And The Kitchen Project Continues...

Now that my kitchen counters were installed it was time to decide on a back splash. I intentionally did not have a granite back splash installed since I was planning on tiling myself. All along I was thinking white subway tile since the counters had so much movement but I still wasn't convinced that an accent tile was also the way to go. Off to the tile store and after about an hour I picked out 3" x 6" white subway with a strip of glass and white quartzite bars set in a 12" x 12" mosaic sheet. With the tiles in my cart I headed to the supply section to get all the other stuff for my project. Besides the tiles, ended up purchasing:
White Non-sanded grout (powdered form so I could add grout sealant)
Tile adhesive - premixed
Grout additive
Tile, stone & grout sealant
Two large sponges, one with a dehazing pad on one side
Tile cutter
Tile spacers

The only supplies I needed that I already had were various sizes of troughs for the adhesive (including one with notches), two different floats for the grout and buckets.

Tiling supplies

I had also purchased a few bullnose tiles to use as end pieces installed vertically at the start and end of my walls. I started at the one end and decided to work my way around the room. I removed all the switch plates and began by laying two rows of subway tile, four rows of accent tiles and then the rest of subway tiles. In between every surface and every tile I placed a spacer or two per tile so that the grout lines on your project are consistent. I spread the adhesive on an area about 2' x 2' and then worked it using the notched trowel. I had already laid out the mosaic pieces end to end for my pattern. They came on sheets with about 10 rows per sheet so I had to mix and match to get an end to end section the length of each wall.

All was going fine until I had to cut around the first outlet. Not having a wet saw, it isn't easy to cut away anything other than a straight cut on a tile. Several broken tiles and I finally got what I needed. Proceeded fairly well until I got to the very top row. You can't see in the picture but I had to cut a small amount off every single tile and I wasn't having much luck with my manual tile cutter. Ended up breaking many tiles and the cuts I did get were anything but straight or exact. Vertical cuts using a tile cutter go pretty smoothly but horizontal and especially small horizontal cuts are much more difficult. I decided I could always put up a piece of molding and so I proceeded. I was concerned about too much breakage and not having enough tiles for my project so I made do with what I had but I wasn't satisfied with the quality of the cuts.

Installed tiles

Working the one wall into the corner

I also had some tricky cuts around the window frame but I was now getting the hang of cutting tiles with the tile cutter. Figured out that I wasn't scoring the tiles hard enough. I put more pressure on the cutting wheel and the tiles were snapping much cleaner. As I moved to the second set of cabinets I found I was now able to more easily make clean horizontal cuts and I wasn't breaking many tiles. Wish I had figured that out on my first run. Oh well, I'll know for my next tiling job. Finished up the one wall and decided to call it a day.

Came home from work and decided to finish up the last wall. Again started at the outer end with the vertical bullnose tiles and worked my way into the corner. I figured you wouldn't see the corner so it didn't matter if the pattern didn't quite match up. This time the tiles fit exactly under the cabinets so I only had to make a few cuts under the microwave. Much cleaner finish on this wall and I finished the rest of the adhesive and tiling that evening. The whole time I was tiling I kept cardboard down on the counters and repeatedly wiped up any stray adhesive. The last thing I wanted was to damage my nice new counters.

The following weekend I planned to grout the tiles and work on the electrical. I purchased dry grout so I could add a grout sealant directly with the grout to help make it more stain resistant. I mixed a small batch and began the process. I loaded up my float with about 1/2 cup of grout and then proceeded to spread it into the grout lines. You want to push it into every space and then wipe away any excess first using the trowel and then with a slightly damp sponge. I had two sponges and a bucket of water and as you work you are constantly wiping and cleaning up the excess grout. It isn't hard to grout but quite messy. You also don't want to use too much water and don't want to wipe the grout out of the grout lines, just lightly wipe the grout off the tile surface. Again after a bit I got the hang of it.

Tiles after grout

Tiles around the window sill

Tiles around switche

Tiles into the corner

Another step in the tiling process is removing any haze from the tiles. You can just use water and the sponges and after the grout is set a bit you keep cleaning the tile surface to remove any excess grout. The guy at the tile store sold me a dehazing product that you sponge on and off that is supposed to improve the dehazing. Not sure if it is necessary but it worked great for me.

Another thing to keep in mind when grouting is you don't want to grout any spaces next to another surface like the counter, window sill or cabinets. The movement of the other surface will cause the grout to break apart and crumble. Instead you need to use caulk on these joints. The installers used silicone caulking for any of their joints due to its properties to guard against water. In the case of my tile wall, use of an acrylic caulk with silicone compounds was best given the ease of clean-up with water.

My past experience with caulking has not always been positive. I struggle between overworking the caulking vs just leaving it be. I had quite a bit of caulking to do with this project but in the end it all seemed to go fairly well. I apply the caulk and then using a damp finger, wipe away any excess. I then come back with a damp towel to remove any from the surrounding surfaces.

Stone/tile transition before caulking

Stone/tile transition after caulking

Now that the tile install was completed, I had to deal with the switch issue. Since the tile adds 1/4 to 1/2 an inch depth to your walls most likely you won't be able to just screw the wall plates back on. First you have to move the switches out so they are flush with your new surface and then reinstall the plates. Since the outlets/switches in my home are old and grungy, I decided that since I had to pull them out anyway, I might as well switch them out for new ones. I had already purchased replacements and also bought a bag of outlet spacers. The purpose of the spacers is to allow you to move your switches out by screwing against these plastic spacers and you can add as many as you need to accomadate the depth of the tiles.

Old outlets & switches

Outlet spacers

Hardest part of this process of switching out the old with the new was ensuring that the circuits were off. I've done quite a bit of electrical in this house but I'm always a little leery until I'm certain the power is off. In this instance I ended up having to turn off three different circuits for 3 outlets/switches in my kitchen. Have to keep going back and forth to the electrical box switching off breakers until I find the correct ones. In the case of the switch pictured above, the outlet was on one circuit and the light switch on another. I had the power off to the outlet and assumed the switch was off. Fortunately I check and double check before touching anything and when I put the voltage tester to the switch, I knew it was still live. For this project I used a receptacle tester, a voltage tester and a lamp to make sure the power was off.

Using receptacle testor

Once I was certain the power was off it is a fairly simple process to switch out the switches. I always work one wire at a time - removing from old and installing onto the new. This ensures that I don't get the wires mixed up. Normally it is black wires to gold screws, white (hot) to silver and ground to green. When I was ready to install into the wall I then placed 4 outlet spacers between the switch and the screw holes. However at this point I realized that the original screws just weren't long enough. I keep all types of screws and nails for all my projects but was unable to find enough so off to the local hardware store in town to pick up what I needed.

Switching out a new outlet for the old

Once I secured the switches in the outlet boxes with the longer screws I then installed the switch covers which were now at the correct depth. As you can see in the picture below, I did make one cutting error around this outlet. I didn't accurately measure how much space I needed around the outlet and cut the one tile too short. When I went to install the plate I realized my error. I simply took a piece of tile and cut a piece to fit. I put some adhesive on the back and put it in place. After it dried I put some caulking in the crack and the fix looks fairly good. Lesson learned, take your time around the outlets and switches and make sure you tile in close enough. I don't think anyone would ever notice this mistake especially since my coffee pot sits in front of this outlet but I don't like making mistakes and I'll always know this oops is there.

Finished outlet and cover

The last big part of my kitchen reno was replacing the fluorescent tube light over my sink with a new pendant light. I went to the Home Depot and picked out the style below that I thought fit my updated kitchen style well.

Old and new style light

With the power still off at the switch, it took removing a cover, the bulb, two screws and two wired nuts to remove the old fixture. To my surprise there wasn't a junction box. My understanding is that unless the wire connections are contained within the fixture itself, you need a junction box. In my case, the wire would be connected outside the fixture so I needed a box. The previous fluorescent light was wired within the fixture, so one was not required. Once again off to the local hardware store for a junction box.

Exposed wires for light fixture

Now the hard part of my project began. Hanging a light fixture isn't a difficult task but trying to work in the space above the sink was quite difficult. I didn't want to stand on the counters unless my weight was being supported by the edges of the base cabinets below. I'm trying work over a double sink which meant I had one foot on the counter and my other foot on the step ladder. Additionally the light is recessed inside the soffit so I'm trying to maneuver in a tight space. It took me several hours to install the junction box and light and I ended up having to do it twice.

The first time I installed the box off center and too close to the front of the soffit. I didn't realize this until I was almost finished. I had to take everything down, relocate the junction box and then reinstall the fixture. It also isn't easy trying to do the wiring while in a contorted position and holding up the fixture. I almost gave up on this one but finally managed to get it all installed. When I turned the power back on I prayed that the light worked and was so thankful when it lit up. While I was up there I also knocked down the ugly scallops that went between the upper cabinets - so long scallops!

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I now love having this light over my sink. In the evening it gives such a nice glow to the space and I couldn't be happier with my choice. Today I finished up two final parts of my kitchen project. I sealed the tile back splash and the counters with a good sealant and I installed narrow molding under the cabinets to give it a more finished look (and to hide the rough cuts on my first section). Two weeks after the counter tops were installed and my kitchen project is complete. Although it took me the longest time to start this it is by far my favorite project to date. I've always wanted to try tiling and thoroughly enjoyed it. Since I love to cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I'm so glad to finally have a space I love. The cabinets are still old but the updates I did make the whole space feel luxurious. The project cost me less than $2600 - well worth every penny and all my hard work.

Newly renovated kitchen with new counters, sink, faucet, tile back splash and light

Another view of completed project