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So today I started on tiling our backsplashes. First the bathroom as there aren't any outlets to worry about and it's a small area to do.
This kind of tiling is quite easy and so I'll mention how I did it in case it's helpful to anyone. First I placed the tiles where they would go to see how I should space them as I wasn't going to try to cut any of the tiny glass mosaic tiles.


After you spread on the adhesive, you drag the trowel over it at a 45 degree angle. What you are doing is making the adhesive all the same height. It's better to go a bit over the borders of where the tiles will be placed because you can clean up any excess adhesive with a damp cloth. If there weren't enough adhesive at the edges the tiles might not adhere properly.

Don't rush, the adhesive doesn't dry quickly so you have at least 30 minutes to futz around and be as much of a perfectionist as you want to be. Or make mistakes. Or have trouble getting behind the faucet and find you're getting a bit fractious.
Then at this stage I used a long wide quilting ruler (choose whatever you like) to press on the tiles and make sure they were even. Some excess adhesive might squeeze out but it's easy to wipe up. Pay attention to the ones on the corners and make sure they're straight.

The bathroom backsplash is almost done! Just need to let it dry 24 hours then do the grouting. If you want to see that step let me know because otherwise I might think I'm boring you with all this.
Then I did it all over again in the kitchen. It's a bit brighter in there so you can see the colour better.Unfortunately I opened the box of tiles to start on the other side and discovered they were all dark smoky grey. So now I have to wait before finishing the kitchen...

I guess when I show that I could talk a bit about outlets... the only thing that really makes it tricky. So I think this is going well, but before trying it yourself you might want to wait and see how it turns out in the end - and remember I'm not an expert!!

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Things are really coming along now, the large kitchen and hall tiles are almost completely installed. There's just this last patch in the hall and 2nd closet to do. The tiles look white but they're actually very very pale grey with tiny matchstick lines of grey and white. They'll also look nicer once the grout is added. It's going to be a light grey so there won't be such dark lines between the tiles.

To the left you can see the bathroom is almost finished too. It doesn't look perfect, but I know it will once the grout is there. We've been visiting the house throughout the project and we can see that this job has been done with careful attention to detail, things we didn't even think about ourselves. Once we add the new baseboards, paint the walls and return the clawfoot tub and new vanity it's going to be really nice I think. Right now the pattern is a little hard on the eyes, mostly due to the dark lines between the tiles.
They've also done more work on the walls where the tiles were removed and they're looking really good. I know once we prime we'll see places we have to touch up a bit here and there but that's easily done.So far so good... Read the rest of this post

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