How to Install a Tile Backsplash 01

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Install a Tile Backsplash 01

There are few spaces in your home with as much potential for creativity and visual impact as the space between your kitchen countertop and your cupboards. A well-designed backsplash can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Tiles for the backsplash can be attached directly to wallboard or plaster and do not require backerboard. When purchasing the tile, order 10 percent extra to cover breakage and cutting. Remove the switch and receptacle coverplates and install the box extenders to make up for the extra thickness of the tile. Protect the countertop from scratches by covering it with a drop cloth.

Contemporary glass mosaic sheets create a counter-to-cabinet backsplash for a waterproof, splash-proof wall with very high visual impact.

TIP

Break tiles into fragments and make a mosaic backsplash. Always use a sanded grout for joints wider than 1⁄8”.

Tools & Materials


Level
Tape measure
Pencil
Tile cutter
Rod saw
Notched trowel
Rubber grout float
Beating block
Rubber mallet
Sponge
Bucket
Story stick
Straight 1 × 2
Wall tile
Tile spacers (if needed)
Mastic adhesive
Masking tape
Grout
Caulk
Drop cloth
Sanded grout

How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 04

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 04

Round the inside corner cuts. Even though the flange of the sink shown here will cover the inside corners in the sink cutout, take care to make a gentle rounded corner cut by drilling at the corner with a 1⁄2" masonry bit. Perpendicular corner cuts can lead to cracking. Finish the straight legs of the cutout with a tile saw or a jigsaw with a masonry blade.

Start laying tiles. Use modified thinset and a 1⁄4" trowel. If you have an inside corner in your countertop, begin there. Apply thin set at the inside corner, enough to place four or five tiles. Set the left and right inside corner pieces and the first 12 × 12 field tile.

Continue setting tiles. Apply the thin set mortar to an area big enough for two to four tiles and place the tiles. Use a 2 × 4 covered with carpeting to set the tiles. Push down on tiles to set, and also across the edges to ensure an even face.

Apply grout and seal. After the thin set has dried for at least 24 hours, grout with an unsanded grout. When the grout has dried, seal with natural stone sealer.

How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 03

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 03

Attach the cementboard underlayment to the subbase. First, apply a 1⁄8"-thick layer of modified thinset to the top of the plywood using a 1⁄4" notched trowel. Screw the cementboard to the plywood with cementboard screws. Space the screws 4" to 5" apart across the entire surface.

Cut ( as needed) and lay out the tiles, beginning with an inside corner if you have one. Arrange tiles for the best color match. Tiles abut directly, with no space for grout. Cut the tiles as necessary to fit. Cut self-edged tiles edge side first. Cut the tiles with the polished side up. Use a fine honing stone to relieve the cut edge to match the manufactured edges.

Variations for Corners & Angles

Mitered inside corners are a bit tricky to cut because the mitered point needs to align with the starting point of the bullnose edge. This has the effect of making the corner set back roughly an inch.

Kitchen islands often have corners that do not form a right angle. In such cases, you can avoid a sharp angle on the countertop by cutting a triangular bullnose piece to fill in.

How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 02

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 02

Remove the countertops. From inside the base cabinets, unscrew the screws holding the countertops to the cabinets. Unscrew take-up bolts on mitered sections of the countertop. Use a utility knife to cut through the caulk, if present. Countertops should lift off easily, but if they don’t, you can use a prybar to carefully pry them away from the base cabinets. Note: In some cases you can install these tiles over old laminate countertops.

Prepare and install the subbase. Measure the cabinet bank from outside edges to outside edges on all sides and cut a piece of 5⁄8"-thick exterior grade plywood to fit. The edges of the plywood should be flush with the outside edges of the cabinet tops. Screw the plywood to the cabinet braces from underneath.

Make the sink cutout. To create cutting lines, place the sink upside down in the desired location. Trace the edges of the sink and remove it. To create support for the drop-in sink flange, use a compass to trace new cutting lines inside the traced lines (usually 5⁄8"). See the manufacturer’s instructions to confirm dimensions (some sinks come with a template for making the cutout. Use a jigsaw to cut out the sink opening.

Install the tile underlayment. Granite tile, like ceramic tile, requires a cementboard or denseboard underlayment layer. Cut the material to the same dimension as the plywood subbase and lay the cementboard over the plywood with the edges flush. From inside the sink base, trace around the sink cutout with a marker. Remove the underlayment and make the cutout with a jigsaw.

How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 01

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Install Granite Tile Countertops 01

Solid granite countertops are hugely popular in kitchen fashion today, and for good reason: they are beautiful and sturdy and natural. However, they are also expensive and virtually impossible for a do-it your selfer to install. There is a way for an enterprising DIYer to achieve the look and feel of natural granite, but at a fraction of the price: granite tile countertops.

You have two basic product options with granite tile. You can use the standard granite tiles, which consist of field tiles and edge tiles with square edges that are installed just like normal ceramic or porcelain tiles and finished with thin edge tiles to create the nosing; or you can use granite tiles that are installed with front tiles that feature an integral bullnose that better imitates the look of solid granite. Typically, granite tiles fit together more snugly than ceramic tiles to give you the option of grouting with grout that’s the same color as the tiles for a near-seamless finished appearance.

Layout is the most important step on any tile project. If tiles need to be cut to fit, it is best to cut the tiles at the center of the installation or the sets of tiles at both ends. This creates a more uniform look. Granite tile can be installed over laminate countertop (not post-form) if you remove the nosing and backsplash first. The laminate substrate must be in good condition with no peeling or water damage.

Granite tiles are installed in much the same way as ceramic tiles, but the ultranarrow gaps and matching grout mimic the appearance of solid polished granite.

Tools & Materials

5⁄8" exterior grade plywood
1⁄4" tile backer or cementboard
Cementboard screws
Tiles
Tile wet saw with diamond blade
Honing stone
Cordless drill
Circular saw
Jigsaw
Compass
Utility knife
Straightedge
1⁄4" notched trowel
Modified thinset
Unsanded grout
Grout sealer
Stone sealer
Sponge
Bucket
Rubber gloves
Prybar
Carpeted mallet

How to Build a Tile Countertop 10

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Build a Tile Countertop 10

Mix a batch of grout to complement the tile ( keeping in mind that darker grout won’t look dirty as soon as lighter grout). Apply the grout to the grout line areas with a grout float.

Let the grout dry until a light film is created on the countertop surface, then wipe the excess grout off with a
sponge and warm, clean water. See grout manufacturer's instructions on drying tiles and polishing.

Run a bead of clear silicone caulk along the joint between the backsplash and the wall. Install your sink and faucet after the grout has dried ( and before you use the sink, if possible).

Wait at least one week and then seal the grout lines with a penetrating grout sealer. This is important to do. Sealing the tiles themselves is not a good idea unless you are using unglazed tiles ( a poor choice for countertops, however).

How to Build a Tile Countertop 09

Kitchen And Bathroom Renovation : How to Build a Tile Countertop 09

Variation: To mark border tiles for cutting, allow space for the backsplash tiles, grout, and mortar by placing a tile against the back wall. Set another tile (A) on top of the last full tile in the field, then place a third tile (B) over tile (A) and hold it against the upright tile. Mark and cut tile (A) and install it with the cut edge toward the wall. Finish filling in your field tiles.

To create a support ledge for the edge tiles, prop pieces of 2 × 4 underneath the front edge of the substrate
overhang using wood scraps to prop the ledge tightly up against the substrate.

Apply a thick layer of thin set to the backside of the edge tile with your trowel. This is called “buttering” and it is easier and neater than attempting to trowel adhesive onto the countertop edge. Press the tiles into position so they are flush with the leading edges of the field tiles.

Butter each backsplash tile and press it into place, doing your best to keep all of the grout lines aligned.