Installing a Tile Backsplash

A few weeks ago we undertook another small project on the house: installing tile back splashes in the kitchen and bathroom. We found those too-easy-looking tiles with mesh on the back for quick installation. The kitchen tiles were various shades of brown in a rectangle shape, and the bathroom tiles were a one-inch square blue assortment. We had to buy two of each, but that still only came to $20 total. A steal, I would say. Of course we still needed to buy the grout, sealer, and caulking…. which was probably around another $20 altogether. But for the visual improvement, I’m pretty happy.

To install it, I taped off in the shape of the tiles. In both the bathroom and kitchen, I cut the 12 by 12 inch tile mesh in half, for a six-inch tall back splash. This was just enough to fit under the outlet in the bathroom, and the pass-through above the sink in the kitchen. After taping off, I smeared a layer of grout on the wall. (Looking back, I should have put it on a little thicker, and then pushed down enough for it to come through the cracks. This would have let me get off easier when it came time to finish the grout work between each tile. Essentially, I wish I could have avoided that step! What a pain!)

 

I pushed the tile into the grout, and them wiped off excess grout. After waiting the day or two to dry, I went back and made sure grout was between each tile. This was by far the most annoying part, because trying to get it evenly between each tile, but still wiping so that the tile isn’t too cloudy is a hard balance to strike. Luckily, the grout was pretty each to wipe off with a sponge the next day, after between the tiles had dried.

Justin put on the layer of sealer, but he still needs to caulk around the bottom. Unless you look close, you don’t notice much, but we do need to get it finish soon. There are just too many little unfinished things around the house lately, like the shoe molding or painting the inside of the front door or laying the vinyl in the utility room.  While it never ends, I truly love having a house of our own to work on and be proud of! We’ve started to have people over, even though it’s still messy… I hope they don’t mind too much. It won’t ever be perfect though, so if I waited for that day, I’d never have company!