Tile Work!

The day finally arrived for us to do the tile back splash in the kitchen.  I've been waiting for this for a long time.  I designed it months and months ago and finally get to see it come together.

First, everything had to be carefully planned to know how much to cut off the first tile so that the ending ones wouldn't look stupid.  Dad cut those first tiles with his tile saw.  We also got the counters covered with plastic to keep them nice.

When we were ready to begin, Dad mixed up the thinset (thin concrete-like stuff used to attach the tile to the wall) and I dipped the tiles (since they're ceramic, the suck a lot of moisture out of the thinset if they're not wet first).  Dad then applied the thinset to the wall (we chose to not use backer board for this project since strength wasn't a concern).

We then pressed the tiles into place using 1/8 inch spacers.

Along the top of the tile over the sink (no cabinet overhead) I applied some trim pieces.  First, the thinset had to be back-buttered onto the piece.

We kept applying tiles until we were at the corner.  Then, I cut the pieces to fit there.

We removed the spacers and wiped off the excess thinset.  Not enough time for grout this weekend, so we know what we'll be doing next time.