Wooden framed tile backsplash...

[Phil Winn]

I am putting up a ceramic tile kitchen backsplash in my son’s

kitchen. His wall is currently painted sheet-rock; with part of the counter-top

coming up the wall, and the tile backsplash will end under a window-frame.

It is an exterior wall. I need to build a small wooden frame, primarily to take up space; there will be a half-round tile sticking out on the top of the counter top vertical with the wood frame, then a grout line, then one 4” square tile, then some grout, then the wooden frame, and finally the window frame……I was wondering about the following:

1. Should I use:

A. Thin-set?

B. Wall-grade mastic?

C. Adhesive caulking – what kind?

D. Glue—what kind?

E. Or what else?

The half-round only has a small surface area which will be in contact with the wall, and I was wondering if there was some space-age material which would stick the tile to the painted sheetrock and would dry quickly….which material should I use?

2. For the “grout”, should I use a:

A. Sand grout?

B. Sandless grout?

C. Silicone caulking?

I need the spacing to be ¼” and was going to use those little spacers to do so; since it is an exterior wall, I was thinking, why not use silicone caulking instead of either type of grout? If is a bit flexible, is washable, easy to use….

3. The bottom half-round tiles; is it possible to glue them end to end together in a long row? If so, which adhesive would I use?

A. Duco cement?

B. Clear silicone caulking?

C. What?

4. The frame will be made from curly maple which has been lightly stained to pop the curl, then coated with many coats of poly for protection.

Any help would be great! Please email, PM, or post…

Thanks,

Phil

[Scott Parks]

It is an exterior wall. I need to build a small wooden frame, primarily to take up space; there will be a half-round tile sticking out on the top of the counter top vertical with the wood frame, then a grout line, then one 4” square tile, then some grout, then the wooden frame, and finally the window frame……I was wondering about the following:

1. Should I use:

The half-round only has a small surface area which will be in contact with the wall, and I was wondering if there was some space-age material which would stick the tile to the painted sheetrock and would dry quickly….which material should I use?

I'm not sure I understand the pattern that you're describing. For adhering the half-rounds, use an acrylic gel mastic. I use "AcrylPro tile adhesive" from Home Depot. Unfortunately it is not fast drying, but very sticky and your tiles will stay in place. This should stick just fine to primed drywall..

2. For the “grout”, should I use a:

I Prefer sanded grout. It adds texture. I don't like the look of non-sanded grout. For edges butting to your counter top, use caulk. For corners, you can get a sanded, or non sanded sealant (like caulk, in a tube). You'll need corners flexible so they don't crack.

3. The bottom half-round tiles; is it possible to glue them end to end together in a long row? If so, which adhesive would I use?

Space them apart, and use grout in between them.
I prefer to use 1/8" grout lines for wall tiles. 1/4" spacing looks too gaudy to me...

My windowsill is tiled with bullnose tiles. I used white silicone caulk where the tile meets the countertop (corian), and the window.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Phil....I started doing tiling for relatives, friends and neighbors some 24 years ago. I enjoy working with tile. A book you might want to consider is Setting Tile by Michael Byrne (sold at Taunton Press IIRC) if you are going to do any more tile. In it Byrne gives a list of suppliers that will customize grouts and CAULKS.

Since a back splash is a vertical surface and really a low moisture area, you can use a mastic though using thinset isn't that much more difficult.

Grout......depends on the spacing between your tiles. 1/8 or less I'd use an unsanded grout. The unsanded will just go into the smaller gaps easier. Larger than 1/8" I'd use a sanded grout as it will fill the gaps better.

I'd caulk the gap between the counter top and the tile. There are grout companies that also make caulk. I've contacted them with the color number off the grout box and they made a color match SANDED CAULK to match the grout. As a result, you can hardly tell where the grout ends and the caulk begins. The sanded caulk like the sanded grout fills larger gaps better.

Good luck with your project!

[Scott Parks]

Grout......depends on the spacing between your tiles. 1/8 or less I'd use an unsanded grout. The unsanded will just go into the smaller gaps easier. Larger than 1/8" I'd use a sanded grout as it will fill the gaps better.

I'd caulk the gap between the counter top and the tile. There are grout companies that also make caulk. I've contacted them with the color number off the grout box and they made a color match SANDED CAULK to match the grout. As a result, you can hardly tell where the grout ends and the caulk begins. The sanded caulk like the sanded grout fills larger gaps better.

Good luck with your project!

Ken, please don't think I'm picking on you. I just wanted to pipe in and say sanded grout goes just fine into 1/16" gaps! I can prove it... For every grout color sold at Home Depot, there is a matching sealant (sanded caulk). You don't have to have it special ordered.

I've built both of these vanities with granite tile top, 1/16" sanded grout, and the matching sanded caulk in the 90* corners....

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That's okay Scott....I understand......A guy moves from Idaho to Colorado and then he changes his attitude towards his old Idaho friends.....

I haven't looked at the grouts or the caulks at our local HD. The last bathroom I did I bought the grout and tile at the "old" Eagle Hardware on N. Division in Spokane (now a Lowe's IIRC). At the time I couldn't find sanded caulk anywhere in Spokane or Lewiston or anyother place close. I do find when using sanded grout, the sanded caulk matches quite well. You can't tell where the grout ends and the caulk begins.....