Kitchen Tiling – The Finished Product

I know you were waiting with bated breath to hear how our latest home project went down. I finally have some “after” pics to share, so it’s time to tell the story.

When last we left it, our kitchen looked like this. And Masa and his dad were about to tile us a nice little backsplash to protect the walls and add a bit of a “finished” look to our kitchen.

Then Masa remembered something critical: he had no idea how to tile. So… plans changed a bit. Rather than do a lower band across the whole countertop, we opted for a larger rectangle under the kitchen window.

I’ve got to say that for figuring it all out on the fly, my husband did an amazing job. He actually did a practice project in our laundry room. We have a sink out there and a countertop that was just unadorned plywood. He did each phase of the project out there first to practice what he learned on youtube. Then he’d come inside and do it all for reals. Result? A kitchen backsplash AND a laundry room countertop. WIN!

For the kitchen, we (and by “we” of course I mean “he”) used 12”X12” pre-spaced subway tile panels. I (and I do mean *I*) took the end pieces down to Home Depot to get them cut.

Day 1 – Masa sanded, cleaned, and applied the adhesive. Then he laid the tile panels out exactly right. We waited for it to cure overnight. I didn’t take a picture of that phase, apparently. It looked like regular tile with no grout.

Day 2 – Masa grouted with a bright white epoxy grout. At first this caused me panic but once he did the whole sponging-off thing, it all came together and looked really good.

That tool is called a “grout float”. I’m an expert now. I know the lingo.

Day 3 – once everything had time to set, he came back and added white epoxy caulk along the bottom edge.

Sorry for the nighttime pictures. I am rarely home during the daylight. I’m like a vampire. Or… opposite?

Here is the finished product complete with all our crap already put back in place. Now we’re on to the next round of projects: painting the hallway. Good times.

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