Why We Don't Use Tape-Face or Mesh Sheets for Zellige Mosaics
Our mosaics, our quality: what we do and what we don't do.
How Zellige Mosaics Are Made
Every Zellige mosaic piece starts as an individual tile, hand-cut down to its final mosaic size and shape. Once cut, we assemble those pieces into sheets face-down on flat concrete floors...this is deliberate, not incidental. Laying each sheet on a true, flat surface while it's being built is what keeps the front face of the finished sheet flat and consistent, tile to tile and sheet to sheet.
We also assemble every sheet inside a mould, so that sheet dimensions themselves stay consistent - no sheet running slightly larger or smaller than the next, which matters enormously once an installer is setting dozens of sheets side by side across a wall or floor. That same mould control also holds grout widths consistent within and across every sheet, so tile spacing doesn't drift from one sheet to the next. Once assembled, we hold the sheet together with a rigorous, multi-step resin bonding process on the back of the tile, not tape, and not mesh.
We take this approach specifically because of how Zellige itself behaves: it's a soft, hand-glazed, dimensionally variable tile, and the way a sheet is assembled and backed has a direct effect on how flat, consistent, and durable the finished installation is.
Why We Don't Use This on Zellige, Even Though We Recommend It with other tile ranges
Other Zellige mosaic suppliers sell their sheets on a tape-face or mesh backing. To be clear, we're not against tape-face or mesh backing as a category - paper-face and mesh-backed sheets work well, and are a perfectly legitimate option, for other tile types. We supply our own Tierra mosaic ranges and our Glass tile ranges this way ourselves, and recommend it as the best option for those tiles.
Zellige is different.
The same properties that make it soft, hand-glazed, and dimensionally irregular - the qualities that give it its character - are exactly what makes tape-face and mesh backing risky rather than merely inconvenient on this particular tile. Here's why.
The Problem With Tape-Face
Tape-face has never been a viable option for us due to quality concerns. We do not endorse this method, and we've heard numerous accounts of glaze coming off the surface when the tape is removed. Beyond the risk of glaze damage, the adhesive itself is a problem. Tape residue is often left behind on the glaze, and it's extremely difficult to clean without risking scratches to the surface.
This isn't a practice we follow, and it's not one we'll ever adopt.
The Problem With Mesh-Backed Sheets
Mesh backing is the other common shortcut, and we avoid it for similar reasons. Mesh sheets rely on a layer of fibreglass or fabric mesh glued to the back of the tile, which introduces its own set of long-term issues:
- Moisture retention: mesh can trap moisture behind the tile, which is a real concern in showers, floors, and pools where Zellige is frequently installed.
- Inconsistent lippage: mesh sheets don't hold tiles as rigidly or as flush as a solid-backed sheet, making it harder for installers to achieve a level, professional finish.
- Weaker long-term bond: Because mosaic pieces are often so small, the glue used to adhere tile to mesh is typically a lighter-duty adhesive, not designed for the demands of a permanent installation. That adhesive can degrade with age and moisture exposure, and once it does, it's the smallest pieces that are most likely to work loose or come away from the install entirely. Our recommendation is always to have the mosaic tile bond directly to the substrate, not to an intermediate layer of mesh and glue that can fail independently of the installation itself.
- Grout width drift: a mesh or tape-face sheet is inherently flimsy compared to a mould-set, resin-backed sheet. Without a rigid structure holding each piece in place, individual tiles can shift during handling and installation, which throws grout widths out of alignment - tile spacing that should be consistent ends up uneven from one part of the sheet to the next.
- Lack of control over piece movement: because mesh is flexible by design, individual tiles can shift out of alignment during shipping, handling, or installation. That movement is difficult for installers to correct on-site and often reflects poorly on the finished install, with joints that drift out of true or pattern lines that don't stay straight.
In our experience, both tape-face and mesh-backed methods consistently produce lower-quality installs. We understand the appeal, mesh in particular offers flexibility for wrapping curves and irregular surfaces....but we will never sacrifice end-user quality for that convenience.
What About Curves and Irregular Surfaces?
Tape-face and mesh exist in the market for a few honest reasons, and we think clients deserve the full picture rather than just the curve explanation. These offerings are cheaper to make for the manufacturer supplying them, and therefore cheaper for the supplier selling and the client buying them. They also seem easier for the installer or tiler because there are no cuts involved when installing a mesh or tape-face mosaic sheet - the sheet goes up as-is.
The other honest reason is curves - archways, curved niches, columns, and irregular surfaces are genuinely harder to tile with a rigid, solid-backed sheet. We don't pretend that isn't a real installation challenge, and we don't ask our clients or their installers to just make a flat sheet work where it won't.
Instead, for curved or irregular applications, we offer:
- Loose mosaic pieces - individual tiles supplied unassembled, giving the installer full control to hand-set each piece to follow the curve, with no backing to fight against or cut.
- Firm sheets cut down into strips - our standard epoxy-backed sheets can be cut into narrower strips, which retain the depth consistency and bond quality of a solid sheet while giving enough flexibility at the strip level to follow a gentle curve or return. This option will not give you the true outcome of a mosaic wrapping around a column, but once grouted this option can come together very nicely for curved corners.
Both options ask more of the installer than an off-the-shelf mesh sheet would, and we're upfront about that.
Our Approach: Pre-Assembled Sheets With Epoxy Backing
Instead, we hand-assemble our sheets face-down inside a mould and bond them with our multi-step epoxy resin process on the back - not tape, and not mesh. This method allows us to:
- Maintain consistent tile depth and flatness across the entire sheet
- Create a permanent, water-resistant bond that won't degrade over time
- Avoid any risk of glaze damage or adhesive residue on the finished surface
- Give installers a sheet that sits flush and true, minimising lippage during installation
Every sheet is produced with the same care and attention we'd want in our own homes - because in the end, the backing method is invisible in a finished space, but its effects on the surface, depth, and longevity of the tile absolutely are not.
We hope this gives some clarity on the reasoning behind our approach.
