The Kitchen Back Splash. Do it yourself. Hi My name is Bill and I have taught ceramic tile installation to the local community college for several years. I will attempt to do this again with my only tool being words. First preparation is the biggest part of the project. Laying out where the tile will go. This is a process of measuring what is available. Measure the available wall space. Then set 4 tile side by side like they will look on the wall. Measure the total amount of linear distance they will take up. Why? Well how you transition back to the wall from the tile is one of the most critical parts to how it looks. A full piece out at the counter or breakfast nook is preferable to a very thin piece with a cut edge right next to the dinner's eye level. Also you will need to plan one inch for the Bull nose tile. This is the tile that has a glazed transition back to the wall surface. Go into Lowes and ask some questions or visit Home despot online for some video trainings.
I will assume the breakfast nook is on our left. 1st. 1 inch bull nose tile then next 12 3/8 inches is 4 tiles you can multiply how many to cover behind the stove and the remainder of the wall. Cut pieces in the corner For simplicity your cuts should leave a tile 1 inch or larger. Note: Other tile sizes will work 6x6 are not really 6 inches that's why we measure. But each change here makes a difference in the final look. 4x by 4's can make a long wall look busy with grout seams. Choose wisely. Most people use graph paper to lay out where all the tile go. This is especially important if you plan a decorative tile over the stove in that larger space before the hood.
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Installation time: take off all the switch and plug covers pull the boxes out if you can or unscrew the plugs and switches to leave ½ inch behind them. When all tile are dry you can screw them back down for a tight fit. Draw on the wall where any key pieces will go with magic marker or pencil but you will cover it. Using the trowel, comb the mastic/adhesive. Note: Types of adhesive. In order of strength.
Pre mixed Mastic
Dry power cement
Dry power cement with acrylic additive
High pressure special use cement with dry or wet additive (strongest)
Now we will not go into detail but say your front porch would need first a rubber backer cemented down them the tile set in the high pressure special use cement. For our purposed the Pre mixed Mastic will work fine. Comb out the adhesive to leave rows with valleys like combing a child's hair you want even rows no places with a big blob. Then set your edge with the bull nose tile, and start moving across the wall with the full tiles. Cutting tile is done with a diamond saw you can rent these. If you have multiple projects you might buy an inexpensive one from Harbor Freight. But consider finding a friend and borough one. You only need to rent one for the really big tile like 12 inch cut on a diagonal because this makes an 18 inch cut across the diagonal of the tile.
Now use a grease pencil and mark tile to be cut. If you only have a few cuts you can even take them to Lowes and have the tech cut alone your lines but you better be good. Now let this all dry if you have any areas where you did not install the tile do to it is not cut yet, use a putty knife and scrape the wall clean. It is much easier to clean now while wet than after it dry's clean all your tools. And let it sit for 24 hours. Come back and mix your grout, modern grout's have dry acrylic in them already but manufacturers vary so check read the label you might have to add wet additive. Now the trowel that puts grout on the wall is a hard rubber bottom that is real smooth.
Don't mix things too wet but push the grout in it needs to go in and behind the tile to form a tee behind the tile that keeps it from coming out. This takes practice, do a 2x2 area at a time and clean up with a sponge right away. Then allow it to dry with a small film on the tile for about 1 hour and clean up again. Lastly let it set over night and clean with a dry towel. Note: how you clean up is the finished look, don't allow the family to distract you or interrupt this process with comments. Send them away.
The more you wipe with the sponge the more narrow the grout seam gets until you only have the seam. This is the biggest factor is the finished look besides your choice of tile. Clean your sponge often. Big buckets of fresh clean water are essential. Lastly stand back and admire. Before you start splashing. Seal the grout seams. Modern grout's no longer use lye and other dangerous chemicals. So they need sealed to keep out the grape juice stains. You can purchase a small bottle at your local tile store or home despot. Lucky for you there are a whole lot of online resources I hope this helps with practice you can get very good at this. It is a lot about the wrist action.
Installing Ceramic Tile for Yourself Lowes Build
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