Kitchen Backsplash Installation

Preparing plaster and drywall behind the tile

Tile shows the wall under it. A plaster wall in an older Massachusetts house can be wavy, cracked or loose from its lath, and painted drywall in a newer kitchen may carry glossy paint, years of cooking grease or patches left from the last backsplash. We test plaster for soundness, cut out and replace sections that have let go, flatten the surface where it needs it, and scuff and clean painted walls so the thinset actually bonds.

Behind the sink and the range we look harder, since those walls see water and heat. When an old backsplash comes off, damaged drywall or plaster gets repaired or replaced rather than tiled over. If we find staining or soft material behind the sink that points to a past leak, you hear about it before anything gets covered.

In houses built before 1978, removing old paint or plaster can disturb lead paint, so that work follows lead-safe practices under the EPA RRP rule. Containment and cleanup add a step to the day, and we tell you about it up front rather than surprising you with plastic sheeting.

Laying out tile around outlets, windows and the hood

Most of what makes a backsplash look professional happens before a single tile is set. We decide where the pattern starts so the cuts at each end are balanced, rather than a full tile on one side and a sliver on the other. We center on the range or the window when the room calls for it, and decide where tile stops: at the end of the uppers, at a window casing, at the ceiling behind a hood, or at a natural break in the wall.

Outlets and switches need planning. Tile adds thickness, so the boxes usually need extenders to bring the devices flush, and the cuts around them should fall so the cover plates hide them neatly. The electrical side of that is handled by a licensed electrician. Window stools and casings may need trimming or a different edge detail where the tile meets them.

Behind a range hood, tile usually runs to the ceiling or to the top of the hood, so we confirm the hood's mounting height before laying out that wall. A hood that goes up after the tile, at a different height than planned, leaves either a gap or a cut line in plain sight.

Patterns change the math. A herringbone or a diagonal layout produces more cuts and more waste than a straight stack, and a large tile on a wall full of outlets can leave awkward slivers. We lay the tile out on the counter in its pattern, mark where the cuts fall around the outlets and the window, and show you before anything goes on the wall, because that is the easiest moment to change your mind.

If something behind the old backsplash changes the plan, you hear about it before we close anything up.

Setting, grouting and sealing

Tile is set in a setting material suited to the tile and the wall, with spacers holding the joints even and the first course supported so nothing slides down overnight. Large tiles and stone take more care to keep flat; small mosaic sheets take care to keep the sheet seams invisible. We check level and line as each course goes up rather than finding a drift at the top.

Grout color and type are your choice, with our advice. A light cement grout beside a range will darken with use, while sealed or stain-resistant grouts hold their color better. Natural stone generally needs sealing before and after grouting, and we tell you what upkeep it will want over the years.

Where tile meets the countertop and at inside corners, the joint gets a flexible caulk matched to the grout instead of grout itself. Those joints move as the house moves through New England seasons, and grout in them cracks.

Edges where tile meets cabinets and counters

The edges decide whether a backsplash looks finished. Where tile ends on an open wall it needs a proper edge: a bullnose piece, a metal or stone profile, or a clean, planned stop against painted wall. Where it meets cabinet sides and the underside of the uppers, the cut line has to read straight even when the cabinet or the wall is not.

We protect the counters while we work, because tile and thinset are hard on stone and quartz, and we cover the cabinets and floors. If you are replacing counters as well, tile goes on after the new tops are set, never before, so the bottom course sits on the real counter height.

Under-cabinet lighting is worth deciding before tile goes up. If you want new fixtures or a different switch location, the wiring is easier to run before the wall is tiled, and the fixtures should sit far enough forward that they do not throw a glare line across glossy tile. We raise it during planning so it does not become a hole drilled through finished work later.

What a backsplash-only job looks like

For most kitchens, a backsplash is a short job with a clear scope. You get a written scope listing the tile area, the wall work, the edge details and who handles the outlet boxes, and you are kept informed while it is underway. If something behind the old backsplash changes the plan, you hear about it before we close anything up.

Each day ends with the kitchen cleaned and usable. Steve's standard is better communication and making sure the job is done right, and on a wall you look at every morning over coffee, done right means grout joints you can sight down from one end of the counter to the other.

The work itself is usually spread over a few visits rather than one long day, because thinset and grout need time to cure between steps. We tell you what each visit involves, how long the counters will be covered, and when you can put the coffee maker back. If you are choosing between two tiles, we can set a few pieces of each on the actual wall so you can see them in your own light before you commit.

See the rest of our kitchens work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.