Kitchen Backsplash
A backsplash that fits your kitchen properly — tight cuts around outlets, level courses, and a dry layout before anything gets set.
How We Approach a Backsplash
A kitchen backsplash sounds simple — it's a relatively small area, the tile doesn't need to be waterproofed the way a shower does, and most of it is vertical. What makes it more complicated than it looks is the context. The backsplash runs right up against your countertop (which is rarely perfectly level), your cabinets (which have their own tolerances), outlet boxes (which need to stay accessible and have cover plates that sit flush), and your range hood or microwave. Every one of those interfaces requires a clean cut and a decision about how the tile terminates.
We start every backsplash job with a dry layout — tile laid out on the counter without adhesive so you can see exactly how the pattern falls, where the cuts land, and whether the starting point needs to shift to avoid a sliver cut at a visible edge. Sliver cuts (less than half a tile width at the end of a run) look awkward and are avoidable with planning. We adjust the layout before we set anything.
For the installation itself, we use a white polymer-modified thinset on most backsplash applications. White thinset matters when you're working with light-colored, translucent, or glass tile — gray thinset shows through and changes the color of the tile. It's a detail that matters and one we don't skip.
The Process, Step by Step
Measure and plan
We measure the field, identify all penetrations (outlets, switches, range hood), and map out the layout including where cuts will fall.
Prep the surface
Existing backsplash is removed if needed. Drywall is checked for condition. Outlet boxes are inspected for depth and adjusted if the new tile thickness requires it.
Dry layout and approval
We lay tile dry on the counter so you can see the pattern, cut locations, and how it meets the cabinets and countertop before anything is permanently set.
Set, grout, and finish
Tile is set in appropriate thinset. After cure, we grout, clean, and caulk at the countertop-to-tile joint (a movement joint — grout cracks there, caulk flexes).
Available In These Areas
We install kitchen backsplash tile across the south suburbs:
Questions about your backsplash project? Call (312) 874-5999 or send us a note — we're available seven days a week.