Is it hard to tile a backsplash? (tiling, floor, granite)

[JasonS]

I just bought a brand new house and i just realized im not gonna have a backsplash in my kitchen,well it will have a 4in granite one matching the countertops. Cabinets are a medium stain cherry and countertops are giallo santo,floor is a light color also

Will it be a pain to remove that 4 inch strip and tile the backspalsh myself? I have never tiled anything before but it looks fairly easy.

Is it something i should hire a professional for?

Will it add to the value of my house or wont really make a difference on re-sale?

It is better to use glass or ceramic tiles? Or should i just granite the whole backsplash? My floor is 18x18 ceramic

[Bones]

Just tile above the 4" granite backsplash to the bottom of the cabinets...

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by Bones

Just tile above the 4" granite backsplash to the bottom of the cabinets...

I agree. You will be able to add a good feature without worrying about pulling out the existing granite and creating a new seal with the counter top.

[Cecilia_Rose]

Originally Posted by Bones

Just tile above the 4" granite backsplash to the bottom of the cabinets...

I agree too. Id like to add it cuts down on probs later if you dry lay your tile with the spacers on a flat surface. That way when it goes up all the kinks and tile placements are already worked out. Also even tho your usng spacers I would still check the straightness of the grout lines. I use a short level and a long level and sometimes metal rulers and a carpenters square. Okay Im picky . But nothings worse than wavy grout lines unless youre doing an abstract with mozaic tiles.


Not sure how fancy you want to get. To me a plain tile back splash is well kinda plain. If you get the mozaic ties that are on the mesh sheets you can cut them into shapes and make a mural or just do something abstract. Or you could do a background and showcase some really expensive accent tlles. And since theyre small theres no tile cutting.

[martinez4]

Tiling is relatively easy. As one of the other posters suggested....leave the granite there...it will give you a base to work off of and it does not need to be removed. Also, before you do anything, measure the distance from the granite to the bottom of your cabinet......this will give you an idea on how big the tiles should be. Try to keep from having to cut tile....that can be a pain. Also, consider whether you want porcelain or ceramic tile. Porcelain is a harder tile but for a backsplash ceramic should be fine. Also, make sure the tile you pick has the proper corner and end pieces. You don't want the edge to be blunt ( I am speaking of the areas one the sides not under the cabinets).

One suggestion on the grout....do not mix your own....try to get the premade ones. They are a little more expensive but I have found mixing your own is harder and leads to a too thin or too thick mixture.

Good Luck

[JayCT]

Question: Would smaller times (1-inch) be better to do? Would that reduce or even eliminate the need to cut tile? Jay

[martinez4]

Smaller tiles actually are harder......it is harder to keep them from looking uneven and requires a lot of grouting. Spacers are a must but even then it would be a brave undertaking. On the bright side you could probably space them and not need to cut at all.

If you are sold on small ones here is an option.......we installed a flower scene made of tiles on our shower wall and they actually connect with netting that you lay and grout in between. We also had a multi-colored one laid for the shower floor. These are similar to mosaic tiles and this could be an option for the backsplash. They come in large squares and they are easily cut to fit.

Now are far as a backsplash...we used 12x12 and placed them on a diagonal with accent pieces at the corners where the tile met but that required cutting the tile but since they were big tiles we did not have to cut many.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Question: Would smaller times (1-inch) be better to do? Would that reduce or even eliminate the need to cut tile? Jay

I would use the size tile that goes best with the design of the room. Although it is possible that there could be less cuts with some tile, I have never seen an installation that eliminated cuts (which are not all that hard to do).

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by martinez4

Smaller tiles actually are harder......it is harder to keep them from looking uneven and requires a lot of grouting. Spacers are a must but even then it would be a brave undertaking. On the bright side you could probably space them and not need to cut at all.

I was actually thnking of the sheets of small tiles that are already connected to each other. You just need to snip off the rows you don't need and hopefuly don't have an odd sized gap at the top. Anyway, thanks for the replies. Jay

[martinez4]

That's what I referred to in the rest of my post:-) They are much easier.