Step 1: Install a Temporary Ledger

man affixing scrap lumber to the wall while preparing to install a glass mosaic backsplash
Photo: Kolin Smith
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Turn off power to receptacles, and install a temporary ledger. Remove the range. Turn off the power to any electrical receptacles on the wall you're tiling; unscrew and pull them out of the boxes so that you'll have room to work around them. Lay scrap cardboard on top of your counters against the wall to be tiled to act as a spacer. Affix a scrap piece of 1x lumber to the wall between the countertops, using drywall screws, to act as a ledger. The top of the ledger should be even with the top of the cardboard spacer.
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    More in Painting & Finishes

    Tools List

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    • drill
      drill/driver
    • notched trowel
      trowel with 3/16-by-¼-inch V-notch
    • utility knife
      utility knife
    • hammer
      hammer
    • Glass Nippers
      two-wheeled glass nippers
    • rubber float
      epoxy grout float
    • drywall bucket
      5-gallon flat-bottomed mud bucket
    • bucket with sponge
      small bucket
    • grout sponge
      grout sponge
    • scrub brush
      nylon scrub brush
    • caulk gun
      caulk gun

    Shopping List

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    Paper-faced translucent glass mosaic sheet tile. The facing is peeled off once the tiles are set on the wall

    Kraft paper to protect your counters

    Painter's tape

    Scrap 1x lumber for a temporary ledger

    1½-inch drywall screws

    80-grit sanding sponge for roughing painted drywallSealer-primer paint

    Thinset mortar. Choose a quality white latex-fortified portland cement thinset.

    Scrap cardboard to use as a spacer

    Grout Make sure it's a flexible grout approved by the tile maker. We chose a colorized, premixed urethane water-based grout that "gives" when the glass expands and requires no sealant

    Acrylic caulk that matches the grout