Mosaic Flooring

Mosaic flooring is made of little pieces of broken tiles of china glazed or of cement, or of marble, arranged in various patterns. These pieces are cut to desired shapes and sizes. A concrete base is prepared as in the case of concrete flooring, and over it 5 to 8 cm thick lime-surkhi mortar is spread and leveled over an area that could be done conveniently inside working period so in which the mortar might not get dried before the floor is finished. On this, a 3 mm thick cementing material, in the form of paste of two parts of slaked lime, one part of powdered marble and one part of puzzolana material, is spread and is left to dry for about 4 hours. Thereafter, little pieces of broken tiles or marble pieces of various colors are arranged in definite patterns and hammered within the cementing layer. The surface is gently rolled through a stone roller of 30 cm diameter and 40 to 60 cm long, sprinkling water over the surface, so in which cementing material comes up by the joints, and an even surface is acquired. The surface is permitted to dry for 1 day, and thereafter, rubbed along with a pumice stone fitted within a long wooden handle, to get smooth and polished surface. The floor is permitted to dry for two weeks before use.