Hey! Check out this cool porcelain tile backsplash. I'm going to show you some quick easy tips for installing the backsplash in your kitchen.
So the first thing you want to do is to ensure that the substrate, the surface to be tiled, is structurally sound. For this installation, we have a new piece of drywall up which gives us a clean flat surface to work off of.
You always want to start off of your countertop, because we know this is precision here, the cabinets and the countertops are perfectly leveled. It's always good to start off of here with the full tile working your way up, making your cuts under the cabinets and behind a fan exhaust like this, out of sight, out of mind.
Next step is cutting the tiles, and for this job, we're going to be using a wet saw. Simply put the tile on the guide, line it up and make your cuts. We are dealing with a quarter-inch porcelain material, which is very thick, very hard to cut with a dry cutter. So the wet saw is definitely the way to go.
Then, you can turn to the glue, modern or mastic. I always apply the glue with the flat side of the trowel. The reason why I like putting on the first application with the flat side of the trowel, because I know now that every little bit of glue is completely adhered to the wall. Sometimes by using only a notched side, you can create air pockets. Then I flip the trowel around to the notched side, doubling back over the glue, pulling off all the excess glue.
Because I'm working in a small space in countertop backsplash as usually are, it's always important to have a smaller trowel which will allow you to get in these tighter corners.
Now this tile that we're using today is of porcelain and it's 2 inches x 4 inches, laid out on a sheet. Now the advantage to installing tile on a sheet is that you can install up to 1 square foot per piece.
So, this installation is complete. We're going to let this set overnight and tomorrow, this will be ready for grounding.
Man, this looks great! Didn't take much time, and it's pretty easy.
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