Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hard Core Remodeling but Were Afraid to Ask Part 41!

Tiling...
It's intimidating, isn't it?
And the thought of working with those teensy, tiny mosaic beasties?!?!
You're hyperventilating, aren't you?
Not to worry, we're going to take the fear out of tiling a backsplash,
and you're going to master this your very first time!

Here's your shopping list:

Tile Cutter

 As we all know, to tile a wall, you're gonna need one of these.

Individual Tiles

Yep, gonna need some of that.

 Mortar

 Definitely need a bunch of that.

 Spacers

Well yeah, duh, we need those.

 I want you to get all of that in the cart, the laugh maniacally, abandon it,
get a new cart, and start over.
Because we don't need any of that crap.

I'm about to become your best friend.

The staff at your home improvement center, however,

will be making up colorful pet names for me for quite some time.

Many will involve a vinegar and water solution, I have no doubt.

Here at 

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hard Core Remodeling but Were Afraid to Ask!

we're all about bad behavior.

 This stuff here?

This is THE BOMB.
You'll find this at your local Home Depot.

Each box covers 10 square feet, and it's the perfect way to throw tile

up on a backsplash or shower in a day.

Grout can be done right away.

That's right.

No waiting, new look in the kitchen tonight.

Don't love me quite yet?

 This is simple to use.

These are clear sheets with a fully adhesive back, a front with raised

elongated ridges of adhesives, and fiberglass sandwiched in between.

 Mark the center line of your starting point.

 The back of the 9x18 sheets is white peel-off paper. 

G'head, peel it off.

 Position your sheet, sticking the top first to make it level.

Then smooth the whole sheet downward firmly,

pressing out any air bubbles.

Do the full sheets first.

 This can be cut with a razor or scissors to make fillers...

 ...not to mention openings for outlets.

 From the top of the cabinet, it's 4 1/4 inches to the bottom of our adhesive.

 Allow 1 1/2 inches for the counters we're going to install.

Use your carpenter's square to measure and make a perfect 2 3/4 inch strip,

and finish the run.

 Now the fun part!

Press your first mosaic 12x12 square into place.
Take your time, because in 5 minutes, this is not coming back off.
It also will not slide or sag.
It's up there for good.

A few minutes later...

NOW do you love me?

 Use lines on the wall to keep you straight, and pull out your mini level 

along the way just to check yourself.

 These are cheap kitchen shears from the Dollar Tree.

 Tiny tiles cut apart by just scissoring through the mesh backing material.

 This means less tile cutting.

 And less tile cutting makes things like outlets a cinch.

 Which means you can have perfect results your first time out!

 And because the adhesive is already up, cut lines just press into place.

 BOOM, Baby.

 Easy enough, huh?
"But Sunny, what if I HAVE to cut a tile?"

 I'm glad you asked that!
(Relax, it's an imported non-alcoholic beer.)

 These dandy little babies are tile nippers.

 Sometimes, a cut is necessary.
In this case, and outlet needed 2 half inch vertical rows of tile on either side.
The marble tiles are 1/2" already, but the glass ones ate 1 1/2".
Rather than cheat and just use itty bitty marble squares,
we're going to make this look professional.

 Just put the tile part of the way into the jaw of the nipper and squeeze.

 SNIP!

Place it on the adhesive and press firmly as usual.

You paid your last tile guy how much?
Now do you love me?

 Is it really as easy as I keep saying it is?

Does a DIY like this require some practice before you commit to a whole kitchen?

 I admit, I have had vast experience tiling backsplashes.

 And I had a lot of help.

 Okay, that's not true.
This is my first big project, and I did it solo.
That's how easy it is.
I'd never used a tile nipper either.
You can do this and get great results.
This is one full day's work.
Grout can go up immediately.
I'll show you guys how to do that in a couple of days.
I need to read the instructions first...

Now...tell me you love me.