Backsplash

When we moved into our town house in 2002 our kitchen didn't have a back splash. It just had the curved laminate and we did go to the tile store a few times to pick out tiles but we never ended up installing one. We ended up moving into our house after a few years. Our new house had a dated kitchen and the plan was to replace it eventually. We finally did so four years ago and everything was finished except the back splash. I do much of the work on our house and tiling is one item I don't enjoy doing. My main issue is that if you screw up there isn't a lot to do to fix your mistakes but replace everything. This year we replaced our fire place which also had tile around it and there was now a need to tile two things. All this back story is leading up to the fact that I finally took the plunge and started on the backsplash. Home Depot had a good tile saw for a price that made sense to buy rather than rent and after getting Kerry to finally check out tile for our new house we were ready to go.

The easy part turned out to be the initial install. I was worried it would take a long time to cut tiles but with a new saw and a new blade they cut like butter. The next hard part was trying to be neat. I've watched enough HGTV shows to know that it's important to be neat with the install or your grouting will be a pain. The first wall was a bit of a disaster but after I got the hang of it it got easier. I was also able to clean the mastic with a putty knife and a rag so I was well prepped for grouting. Grouting on a vertical surface is a bit of a pain but with tiles that were rough on the edges things didn't have to be perfect. After 17 or 18 years we finally have our first backsplash. Now on to the fireplace.