We've been remodeling bits and pieces of our house and trying to save money by doing some of it by ourselves. After having the Silestone counters installed, we decided to install the tile backsplash ourselves. First we purchased this new backing material from Lowe's that you just stick to the wall. It is very sticky on both sides and has a gummy texture.
It comes in 12 foot long strips and 12 inches high so you will have to cut the pieces to cover the space completely trying not to leave any space in between.
I measured with a straight edge and cut with ordinary scissors.
Once the backing is in place, you peel off the top layer of plastic. Look in the bottom left hand corner and you can see the plastic pulled away. We started the tile in the middle of the stove area. This is especially important if you have a pattern to your tile or will be using decos. In our case, it really didn't matter, but it does make the tile look even in between the exhaust hood. Our tile has a mesh backing and this was one 12 inch piece.
As you are installing each piece be sure to use a level because you don't want your tile running at a slant. Even 1/32" difference in the beginning will make a HUGE difference by the time you get to the end of the wall. Check twice! You can also see the little spacers we used to keep a consistent 1/8" space between tiles.
We did use a wet saw but on small pieces we used a dremel to cut the exact size. You can see on the back where I just penciled the mark to cut.
And here is the finished backsplash after we had installed the grout. When your grout is dry, wipe down with cheesecloth. This actually took 3 days to complete, so it's not an afternoon job! And yes, we're still married!
