Kitchen Backsplash Tile
#8
I will be tiling the backsplash in my kitchen at some point in the next few weeks.  My question is what to do where the tile adjoins the bottom of the upper cabinets, and around a window, and at the corners. The tile my wife picked out is about 1/2" thick and groutless.  It's made up of pieces that are convex and glued to a sheet. there are no spaces in between the individual tiles on the sheet.   I've already measured at least to the bottom of the cabinets and it doesn't fall where I can just cut the sheet and leave a whole tile - there will be about a 1/2" gap between the bottom of the cabinet and the top edge of the tile.  Wood trim  over the gap?  suck it up and cut the tile?  I can cut the tile narrower but with an angle grinder it will be tough to do it neatly.  I will probably also have the same issue around the window trim.  I can take the trim off and extend the jamb if I have to, but the tile isn't going all the way around the window, at least that's not the current plan.  Last thing is what to do at the corners, since the tile is groutless. Just set it as tight as I can and caulk it?
Reply
#9
I would cover with trim its not going to be that noticeable anyway.
Reply
#10
Never seen groutless tile.

To do it right, you need a wet saw. If you use a angle grinder, at least invest in a diamond blade. Nothing else will cut it well.

You own a house and are a DIYer. Get a wet saw. Its well worth the investment. I have the harbor freight bridge saw. Darned good, especially for large format tile.

Between the countertop and splash, you caulk. Always caulk corners.
Rocket Science is more fun when you actually have rockets. 

"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government." -- Patrick Henry
Reply
#11
(11-01-2017, 08:27 AM)crokett™ Wrote: I will be tiling the backsplash in my kitchen at some point in the next few weeks.  My question is what to do where the tile adjoins the bottom of the upper cabinets, and around a window, and at the corners. The tile my wife picked out is about 1/2" thick and groutless.  It's made up of pieces that are convex and glued to a sheet. there are no spaces in between the individual tiles on the sheet.   I've already measured at least to the bottom of the cabinets and it doesn't fall where I can just cut the sheet and leave a whole tile - there will be about a 1/2" gap between the bottom of the cabinet and the top edge of the tile.  Wood trim  over the gap?  suck it up and cut the tile?  I can cut the tile narrower but with an angle grinder it will be tough to do it neatly.  I will probably also have the same issue around the window trim.  I can take the trim off and extend the jamb if I have to, but the tile isn't going all the way around the window, at least that's not the current plan.  Last thing is what to do at the corners, since the tile is groutless. Just set it as tight as I can and caulk it?


To do it right get or borrow a wet saw and cut it tight.
There are 10 types of people in the world: those who can read binary code and those who can't.

"To be against hunting, fishing and trapping you have to be spiritually stupid." Ted Nugent
Reply
#12
(11-01-2017, 08:27 AM)crokett™ Wrote: I will be tiling the backsplash in my kitchen at some point in the next few weeks.  My question is what to do where the tile adjoins the bottom of the upper cabinets, and around a window, and at the corners. The tile my wife picked out is about 1/2" thick and groutless.  It's made up of pieces that are convex and glued to a sheet. there are no spaces in between the individual tiles on the sheet.   I've already measured at least to the bottom of the cabinets and it doesn't fall where I can just cut the sheet and leave a whole tile - there will be about a 1/2" gap between the bottom of the cabinet and the top edge of the tile.  Wood trim  over the gap?  suck it up and cut the tile?  I can cut the tile narrower but with an angle grinder it will be tough to do it neatly.  I will probably also have the same issue around the window trim.  I can take the trim off and extend the jamb if I have to, but the tile isn't going all the way around the window, at least that's not the current plan.  Last thing is what to do at the corners, since the tile is groutless. Just set it as tight as I can and caulk it?
I had my kitchen walls tiled with horizontally rectangular stone tiles (4" x 2") about a year ago; they came on 12" x 12" sheets.  Here are some takeaway lessons:

1.  Sand the drywall paint thoroughly and then coat it with Redguard.  This serves two main purposes: (a) creates a waterproof membrane that will protect your wall in case the water seeps through, and (b) offers a better surface for the tile to stick to.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Custom-Build.../100169081

2. Using a level, check whether your counter(s) is/are level and also check whether the bottom of your wall cabinets are level.  If not, identify the lowest and highest points.  Now stick your tiles to the wall (using masking tape) at the extreme locations and try to center them between the bottom of the cabinet and the counter.  In general, you want to draw a horizontal line at the midpoint and (ideally) have the center of your tile at that line or the top/bottom edge of the tile at that line.  This is not always possible and so you will have to move them fractionally up and down till you get an appearance that seems balanced.  You can compromise a bit at the bottom of the cabinet (as it is not that visible), but it will look like crap if you have a thin strip of tile at the counter.

You will also have to pay special attention to the tile cuts required around windows - i.e., tiles may have to be moved a bit to the left or right, to make them look decent at the window edge and ledge.  They also have to look decent when they end at the adjoining wall.  I used a stone ledge for my windows (I have two) and used a stone piping for the tile borders.  All tiles were bought at Lowes.

3. If your tile mosaic contains glass, you may have to use white thinset to stick the tiles, as gray may make them look bad - check with the tile shop where you bought them.  If they are not glass, you can use the regular gray stuff.  We used the pre-mixed gray stuff and stirred thoroughly before use.

4.  My tiler used a tile saw (with a sliding table) to cut the tiles.  He used an angle grinder with a diamond blade for some of the more tricky cuts.

5. Once grouted, cleaned and dry, we coated the tiles with a stone sealer.  We used two coats near the kitchen sink, for extra protection against water.  The sealer tends to bring out the color of the tile a lot more.  Finally, we used clear/transparent silicone where the tiles meet the counter:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Silicone-.../100663319

If you let me have your email address, I can send you photographs of sections of the wall to show you what I did around the Windows.

Good luck !
Reply
#13
Thanks for the suggestions, but life happened elsewhere so the budget for tile got cut so we are going to put this off at least until after the new year.
Reply
#14
Just finished installing tile back splash in my kitchen. I used glass subway tile. I used unsanded grout for the tile, but for the tile to countertop and tile to bottom of cabinet, I used matching grout in a caulk tube/gun. I had a 1/4 - 1/2" gap at the top, under the cabinet bottoms. Hard to see that area, and my cabinets are white, So I just used the white gout to fill that area.
Reply


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)

Product Recommendations

Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.