

But honestly, I wasn't going for perfection.

If you are... laser level?

What's the best technique for choosing tile pieces that fit well together?

I found that laying out a great number of pieces really helped. I looked at the angles I needed on the wall, then looked at my stockpile and usually found a piece that was a pretty good match.

BUT...

Sometimes, I couldn't find anything that fit, especially toward the end of a wall when you're really filling in holes. This is when the tile nibblers come in so handy. You can trim tiles quickly and easily to any size and shape you need. Sure, it takes longer, but you can get the exact piece you need to fill a tricky hole.

How long would a project like this take?

I've done mosaics before, but I would say I'm generally not a genius at it. I struggle to match pieces, even though I'm pretty liberal with the size of the joints between the tiles.

Including mixing tile adhesive, smashing tiles, tiling, and cleaning, I'd budget at least 20 minutes for a square foot (that's over 3.5 hours per square meter).

That said, my wife helped me one day and was about twice as fast at spotting the perfect piece of tile.

Some people are just born with it!

Unless you're superhuman or you've chosen a very small surface to tile, this project will take you several sessions to finish.

I recommend budgeting some time for clean-up at the end of each day, as it's easier to clean when the tile adhesive is still a bit soft and forgiving.

I did 2 things at the end of (almost) every session:

1. I used a nice, sharp tile to scrape any excess tile adhesive out of the joints. Leave some in the bottom of the joints, sure, but there should be space left for grout when you're done.
2. After scraping, use a sponge, a brush, or both to wash off your surfaces. You can safely spray water on the wall and then scrub firmly - just avoid hitting really small pieces of tile too hard, as they may pop out of the wall.

((((This is REALLY going to save you time compared to cleaning up once the adhesive has cured.))))

Pop in the last piece and stand back to admire your sheer brilliance!

When all is said and done, you can add tile grout to fill in the joints, cover the sharp tile edges, and end up with a smoother, flatter finish. Choose a grout colour (or several different colours to help show the colour gradient) that will tickle your fancy and provide you with years of happiness and satisfaction.

To grout,

1. In a bucket, mix the grout with water according to the manufacturer's instructions and leave to slake for the recommended time.

2. Using the spreader of your choice (I like to use a piece of foam rubber like the sole of an old flip-flop - no lie!), spread the grout over your tiled surface, pressing it firmly into all joints. Use the spreader to then skim off excess, though grout won't stick (permanently) to glazed surfaces.

3. After the manufacturer's recommended drying period, come back with a rag or sponge and wipe off excess grout from your wall. I always find that you need to do this twice, the second time even a day later, to make sure you've got all the grout, especially when using colours that are similar to your tile colours.

***Remember that tile grout is also a cement-based material that is caustic. Wear gloves to keep it away from your precious skin.

When you're all done, it's time to do the same on the other 3 walls of the building you decided to decorate.

Or not.

Maybe I'm the only one with that much time on my hands.

Enjoy becoming one with the tile!