So, uh, incidentally, we installed a kitchen backsplash. đ [Part 1]
We have been thinking of installing one for a while, but that was definitely not part of our current DIY plan initially. However, having recently painted our walls, it felt like such a waste to not take advantage of this clean, grease-free wall surface in the kitchen. Next thing we knew, we were back in Home Depot picking up our new backsplash and the necessary supplies. đ
We covered the area behind the stove as soon as we decided to install the backsplash, and also left the wall socket faceplates off.
We wanted something more random or chaotic, nothing too structured or neat-looking. Colors should be in shades of grey, but we didnât want any pieces too dark. We finally chose the Positano mesh-mounted mosaic design, with mostly glass and some stone tile pieces.
Apparently regular mortar wonât work well on painted surfaces, and we really didnât want to sand our newly painted walls. In our research, we discovered an interesting product called SimpleMat, which is literally a sheet of double sided sticker you use to stick tiles onto walls. While Faizal was at work I could prep ahead and stick these sheets onto our kitchen wall, protecting it from grease and grime until we were ready to start work over the weekend. In fact, discovering this product was the deciding factor for us to move ahead with installing the backsplash now, instead of later.
Another thing we had to figure out was how to cut the tiles. There were a few options, but the best, cleanest method was to use a wet saw. The thing is, renting one is a pain and weâd still need to buy our own blades. In the end Faizal experimented with his existing Dremel using a diamond tip, and that worked pretty well. Yay!
We devoted a lot of time into prep work. Faizal removed an unused phone jack, and patched the wall. He cut tiles. I did an initial mapping out of the tiles, plotting where the wall sockets and angles are going to be, which ones need to be cut, etc. We even went back to Home Depot for additional supplies and to exchange a few defective tiles.
TBC in the next post.
#homediy #kitchenbacksplash #diykitchenbacksplash #simplemat
...