Glass Block Installation – Now Anyone Can Do It!
By Butch Teague
I love the look of glass block.
I love the windows, and I especially love the more recent innovations – glass block showers, room dividers, and even furniture.
It used to be that you had to hire a brick mason to lay glass block. He would lay it just like a course of bricks, one row at a time with mortar between the courses.
Now even the most inept do-it-yourselfer can handle glass block installation!
Thanks to recent revisions in the “how to do this” frame of mind, glass block manufacturers have made installation manageable for most people. If you can read instructions, follow directions and do a little math, you can create the glass block project of your dreams. And it will look like a pro did it!
You’ll need a small trowel, something to mix your mortar in, a sponge, tin snips, tape measure and a level. Manufacturers now provide starter panels to begin, and you lay the block right inside these panels. You don’t put any mortar between the panel and the blocks, all you do is place the blocks firmly up against the edge of the panels.
Manufacturers also provide plastic “spacer” pieces, these you place on top of the course of blocks where they meet. These spacer pieces allow you to complete your courses with identical spacing (that’s how you can make it look like a pro did this!)
Make sure to place enough mortar between your blocks to fill in nicely. Don’t worry if you slop a little too much mortar, you can fix that later. Continue your glass block installation row-by-row, remembering to add mortar on the top of each course. Fill it in well, because if you’re creating a window, this is what stands between you and the outside weather.
Once your blocks are laid and the mortar begins to set up, take your damp sponge and wipe the blocks in a circular motion, taking care to run over the mortar in between the glass blocks. This wipes off the excess mortar, but also smooths the mortar in between the blocks. You’ll want to rinse off your sponge often.
Let your project cure for about an hour, and then you can remove the plastic spacer pieces that remain showing outside the blocks and mortar. Just twist them off. A few hours later you can again wipe the blocks with a soft, dry cloth to remove any remaining film. It’s also a good idea to complete the outside edges of your glass block window with some sealant.
One of the best parts about your new glass block window or project is that it is pretty much maintenance free. You can wash with a damp, soft cloth as needed.
And you thought that glass block installation was hard. What do you think now?