Tricky Kitchen Backsplash Installation

It’s quite common for me to get calls from people with 6” granite backsplashes in their kitchens who want them removed.  They find a tile that they prefer as a backsplash.  Typically when I remove the granite there can be damage underneath; I charge by the hour to fix these areas because I’m not sure before we get started what damage will be done during the removal of the granite.  I take great care not to damage the underlying material, but because I don’t know what kind of glue was used or what the underlaying surface is, sometimes damage is inevitable.

Marble and glass mosaic backsplash with staggered tiles.  The homeowner is planning on painting the cabinets to better match the tile.

This particular brand of tile had two different materials, glass and stone, on the net.  The glass had a pillowed edge, and the marble was thicker and had a rectified edge.  Combining these different thicknesses together on the same sheet gives the finished installation a very textured look.  Homeowners should be aware of this before choosing a tile with these features because some tiles will stick out more than others.
Also in this picture you can see the outlines of the actual 1 sq ft sheets.  I did my best to set the sheets close together, but they were not properly interlocking sheets so they required extra labor to cut apart the sheets to make them interlock correctly.  Even after doing this you can still see where the edges of the sheets are.  I recommend testing out two sheets of tile before you buy them to make sure they interlock correctly.  The homeowner purchased these tiles off the internet and could not see how they fit together before buying them.  I do not recommend buying tile from online sources for this reason.

Most netted tile does not come with trim pieces.  What I do is pull off pieces that are consistent in width and run them perpendicular to the field to create a visual stop and a finished look.