Mosaic Tile Back Splashes For Bathroom Remodel Projects
A Popular Home Improvement Project That Adds Pop To Your Vanity
Bathrooms are often the smallest rooms in home, however they are one of the most popular home improvement projects for homeowners in today's market. A lot of factors contribute to why homeowners will choose remodelling their bathrooms over other rooms in the house. One reason is homeowners spend a lot of time in the bathroom doing things like getting ready in the morning, or relaxing in the bathtub after work. Another reason is they want to make it presentable to guests when they are hosting parties, or having friends over for a barbecue. For these reasons and many others, homeowners are always looking for ways to make improvements to their bathrooms. Adding a mosaic tile back splash to a bathroom vanity is becoming one of the most popular bathroom remodelling projects in today's market. The purpose of this blog is to educate customers on how to measure for purchasing materials for a mosaic tile back splash, what materials will be needed, the time frame for installing the back splash, and give some illustrations on what a finished mosaic tile back splash will look like.
While picking and choosing the tile colors, patterns, and layout will depend on personal preferences, it is a good idea to have what product you want to use in mind. Although this is not necessary to begin taking measurements, you will need to know the tile dimensions, in order to know exactly how much to purchase. Now getting back to taking measurements for your mosaic tile back splash, you will simply need to measure the entire length of your vanity, including the sides, if your vanity has two walls, or three walls in some cases. Next you will need to know how high you want the back splash to go up the wall, keeping in mind your going to need clearance for electrical outlets, mirrors, towel bars, etc. Once you have the linear footage of all the sides and the height you want to use, simply add them together to get total linear footage.
Example: Back Wall: 5ft. 6 inches + Side Wall: 1ft. 6 inches = 7 linear feet total.
Now that you have the linear footage of the area to be tiled, you will next need your height requirements for the mosaic tile back splash. Again, this is a personal preference on what you want the back splash to look like, but most homeowners generally go with a back splash that is between 3-6 inches tall. For our example we will use a 4 inch high back splash. Now when figuring for materials, you will need to know what type of mosaic tile you are going to use, and what sizes they come in. Most mosaic tile patterns come in 12" x 12" squares, however some of the more expensive mosaic tile patterns may already be cut to height. If they are already cut to height, you will simply purchase enough linear footage of the mosaic tile to cover your total linear footage. If they are not, here is the formula to use for figuring how many pieces of tile to purchase. For our example, we will us a 12" x 12" tile, and the dimensions used in our example above. A 12" x 12" tile will give you 3, 4 inch high, 12 inch long pieces after they are cut. Here is the math:
12" divided by 4" = 3 pieces, 1-12" piece covers 1 foot x 3 pieces = 3 linear feet of coverage at 4 inches high. Having 7 linear feet will mean you will need 3 pieces of 12" x 12" mosaic tiles, as we end up in between pieces, and you always want to round up. Extra pieces of tile never hurt, as they can be used for replacement pieces if they by chance get broken in the future, or on another home improvement project.
Now that we have the tile figured, now we will need to figure out how much tile backer board will be needed. When installing any tile on a soft surface like drywall, it's recommended to use a tile backer board product, to keep the thin set or glue from rotting the existing drywall. When figuring for tile backer board, most contractors figure using square footage, this square footage number will be helpful when figuring for other required materials. Since we already have the dimensions to figure the square footage footage of the area to be tiled, now we just need to figure the square footage for the backer board. Backer board is usually sold in 3' x 5' pieces, so to figure the square footage for the backer board, simply multiply 3' x 5', which equals 15 square feet. For our tile area, using our same example, we will simply multiply 5.5' x 1.5', which equals 8.25 square feet. Therefore, with one sheet of backer board, we will have enough material to cover the area we are doing in our example. Here is the formula for square footage:
Length x Width = Square Footage
Also, to install the backer board you will need to purchase specially made screws for the backer board, which are usually located right next to the backer board material itself. A 1 lb. box should be enough to properly fasten the backer board in our example, however larger areas will require more fasteners. Most tile backer board screw manufacturers have a recommended estimate on how much a 1lb., 5lb., or 10lb. box of fasteners will cover, so it will be easy to figure how many screws you will need.
Having the square footage figured as we did above for the backer board, will also help us when figuring for the remaining materials needed to do the back splash, which are thin set mortar or tile adhesive, grout, and grout sealer. Since we already know we have 8.25 square feet of area to tile, the manufacturers have made it easy to figure how much thin set mortar or adhesive, grout, and sealer to use. This information is generally listed on the back of the product in the specifications section, and with the growing popularity of mosaic tile back splashes, a lot of manufacturers have even made smaller sizes that are perfect quantities for most mosaic tile back splash installations.
Now that we have all our materials figured, here is a checklist to make sure you have all the materials you will need to install, or have purchased for your tile installation contractor, for a mosaic tile back splash.
- 1/4" or 1/2" Tile Backer board
- 1 1/4" Screws Designed For Tile Backer board
- Thin Set Mortar or Tile Adhesive
- Mosaic Tile
- Grout
- Grout Sealer
Now that we have the materials needed for a mosaic tile back splash, and the quantities of materials needed to complete the project, it will be good to know the time frame required to install the back splash. Given the nature of any tile project, it is good information to know when installing a mosaic tile back splash, or when hiring a mosaic tile back splash installer. It is generally going to take 2-3 days to complete a mosaic tile back splash. Although it is a small bathroom remodelling project, you will want to follow manufacturers suggested waiting times for allowing mortar and grout to cure properly. Installing the backer board should take about 1-2 hours, and installing the mosaic tile will take another 2-4 hours. After installing the tile, you will want to wait on average 24 hours before grouting the tile, check manufacturers recommended waiting times to be sure. After grouting, most grout sealer manufacturers will want another 16-24 hours for the grout to set before applying the sealer, however there are additives you can put into the grout, that will include the sealer into the grout. Again, follow manufacturers recommendations to determine what is best for your mosaic tile back splash project, and proper waiting times before sealing the grout.
Now that we have gone through the process for installing a mosaic tile back splash, your probably wondering what the finished product will look like. It's also helpful to see some finished mosaic tile back splashes first hand, to make sure this is something you will want in your home's bathroom. Here are some photos of some of our most recent mosaic tile back splashes:
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Now that we have seen what the finished product looks like, you should now know if this project is right for your bathroom or not. A mosaic tile back splash can be a great, affordable bathroom remodel project for any homeowner, that will enhance the overall appeal of the bathroom. Having the knowledge of what materials to purchase, how to figure for the quantities of materials need, and the time frame for installing a mosaic tile back splash is helpful information for any homeowner, whether you doing it yourself, or hiring a bathroom remodelling contractor.
We hope this blog post on mosaic tile back splashes has been informative and helpful, and please feel free to comment with more information or ideas for new blog post. Best of luck with your next bathroom remodel project, and if your looking for a bathroom remodelling contractor in the Charlotte, NC area, contact MB Construction Company for a free estimate. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to our blog for more home improvement ideas, tips, information, and more.
MB Construction Company
224 Prescott Drive
Salisbury, NC 28144
Phone: 704-267-7763
Website: http://www.mbconstructioncompany.com
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