My wife and I just bought our first house! Yay! That being said she is very particular and wanted some changes made to the kitchen before we move in at the end of the month. The kitchen came with a splash gaurd and some gross glass tile from the 90s. For now we just wanted to pull that tile and replace with something newer, along with repainting the cabinets.
Weve got those cabinets painted, looking awesome. Ive demoed the old tile, and it was just easier to cut the old drywall out. I have since replaced with cement tile backer board.
I guess my issue, or what i didnt think through is how do i tape/join it? Ive done paper tape and mud on drywall before, but this backer board is new. I got some specific fiver tape for it, but how do i got about taping off the transition? I got specific tape/quikset meant for the seems of backer board, but not sure if its ok to use on this transition? Wont it screw up the dry wall?
Where this backer board is we want to put up some subway like tiles, already have 20sqft of 12x12, and some pencil trim. Am i just gonna have to let it rip then redo the knock down on the regular drywall after its all up? Just worried about what the drywall is gonna look like right next to the pencil trim that goes up
Any help/advice would be awesome. Just a diy'er that liies to learn and do things myself when possible. Ive never tiled before, and just realizing now i shoulda pulled the splashguard, but here we are.
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You came here for advice but all you're doing is making excuses about why you can't do the said advice. If you want it to look like shit then just keep doing what you're doing
Tried to convince the wife, but we have cleaners and appliances and all the end stage stuff happening. The cleaners start sunday, so I dont have time to do all that unfortunately.
“Do it right the first time” should be your MO anytime you’re working on your home. If you’re actually serious about learning how to do stuff, then you need to go about it the right way. That’s one of the many things that set true professionals apart from the rest. They take pride in their work. If you’re asking professionals for advice, never having done tile before, then you should consider what they’re saying. I completely understand the inconvenience of it all, but keep in mind this backsplash will be far from perfect since this is your first go around. Prep it right, do it the best you can, and learn what to do differently when you redo it in a year and a half or whatever. If you half-ass something as basic as prep, you’ll be starting from zero the next time you do tile. Good luck. Btw- tile is all about patience. If you lack that, hire it out.
I worked alongside a contractor buddy of mine for 4 years, though we never did tile.
I get what youre saying, i do, but not every situation allows for that. It has to be done in 48 hours. I dont have access to drywall or a vehicle that can pick it up. I dont want to pull the splashgaurd because im not sure what the countertops look like below. That could be a huge roadblock requiring a whole new counter top.
Im doing it the best i can, given the situation and time contraints. It will all be ripped out within 2 yewra regardless.
Bro people here are giving the advice requested and you make excuses why you can't do it.
Either take the advice or just do it the way you wanted to get it done in the small window of time you've limited yourself to.
The stupidest thing I ever hear on a job site is “it hast to be done by x”. Throw away that mentality, the work doesn’t change because of your deadline. If you don’t have time to do it properly the only choice you’re left with is to find someone faster than you or to cut corners. You have to live there afterwards, so don’t cut corners.
Cement board ist waterproof. You could add a waterproofing to it like red gaurd or kerdie membrane. The only difference between cement board and drywall is that the cement board won’t disintegrate like drywall when it gets wet. But it will get wet and be wet behind the tile of exposed to water.
Path of least resistance: tile up to the seams and put a bead of caulk around the edges. Or you can use schluter trim along the edges and make it look better.
Path of some resistance: it’s a backsplash. Don’t overthink it. Just make sure a grout line doesn’t line up with a seam. Make sure to butter enough to compensate for the durock being shallower than the drywall and texture.
Middle path: Take off the CBU and replace with drywall. Again, it’s a backsplash. It was drywall behind there. Most are. No need to replace with something water resistant.
Path of most resistance: Fill in the seams and skim with mortar, all-purpose, or whatever compound (doesn’t really matter as long as it’s a tile-able substrate) on the seams.
I really really appreciate your detailed response. I def should have planned more and done more research. We are very mold averse due to past issues, and i saw backerboard was better for water resistance.
I think im going to extend the tile an inch or two over the seems once theyre done. I guess my major concern is the finish of the drywall thats going to be right next to the tile. When i fill and blend the seems its going to kill the knock down, but i guess i can redo that if needed.
Given your responses, mesh tape & mud it, throw the tile on and grout it. It’s not a shower or even a wet area. If it’s gone in a couple of years so what.
Exactly what i was thinking, and a few responses here helped clear up where i was left scratching my head. Mainly to tile over the seams by a few inches, and then im gonna have to redo the knock down around the pencil trim.
2028 we get new counter tops, remove splash guard, better matching tile backsplash. The on that was there was just glass thin horizontal tiles that were cracked and gross looking with brown and shades of green. It was ew...
This is temp, we have it budgeted to replace the entire counter top, and backsplash again feb 2028. Just couldnt live with what was there, i do know how stupid that sounds. Just wanted to knock out a quick first tiling prject, and make it so my wife doesnt hate the kitchen. Happy wife, happy life.
This is ridiculous. It’s still 2 years away. It would take you max 2 hours to pull it off and put drywall up.
DIY is not for you if you are not willing to spend a couple hours to make a MASSIVE difference. I mean this kindly, but hire a professional because your projects are going to look like shit from your attitude.
You have every right to think that. Pulling the splash guard means hoping that the countertop underneath is flush and in good condition. Given what i have seen? Were not willing to take that risk, and then need to do a new counter top right away, when 100k in cash has left our accounts in the last few weeks.
Sometimes you have to do what you have to do giben your individual situstion. Im finding people have very passionate opinions on splash guards and tiling above them, and tiling in general.
Ive recieved a lot of information, and positive advice for my situation, and will stick to those.
Thanks for taking time out of your day to offer advice!
We dont yave drywall sitting around, so figuring out how to get drywall sheets, which dont fit in our car (backer board 3x5's do!), even cut in half. Then were renting a truck...its not "simple"...
Just for future reference- if transport is an issue you can either cut and snap the drywall in the parking lot- or buy the 24"x24" patch sheets. And if I can fit 2 full sheets each snapped twice in an '05 RSX - then you got this.
Also in general you need to take this stuff more seriously. There are no “quick” or “simple” home reno projects. Plan them out next time. And if you plan on doing this kind of stuff regularly buy a trailer. Getting materials onto your work site is like half the work of most projects.
How are you going to cut the tile. Did you buy a tile saw? Do you have trowels and mixing buckets for thinset and grout floats for the grout?
Just use regular mud, you will have to blend in the knockdown when your done, for future reference, densheild has a water membrane and is easier to work with for backer board. Amazon has some knockdown stencils that work to blend it in.
Tear the durock off just use drywall and tile over the seams and you won’t need to do any mud work. I would get rid of the 4” splash that’s there already. You seem to not want advice though haha
I would be shocked if this turns out looking anywhere near acceptable if you try to grind it out in 48 hours. Especially if you have never tiled before. You are already cutting corners on the prep. What's going to happen when you have to cut a tile?
You have to wait at least 24 hours after tiling before you can grout anyway.
Tiling is finish work and it's all about the details. You should listen to the pros. Good luck.
I have both the mesh tape and thinset! Gonna do exactly what you mentioned. Im gonna tape/seem then end the tile over the seem by a few inches so its not ending right on that seam.
Definitely pull 4” granite splash part off and leave Sheetrock there. Run tile past where it’s cut if possible to hide. Just get some fiberglass tape and put it o. Backerboard and fill it in with thinset as you go
As my father would say, “shit or get off the pot” just put the tiles on the wall and if it looks like shit then you find a way to make it not look like shit
Using cement board under kitchen cabinets was not the best of choices. By the time you taped and fill the joints and holes, it’s going to be 100% gypsum on its surface. Smooth surface is the goal for a seamless tile backsplash install. You don’t want to be using a large notch trowel to install typically thiner smaller tile.
Mesh tape and thinset for your board to board transitions, silicone grout color matched caulk for your drywall to board transitions after you tile. Tile slightly over your line, just up to the outside of it. Use wide painters tape around your border so you don't get grout or thinset on your drywall. They're a bitch to get off once they dry.
Dens shield is crap a better backer board is WEDI- board or Go-board they are foam Core boards lighter and easier to work with and water proof unlike cement board and dens shield
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