The best way to save on labor costs and develop new skills is to learn how to tile a kitchen wall.
When you tile a kitchen wall behind a sink, cooker, around food preparation spaces, or by bins, you protect the wall from water and grease and ensure the space is easier to clean and will last longer.
Depending on your preference, you can start at the worktop and tile a single tile high or go all the way to the ceiling. You can search Modern kitchen wall tiles for more insights.
Smooth, even surfaces
To begin with, make sure the surfaces you plan to tile over are smooth, sound, and level. This will ensure a flawless tile finish!
If you have a few divots in your walls, filling them with plaster is a quick and relatively inexpensive solution. It’s better, however, to attach HardieBacker Boards to the wall if it’s in rough shape; it’ll give you a hard, level surface to work on.
Again, HardieBacker Boards are your best bet if your wooden floor space has some flex or bounce to it. HardieBacker Boards are not recommended for concrete floors, so we’d recommend BAL Level Max if the floor is concrete.
Once you have smooth, sound, and level walls and floors, you’re ready to tile.
Choosing the perfect Tiles
Maybe an obvious point, but the second thing you’ll need to tile is your bathroom. Walls and Floors have 6,000 items to choose from, so you’re spoilt for choice! You might consider a natural scheme, using stone effect and wood effect tiles for a delicate, spa-style appearance.
If you want to add some extra personality to your bathroom, you can combine the base tiles with mosaic tiles to create feature strips and border tiles. You decide! We wrote the article to help you choose the right Modern Kitchen Wall Tiles for your bathroom.
Adhesive
Adhesive and grout are the last two things your bathroom needs to be tiled! Your tiles are held in place by the adhesive, while the grout bridges the gaps, keeping them watertight, protected, and in place.
You can use our Kwik Grip Ice White Wall Tile Adhesive for wall tiles under 300x300mm. You need to stir it up, and you’re good to go! Using a powder-based adhesive, such as Uniflex White Wall & Floor Tile Adhesive, is necessary if your wall tiles exceed 300x300mm.
Tiles that are installed on HardieBacker boards or concrete substrates are a great choice for kitchen flooring! Generally, it is not recommended to tile directly onto the wood as there will be some bounce in the substrate, negatively affecting your tiles and grout joints.
Grout
You have the option to choose the color of grout for either your walls or floors! Make sure the tile you’ve chosen complements and enhances it. There are a lot of colors in the Mapei Ultracolour Plus collection.
Waterproofing
To prevent water damage to your walls and flooring, you’ll need to waterproof your substrate before tiling a shower area or wet room as part of your bathroom project!
Silicone sealant
As soon as your tiling is completed, seal any edges that may come into contact with water. This will keep them watertight. Seal any edges around the bathtub, shower tray, or sink with silicone sealant. It can be smoothly applied with a damp fingertip. In case you don’t have any lying around in the shed, don’t worry.
The Right Tools For The Job:
A few basic tools will complete the transformation of your kitchen!
Pencil, tape measure, spirit level
To make sure your base is level and to mark out where your tiles will go, you’ll need a spirit level, tape measure, and pencil.
Mixing bucket
You will need a mixing bucket if you are using powdered grout and adhesive so you can whip the mixture up! If you want to use an old bucket from the shed, or if you want to use one of our mixing buckets, then you can do so.
Spacers
To allow for your grout joints, you’ll need to keep a consistent gap between your tiles when you’re fixing them in place. There’s a spacer for that!
Adhesive trowel
To create your adhesive bed and ensure there are nice defined grooves for good adhesion, you’ll need an adhesive trowel!
Grout float and sponge
After the tiles are installed, you’ll need a grout float to work your grout into the joint between the tiles. When you’re done grouting, a sponge will help clean up!
Tile cutter
Manual tile cutters will work well for small ceramic tiles. Especially in the case of porcelain and natural stone, you will need a wet cutter to cut larger ceramic tiles. The reason is that they are more expensive, so if you don’t plan on several tiling rooms, it is common to hire them rather than buy them. If you’d like to buy one, though.
