I've heard that 1/8" can go either sanded or unsanded. Any larger spacing needs sanded and any smaller needs unsanded. The scratching would be an issue with glass I am told. I used sanded on my marble that is polished and I don't think it scratched. I will be using unsanded on my ceramic tile that I am using in my BR in the near future because the joint is very tiny. I think with sanded grout there is less shrinkage on those larger joints. I hope that has helped because I just realized that I prefaced every item above with an "I think" or "I've heard".

Traci, We did have a designers help with the kitchen layout, but for the backsplash my DH, DIY'D. He likes doing tilework, and is pretty good at it(just completed a fireplace surround yesterday) anyway..he had an idea.. but I needed to see it before it went up. Re: estimating how much you need, thats pretty easy just figuring square footage, buy a little extra, and any reputable store will take back what you don't use,(full boxes, or sheets). We weren't quite sure about the layout, and bought too many medalions, saved a few extra, but took the rest back for credit, no problem. We took all the tiles home,then he played with the layout on the counter for a few days... until we agreed on what we both liked. No sketching.. I too had to see the tiles in front of me, before on the wall. I think thats the best way to do it.. And if you don't like it, just take it back for something else.. We installed after the range and all the cabinets were in. Since we were General Contractors for our build, I'm not sure if thats how its always done, but it seems to make sense. Spend some time going through more pictures, find a few you really like, bring them a good stone/tile place and I'm sure the salespeople there would be willing to help lay some tiles out for you to see. We used The Tile Shop, they were very helpful, even though we had a good idea of what we wanted. They have stores located all over the midwest and out east. Good Luck!

I don't know exactly how thick, but I'm sure the designer took thickness into account because he originally showed us a beveled edge stone, but later told me it wouldn't work because the edge was too thin. I looked at the diagram again & realized it's more complicated than I thought. There are longer and shorter runs of subway tile in order to line the stacks of small stones vertically. Which leads me to believe the designer thought things through, though I'll hook up the ancient scanner my father gave me if I can find a power cord.

Jaynes123 "Until GW, I wasnt even aware kitchens had BSs," Same here. The only backsplashes I saw in newly remodeled kitchens were the same granite as that on the counters. Then I see all the posts about backsplashes here in GW and folks asking again and again what kind of backsplash should I get, or does this or that look good for a backsplash. I asked my wife, "What the heck is going on in GardenWeb and all this "Backsplash thing". She says "Some tile sales folks are hanging around and all they gotta do is convince a person or two and the rest follow. That was probably close to 10 years ago now. We see it over and over again, first White kitchens, Now gray. Now everybody must have an Island~~~~and on and On it goes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess if you are a "Follower Type", all is well and good. But I've always done my own thing and will continue to do so. I will say that one place GW was a lotta help and Yea I did follow, was with Induction, Luv it!!!!~~~the other "Stuff", not so much ~~but ~~~~~that's just this old guys opinion, not necessarily right or wrong! Gary