Tumbled Bottle Glass Mosaic Sliding Door

I created the "beach glass" for this door by breaking glass beverage bottles and tumbling them in a sand/water mix in a 5 gallon bucket. I created my own motorized jumbo rock tumbler with a used treadmill that had a broken belt. I used a 3 color palette: clear, green, and blue.

Step 1: Blank Canvas

I obtained this glass french door for free off Craigslist. It is an exterior door, but my plan was to mount it on sliding barn door hardware to replace our swing-in solid door in our master bathroom. I have 8 foot ceilings, and this door was just under 8 feet so it fit perfectly from ceiling to floor when mounted on the sliding door hardware. It will save space not having the door swing into the bathroom and also allow light in. The problem is the glass was clear and it needed privacy.

Step 2: Create or Purchase Your Beach Glass

I had a surplus of broken glass bottles in various colors from other projects that I wanted to make into beach glass. The 5 gallon bucket glass tumbler probably needs to be its own instructable, so hopefully I can get to that soon. It was pretty simple, I just took a working treadmill with a broken belt and moved the two rollers close together so that the bucket could spin between them. My bucket was a bit too slippery, so I make some plywood rings to slide over the bucket. I filled the bucket with broken glass, some sand and water. I left about 1/3 of it empty so the contents could tumble. I ran it during the day because it was quite loud. I estimate a run time of 20 to 30 hours to get the rounded and frosted look I wanted.

You can also buy pre-made or natural beach glass from craft stores or online, but it might be quite expensive for the quantity needed for a project like this.

Safety Warning: Glass dust is hazardous to your lungs. You can break your bottles in a heavy bag, but wear wear a respirator when working with dry glass dust. It is not as much of a problem once in the tumbler and it is a slurry.

Step 3: Mosaic!

I started by drawing my pattern on the back side of the french door with a Sharpie pen. I didn't want the pattern embedded under the glue, so I did it on the back side where I could clean it later. I wanted a design that had a beach feel and some motion to it, so I came up with this wave pattern.

Step 4: Continue Gluing and Let Dry

Continue gluing and fitting pieces together. I didn't cut any of my pieces of tumbled glass because I didn't want any sharp edges. it probably took me about 3 to 4 hours to mosaic the entire door. Let it dry at least overnight before lifting it vertical. It took about a week for all the glue trapped behind glass pieces to completely turn clear.

My original plan was to grout the mosaic with a beach sand colored grout. My wife like the door groutless, so we just kept it as is. If you liked my instructable, please vote for me in the Glass contest!