How Long To Install Tile Backsplash

Last month we wrapped upward the I Room Claiming and afterwards vi weeks of working really hard in our spare time, we had a beautiful finished powder room. But I have to admit, nosotros (okay, Jordan) stepped out of our comfort zone when it came to including DIY projects. The biggest worry for something we'd never done before? Installing tile piece of work! This morn I am going to share our all-time communication to requite you lot for how to install a tile backsplash! Let's get started!

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One of the nearly dramatic DIY projects homeowner's can do themselves is tile work. It's relatively affordable, there are tons of options at any domicile improvement store, and nosotros all know that tile seems to make or break a room. Just honestly? We hadn't tiled anything earlier, well because, the thought of mastic, leveling, and grouting seemed actually overwhelming.

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At our terminal house we bought accent tile for a backsplash and sat on it for years— I'm not even sure what happened to it when we moved out of the house a few years agone! Ooops. Our hesitation wasn't for a lack of complete know-how, Hashemite kingdom of jordan attended one or two workshops, watched videos, and it seemed easy enough for modest areas. Just the idea of mixing mortar and applying it with a trowel never sounded like fun to us. We causeless we'd brand a huge error and that fear left our cute trivial kitchen looking a picayune undone. Distressing sweet little ranch in Alabama!

How did nosotros become over this fearfulness?

Nosotros ripped it off like a band-assist and dove in on tiling. We idea one small band effectually a pulverisation room seemed like a not bad place to commencement. And we had a surreptitious weapon…. which fabricated it then much easier. I tin can't expect to testify yous!

How to Install a Tile Backsplash

Items Needed

• Tile (We used this tile)
• Moisture Saw
• Utility Knife
• Painter's Tape
• Hair Dryer
• MusselBound Adhesive Mat
• Bladder (This is similar to what nosotros used)
• Grout (We used this in white)
• Tile Spacers

Plan Your Space

For this project, we wanted a small band lying against the pedestal sink. We didn't accept a detail preference to the height of the backsplash, so nosotros decided to go far easy— utilize one-half of the square foot tile sheets.

Since our room is vi′-7′ square, nosotros bought 13 sheets of mosaic tile and ended up using 11 of them.

When figuring out how much tile yous need, over judge! There is zippo more frustrating than running out of a material mid-project, or trying to skip a corner to make what you have last longer.

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Hashemite kingdom of jordan cut 10 pieces in half so that nosotros had twenty 6″ by 12″ long tile pieces. They looked great. But there was something to consider— the transition from all bottoms halves to the tops. You lot'll only want to transition once, which essentially ways that you accept a few loose mosaic pieces and 'build' your own mosaic cavalcade. Once you create it, you tin can move on with the peak 6″ pieces for the other half of the room.

Start with a Flush Corner

Have ane piece of mosaic tile and cut the piece flush. Jordan cut in the spot that touched the least amount of rows so that we could apply the well-nigh amount of the canvass as possible. Any tile work requires a moisture saw. Since this was our kickoff feel DIY-ing tile, we rented the moisture saw from a local shop. If we were doing this more often, nosotros agreed that we'd purchase a wet saw to take on-hand and not worry almost finishing and returning it back to the shop past a certain 60 minutes.

This may exist the industry standard– and I repent if information technology'southward redundant…

Jordan wrapped painter's tape across the cut line and that made both seeing the cut line and holding the little pieces of mosaic intact! It's the small things that keep  us moving. 🙂

Prep Your Tile

Once your tile is cutting, information technology'due south not fix for hanging– yet! Each piece that goes through the wet saw is literally wet. You'll demand information technology to exist bone dry for hanging. I used my hair dryer and blasted the tile to quickly dry it.

Before I dried the tile, I removed the painter's tape and nerveless any minor bits of mosaic. Some of the tile was used to fill in areas where they 'fell' out of place. For the offset piece where we created the single flush line, Jordan used it aid build his transition piece from bottom halves to top halves.

Apply Your Capitalist

Y'all know how I admitted that we were scared to decease about the idea of starting a tiling projection? That little agglutinative ring in the photograph above cured us. We had seen information technology in the stores for a few years, but Hashemite kingdom of jordan was adamant that nosotros were going to do a project "right" and employ mortar. Whatever that means. 😉

Only after seeing our in-laws' contempo kitchen backsplash install and realizing that Jordan was traveling for iv weeks of our 6 week One Room Claiming, Jordan had to reevaluate what doing a project "right" meant.

And gosh, it was a total time saver.

If you're looking to skip the mortar and trowel, we cannot recommend the MusselBound backing enough. Jordan was so happy he went this road.

When y'all're applying the backer, read the instructions before y'all showtime. For us, we unrolled the backing vertically, every bit directed. Then, I was in accuse of taking our bladder and applying house pressure to the paper to make sure we setup a strong foundation.

MusselBound saved the states tons of time, gave united states of america lots of confidence, BUT did require 2 sets of hands to use before installing the tile piece of work. Simply a small PSA from these weekend DIY-ers.

Apply Your Tile

Once the agglutinative sheet is pressed firmly into your drywall, information technology's set for the tile itself.

Remove your first sheet of adhesive in a corner. Identify a layer of spacers along your bottom slice to ensure proper spacing for grout after. In this projection, the top of our lath & batten was the bottom. Carefully position your mosaic tile beyond the slice you only removed. Use the float to firmly apply pressure level to the tile and adhesive. Repeat each piece as you lot work beyond the room.

Luckily for this room, we but had to employ the moisture saw for corners and creating flush ends. Merely it would exist the aforementioned procedure for working effectually electrical outlets, cabinets, or light switches.

Apply Your Header Piece

I repent, I'm not sure what the technical terminology is for the slice of tile that ends your tile work. Essentially, yous need to add a trim piece to end your tile and keep the grout in the areas you desire it, when you apply it. For well-nigh projects, y'all'll want a small metal runway that you can pick upwardly when you choose your tile.

For us, we used a i″x two″ piece of select pine to coordinate with our board & crossbar. Once we had the tile in identify, we put spacers above the tile and laid the i″ ten ii″ board and nailed them in identify.

Lastly, Grout & Wash!

At present the fun office! Follow the directions on your specific grout. Y'all'll desire to apply it, expect the specific time, and wipe it off. You lot should only need to practise each area once, so exist certain that yous are using more than plenty grout.

In the moving-picture show above, Jordan grouted before he did the finishing work on the ane″ x 2″ header piece.

Here is what information technology looks like grouted (simply non filled in on the header piece)!

Accept a wait at the final powder room makeover hither!

And there information technology is! An easier way to tile a small space! Hopefully you'll experience a petty less nervous about starting a tiling projection. I know this was the perfect introduction for u.s., and we couldn't be happier with the attempt-to-end issue. Simply eliminating mixing mortar and using the trowel removed some mystery for these weekend DIY-ers. Have fun tiling!

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Source: https://www.ourhomemadeeasy.com/how-to-install-a-tile-backsplash-easily/

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