DIY Subway Tile Backsplash

[pinit]DIY Subway Tile Backsplash Tutorial[pinit]

Our kitchen renovation continues with this DIY subway tile installation.  It was easier than I thought it would be, but there are a few ways you can avoid heartache through learning from our mistakes and our victories!

Mussel Bound Adhesive Tile Mat

So this stuff falls under the “Victory” category of our first tiling experience.  We saw Mussel Bound Adhesive Tile Mat at our local big box hardware store and had to try it.  It is super sticky double sided tape, basically.

How to adhere tile

 You just stick remove the backing from one side and stick that to the wall.  It is easy to cut to go around your various outlets and corners.

Place Tile over adhesive

When you are ready to place the tile, you remove the backing from the other side and stick the tile in place!  I am not sure you are supposed to do this, but we removed tiles and repositioned them with no problem when we had to.

Blue Hawk Tile Cutter

This falls into the “mistake” category.  We saw this Blue Hawk Manual Tile Cutter and thought we would buy it for the $30 instead of renting or buying a tile saw.  It scores the tiles then snaps them at the score line.  Ideally it does that.  Lots of chipping took place.  Also, if you have to cut out a section of the tile, forget it.  It is fine for cutting straight through the height of the tile, but don’t even think about trying to cut out a rectangle section.  Nope.

We ended up renting a tile saw for one day.  That was $40.  Then we bought one for $89.  Should have just started there.  It is the Skil 3540 and it worked great for cutting these tiles.  Since we know we will be tiling again, this is a great option, costing just a little more than we wasted spent on the manual cutter and 1 day wet saw rental.

As far as grouting once all the tiles are placed, I used this video from Pretty Handy Girl to guide me.  Love her!

DIY Backsplash Ideas

What do you think?

I LOVE our new kitchen!

Kitchen Before

In case you missed it, here is the before.

WHAT?!

Read about our DIY Countertop Revamp!

Take your kitchen cabinets to the ceiling and get rid of the outdated oak with our DIY Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade!

It is my favorite room.  Stay tuned for the final step in our Kitchen Makeover with Moen!!

DIY Budget Backsplash Idea with Subway Tile @savedbyloves

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