Intricate Tile Mural Cut With Jet Of Water

An 11-metre high wall tile mural, with a design inspired by the complexity of the human DNA chain, has been cut using a high-pressure jet of water.

The mural uses tiles from the H Johnson Prismatics range and stands in the entrance of the H Johnson head office in Stoke-on-Trent, stretching almost nine-metres wide.

The detailed DNA mural designed by Andrew Cheung of New College, Nottingham, is believed to be one of the largest murals of its kind in the country and the task of replicating the design onto the wall proved to be a considerable challenge to the H Johnson designers and installer G J Ackson of Stoke on Trent.

The high-precision water jet cutting technique, which uses a high-pressure jet of water to make the cut, proved perfect for the task.

Water jet cutting is controlled by a computer aided design system to ensure faithful replication of the original design in the water jet cut.

The cut is so precise that no material is lost in the cutting process and there is no heat distortion, breakage or discoloration at the cut edge of the tile.

"The meticulous replication of a mural of this complexity and magnitude was only made possible because H Johnson has fully embraced the vast capabilities of water jet cutting," says Steve Whitehurst, H Johnson.

"Before water jet cutting technology, tile murals were cut by hand so limiting the design styles which could be produced.

The process was both time consuming, costly and also prone to some tile wastage.

Water jet cutting eliminates all these issues and enables even the grandest designs to be achievable on a realistic budget." The H Johnson company logo has also been cut into floor tiles from its Kerastar porcelain floor tile range using the water jet method, and now appears on the second floor of its head office entrance area.

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