Backsplash Bonanza

By: Scott Gibson and Leslie Plummer Clagett (Page 6 of 8)

Photo: Roger Turk

Ceramic-tile murals are custom-made or come in preassembled kits. They highlight specific areas of the room.

Meredith Art Tile

Rotating tiles degrees produces a diamond pattern -- an easy way to add motion to a static area.

Roger Turk, Northlight Photography

Mixing tile shapes and sizes is another way to add interest to this relatively small area

Walker Zanger

Stone is available in standard-size tiles as well as slabs, which are cut to order. Slabs are more expensive than tiles, but their hefty, timesless appearance can't be matched.

Wilsonart

In conjunction with counters of the same material, solid-surface backsplashes have an appealing seamless appearance. They also lend themselves to more decorative treatments, with inlays and sandblasted details.

Tria Giovan

Glass-block lets natural light in while providing privacy. Its strongly geometrical patterns make it most suitable for forward-looking kitchens.

Tria Giovan

Plate-glass panels can be effectively used with any style room.

Tria Giovan

The protective panels can be removed -- carefully -- to repaint the walls

Tim Austin

Spread the mastic on the wall with a notched trowel, and apply the adhesive to low spots on the back of any uneven tiles.

Tim Austin

Heavy tiles can slip before the mastic cures unless they are supported from below. Small screws driven into the drywall are enough to hold these 8x8-in. tiles in place.

Tim Austin

Plan on cutting the last row of tile beneath the upper cabinets for a full-height backsplash.

Tim Austin

A wet saw makes short work of cuts in stone and ceramic tile. This saw is small enough to sit right on the kitchen counter.

Tim Austin

A polymer-fortified grout makes a durable joint between tiles. Porous stone tile is often sealed before grout is applied.

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How to Work with Glass Tile

In this how-to video, This Old House tile contractor Joe Ferrante tiles a kitchen backsplash with translucent glass tile

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Glass

Glass- or acrylic-block backsplashes are usually part of an exterior wall, where they can let in natural light. This is a truly unique and somewhat unusual treatment that requires careful planning.

Just like conventional windows, glass-block units must be set into adequately framed openings. That means opening up the wall and adding load-carrying headers. This makes it more difficult and expensive to use glass or acrylic block as a backsplash, says Robert Tildsley, a Boston-area architect. In one kitchen, Tildsley used glass block to create a 20-ft. run of backsplash 20 in. high. Because glass block can't be cut, the dimensions of the material determine backsplash height. Tildsley set the block in mortar, and cased and flashed it on the outside of the house as he would a window. Framing had to be precise. In all, the decision to use glass block added "several thousand" dollars to the project. Most of that cost was in extra design and building steps, not materials.

Prices for clear, loose glass block range from about $4.25 for a 6 x 6-in. block to about $15.25 for a 12 x 12-in. one. Pittsburgh Corning manufactures a line of preassembled glass-block window units in vinyl frames. The 2-in.-thick block is bonded with silicone. Units 8 and 16 in. high, about the right size for a backsplash, are available in widths from 16 up to 80 in. Retail prices will vary, but an 8 x 48-in. window costs about $260 and a 16 x 64-in. runs around $350. Lighter and more energy efficient than glass, acrylic block is either 2 or 3 in. thick, and it is assembled in aluminum or vinyl frames for installation. Hy-Lite Products, of Beaumont, California, makes assembled units sized on 6- and 8-in. grids for roughly $25 to $30 per square foot. For example, a 2-in. unit that's 18 in. tall x 42 in. wide retails for about $160.

Plate glass also can be used as a backsplash, and has the advantage of reflecting light onto work surfaces. Attached to the wall with screws, it can protect faux finishes and hand-painted murals. Because the glass panels can be removed, walls can be painted without fear of having the finish ruined by water or grease. Although stainproof and easy to clean, glass has an obvious weakness; Nancy Mullan, a certified kitchen designer in New York who has used this treatment, says that the panels are subject to cracking if a fastener is tightened just a hair too much.