QUESTION
We are new members of NTCA and have a question about our tile installation. One of our contractors is installing back-painted glass, as shown in this image. There is a darker shade on the edges of the glass tile installation. Is it possible to avoid the darker shade?
ANSWER
Thank you for reaching out to the NTCA technical team with your question.
The darker appearance of your glass tile installation may be due to the absence of grout on the cut edges of the glass tiles, combined with the lack of light behind the cover plate casting a shadow on these edges, making them appear darker than the field tiles.
To address this, you may consider capping the ends of the cut tiles with matching grout or using a grout-matching silicone or epoxy paint to coat the ends of the cut tiles, thereby minimizing the shadow effect. It is worth noting, however, that some degree of change or shadowing may be inevitable. As a test before moving forward, you could try taping off the edges of the glass tile behind the cover plate with white vinyl tape to see if this approach minimizes the shadows.
I would also recommend taking a look at the 2024/25 NTCA Reference Manual:
- Page 138 Glass Tile Description
- Page 140 Glass Tile – Warning
- Page 142 Glass Tile – Letter
Ask the Experts Q&As are culled from member inquiries to NTCA’s Technical Team. To become an NTCA member and make use of personal, targeted answers from NTCA’s Technical Team to your installation questions, contact Jim Olson at [email protected].
