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Put up a proper backsplash in my kitchen this weekend after years of doing it wrong
I used to just slap those peel-and-stick tiles on the wall and call it done. They always started peeling at the edges after a few months near the stove. Last Saturday I finally used real ceramic subway tile with mortar and grout, cost me about $60 for a 4x4 foot section. The difference is night and day already, feels solid and wipes clean easy. Has anyone here tried the mesh-backed sheets for a first-timer or is that asking for trouble?
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eva_gibson11d ago
My neighbor spent two weekends wrestling with mesh-backed sheets for his first tile job and ended up throwing half of them away because the sheets kept falling apart as he tried to set them. The spaces between the tiles were uneven (like you could see daylight through some gaps) and he had to pull tiles off one by one to fix it anyway. Plus mortar dries fast, so if you're a slow worker (like me), those sheets just make it harder to adjust things once they hit the wall. Honestly, I'd rather cut individual tiles with a cheap snap cutter and set them one at a time - it's slower but you actually get to see what you're doing instead of fighting a floppy mesh nightmare. $60 sounds about right for ceramic subway tile though, I just think the sheets are overrated for anyone who hasn't done it before. Maybe I'm weird but I'll take the extra effort over the frustration of a botched first setup any day.
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uma_mitchell8311d ago
Yeah, that's the thing with anything marketed as "easier for beginners" - it's usually made for pros who already know all the tricks, not someone trying it for the first time. I've seen the same thing with those paint edging tools, they just make a bigger mess than cutting in with a brush.
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