Backsplash Tile Installation

Tile That Looks Like It Came With the House

In a Santa Fe or territorial style kitchen, the backsplash is usually where the color lives. The plaster is soft and neutral, the cabinets are often wood or a muted paint, and the tile is the one place where pattern and glaze can come forward. That makes it worth getting right, and getting right means more than picking a pretty tile.

Choosing a Tile for a Southwestern Kitchen

A few families of tile show up again and again in these houses, and each behaves differently on the wall.

• Talavera and Mexican hand painted tile. Bright glazes and painted patterns that suit Pueblo Revival rooms. The tiles vary in size and thickness, so they need a patient setter. A full wall of busy pattern can overwhelm a small kitchen, so we often use a field of plain glazed tile with a band or a panel of painted tile behind the range.
• Terracotta and Saltillo style tile. Warm, earthy and porous. Unglazed terracotta must be sealed before grouting and resealed over time. It is better suited to a low splash area than directly behind a busy cooktop.
• Zellige and handmade glazed tile. Uneven faces that catch light from deep set windows. Zellige is laid with very tight joints and the variation is the point.
• Porcelain and ceramic field tile. Consistent, affordable and easy to clean. A handmade look porcelain in a warm white or clay color can be a sensible choice for a busy family kitchen.

Hard Water and Grout

Scottsdale’s municipal water is very hard, and it affects tile more than most people expect. Water splashed on the backsplash dries and leaves mineral scale, which shows most on dark glossy tile and on bright white grout. We usually recommend a mid tone grout color and either an epoxy grout or a well sealed cementitious grout behind sinks and cooktops. Glazed tile wipes clean easily. Unglazed terracotta needs a good sealer and an owner who does not mind some patina.

Dust from monsoon storms finds its way inside too, and a heavily textured tile collects it on its ledges. That is not a reason to avoid texture, just a reason to keep it away from the areas that see the most grease.

Layout Comes Before Setting

The difference between an ordinary tile job and a good one is almost entirely decided before any mortar is mixed. We draw the backsplash elevation to scale and plan where the pattern centers. Usually that is the range, the hood or the window over the sink. From there we work out the cuts so that narrow slivers do not land against a cabinet edge or at an outlet.

In a Southwestern house we also have to deal with the walls. Plaster is rarely flat, and a bullnose corner cannot take a straight tile edge. We decide early whether to wrap the corner with a trim piece, stop the tile short and let the plaster return, or build out the wall so the tile can finish cleanly. Outlets and switches are planned into the layout, and where possible we move them into the underside of the upper cabinets or use low profile devices so the tile field is not interrupted.

How the Installation Goes

The tile goes up after countertops are installed, so the first course sits on the finished counter. The sequence is:

1. Protect the counters and cabinets.
2. Check the wall for flatness and fix the worst areas.
3. Set the layout lines from the drawing.
4. Set the tile with the right mortar for the tile type and size.
5. Grout, clean and seal where the tile or grout needs it.
6. Caulk the joint where tile meets the counter, never grout, because that joint moves.

A typical kitchen backsplash takes two to four days, longer for handmade tile or a detailed pattern.

What It Costs to Plan For

Material cost varies enormously, from a few dollars a square foot for plain porcelain to far more for hand painted Talavera or zellige. Labor goes up with small tiles, handmade tile and patterned layouts. We give you a written price after the layout is drawn, so you know whether a feature panel is worth it before you commit.

Call (480) 253-6664 to talk about a backsplash for your Scottsdale kitchen.