Backsplash — Intimidating?

Before we put our last house on the market, we had a small repair that had to be done. The house was in pristine shape—we had really cared for it! But the tile in the master bathroom hadn't been installed correctly by the builder and a majority of it had come loose over the five years we lived there. Some of the tiles were basically just resting on the floor. Well, the tile guy wanted $1,700 to repair it, and we knew we wouldn't recoup that cost. So, my ever awesomely-helpful father helped me rip up the floor, save the tiles, and re-set and re-grout them. Two days on our hands and knees.

I say all this because I kind of work the "see one, do one, teach one" model when it comes to home projects. Generally speaking, my dad shows me how to do the first project, and the second one is on my own. I haven't taught a whole lot yet, but my day is coming! So, in my mind, floor tile and backsplash are all tile. So, clearly this one is a solo event!

Guess what? Mosaic tile is a lot easier than floor tile! Now, my disclaimer is that this assessment is solely based on my experience with my particular mosaic. It's not based on a standard tile. 

Here is my tile. 

The thing I didn't plan on is that my mosaic has three different heights on the tile. There also appears to be three (maybe four?) different versions of the tile (which I didn't know until I started installing—whoops!) Not crazy ridiculous but certainly more complicated! Except that means there really isn't a pattern! Yay! Nothing to mess up!

When we re-tiled the bathroom floor we used a pre-mixed mortar, but my research said it's a bad idea to use the pre-mixed stuff on glass tile. Apparently it tends to discolor over time. So, I got this big bag from Floor & Decor where I bought the tile...and then I read the bag. It said nothing about glass tile. It said a lot about heavy large tile. I got cold feet and ran to Home Depot for this glass tile mortar. I don't know if it's superior, but it's white and it works. Of course, half way through my first wall, my contractor (who was working on the shower upstairs) says, "I've got extra mortar. Do you want it?" And he dumps his perfectly mixed thin mortar into my bucket. Messier than my thick slop, but I learned a little something! 

I did the bar first...and honestly, I wish I had done it last. But that's okay! I opted not to get a tile saw. Could I have used one? Yes. Did I need one? No. I used these awesome glass tile cutters that did a great job! One thing I also realized is that the texture on the tile actually offered a lot more wiggle room for me as well because imperfect cuts aren't massively obvious. I also don't actually need any spacers. The mosaic fits together perfectly and extra pieces just pop into place. I occasionally needed something to lift a sagging fill-in piece but not often. I did get these little lifts to help keep them from settling onto the counter, and that turned out to be a great plan on my part! All things I really hadn't considered when I picked my tile! Glad I didn't go with subway tile! But I'm sure it would have equally had its own quirks. 

This was definitely a time-consuming project, and would have gone a lot faster with a second set of hands. But honestly, it wasn't hard. What was hard was when my babysitters weren't available and my husband went out of town for work, and I needed to finish installing the tile. My kids rock. A Chick-Fil-A breakfast and working 10am - 6pm. There were snacks. But tiling while yelling, "Do not run in the house!" and "Let me just finish this part right here!" is nothing in comparison to "I ran out of mortar and have four square feet left to install! We're going to Home Depot!" and having to promise suckers. But they did let me finish. Bless them. ❤️️

The down side to spending so much time up-close-and-personal with my walls... the realization that not all of my wall sockets are white. Ugh. This was before I grabbed one of those live wires by accident (you're supposed to turn off the breaker, but I like living on the edge!) 😜 don't do what I do. Be safe. Turn off the breaker. But of course this meant changing out all the outlets. Not hard but not what I had planned. Not fun.
Had to use these outlet spacers when I put the outlets back on... again... not hard. Just not fun.
Overall, tiling isn't all that bad. I kind of liked it. I'd do it again. Floors hurt your back a little more than kitchen backsplash, but many floors are a lot smaller!!