Kitchen backsplash, $1,000 flat

Starting the field from the counter, not from a guess

A kitchen backsplash has to sit on the counter you already have. I measure the run, the height to the uppers, and the gap at the window if there is one. Tile that looks even on a board can stack wrong once the first course follows a counter that is out a fraction of an inch. We dry fit corners and ends before thinset goes on the wall. Kitchen backsplash tile work is $1,000 flat, labor. That figure is labor only, so the tile, the edge profile, and the grout you choose are separate.

You pick the tile. Bring a box from home or ride with us to the Temple supply house and choose zellige, marble, porcelain, ceramic, terrazzo, or mosaic there. What you pick is what gets set. Brass and satin edge profiles are available if a run dies in the open instead of into a cabinet or a window return. I look at the room with you, then the same person who measured it sets it. Showers, tub surrounds, floors, vinyl plank, and roofing are different jobs. Those get quoted after we look at the room.

Outlets, switch boxes, the range wall, and the hood

Boxes in a kitchen wall are rarely set at a perfect tile module. I mark every outlet and switch on the layout before a single tile is buttered. The cut has to leave the device usable and the plate has to land on tile, not on a grout joint if we can avoid it. On the range wall the field meets a hood and a cooktop that were not installed with tile in mind. Heat and grease live there. We keep the plane true so the hood trim does not gap. If the hood sits off center, the pattern will show it unless we shift the layout on purpose. That decision gets made on site with you looking at the wall, not from a sketch drawn later.

• Outlet cuts sized so the cover plate sits flat
• Switch boxes kept accessible after the field is set
• Range wall held in plane with the rest of the run
• Hood opening cut from the field, not patched in after

Window returns, open ends, and full height stone versus a standard field

A return at a window is a three sided wrap if you want the tile to look finished from the sink. Thin slivers at the jamb are what go wrong when the field is started from the wrong end. I work the layout so the cuts at the window are even left and right, or as even as the opening allows. An open end that does not die into a cabinet needs a brass or satin profile, or a polished edge on stone. Leave that last cut raw and you will see biscuit and a sharp arris every time you stand at the stove.

Full height stone from the counter to the ceiling, or up to the bottom of the uppers, means more cuts around the hood and more weight on the wall. Marble, zellige, and large porcelain will telegraph every bump in the drywall if the plane is not flattened first. Lippage shows under kitchen light more than it does in a photo. A standard field that stops under the upper cabinets is fewer pieces and a shorter day on the wall, but the top course still has to finish in a straight line. I tell you which way the existing wall wants to go after I put a straightedge on it. You decide the height. We set that height.

Grout at the cooktop, sealer, and what the labor covers

Grout behind a cooktop takes oil, tomato, and heat. A light unsanded joint will stain if it is not sealed, and even then it will pick up color over time. Darker grout hides more. Epoxy grout is an option you can pick at the supply house. I do not pick it for you. Joint width follows the tile. Zellige wants a wider, more irregular joint than a rectified porcelain. If you want pencil thin lines on a handmade tile, the corners will not line up and the grout will look like a mistake. We grout after the set has firm, then wipe it down, and seal when the grout is meant to take sealer. That sequence is ordinary work, not a special add on.

The published price for kitchen backsplash tile work is $1,000 flat, labor. Labor means setting, cutting around boxes, finishing edges, grouting, sealing where the grout calls for it, and cleaning up behind us. It does not mean the tile, the thinset brand you might prefer, or a new sheet of drywall if the wall is rotten. If the substrate is bad I will tell you on the first look. Every installation carries a written one-year limited labor warranty from the date of completion. It covers issues arising from the original installation. It does not cover materials, those fall under the manufacturer's own warranty, and it does not cover modifications made after the installation is complete.

Looking at the room in Killeen, then setting what you picked

Work starts with a look at the actual kitchen. I measure the runs, the height, the window, and the boxes. You pick tile at home or we go to the Temple supply house together. Then the tile goes on the wall, the joints get grouted, sealer is applied when it belongs, and we clean up. On a job like this it tends to run over more than one day because grout waits on a firm set, not because I pad the calendar. Most of the time a standard field is simpler than a full height stone wrap around a hood. I work out of Killeen. The service area runs to Harker Heights, Copperas Cove, Nolanville, Belton, Temple, Salado, Georgetown, Round Rock, Waco, and Austin.

Call (512) 297-7493 or email info@merlanstile.com and talk to Genaro Merlan. Scheduling is arranged on the phone. No start date belongs on a website. If you need a shower, a tub surround, a floor, vinyl plank with reducers, stair nose, and thresholds, or roofing, call for a straight quote after we look at the room. Merlan's Tile does tile, flooring, and roofing. This page is the backsplash only. After I see the kitchen I can tell you if the drywall is rotten, if the plane is bowed, or if the cooktop sits proud of the counter. Those things change the work. I say so on site. Bring the tile yourself or meet at the Temple supply house. The pieces that arrive are the pieces that go on the wall.