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Fire & ice install-start to finish with pics

13 years ago

For Kristine2009 and any others.

Things we bought:

1. 6 boxes fire & ice quartz tile-aprox. 30 sq. ft.

2. Custom Bldg. Products pre mixed Stone, Porcelain & Ceramic Tile thin set mortar-white-1 gal. bucket

3. TEC AccuColor unsanded grout #927 lt. pewter

4. Aqua Mix Sealers Choice Gold

5. Tile Solutions sponges-smooth on one side and rough on the other

6. 1/8" tile spacers-bag that look like Xs for the glass pieces and bag that look like flying saucers for the quartz pieces

Other things we used:

1. micro fiber cloths

2. rubber float

3. 1 1/4" putty knife

4. brass wire brush-about 1-2" wide-not steel as it will cause rust

5. DH used diamond tip blade on his skill saw attached to table. Wet saw for tile would be ideal. He made cuts for 3 outlets-cutting only the quartz pieces, not the glass. Looks perfect!

The process:

First I laid out all the F & I sheets on cardboard to make a pattern/color design. Initially we started to use drywall screws per poorowner's advice to see how it would look before applying the thin set. We didn't apply the tile in sheets as it would have meant very tiny pieces to be cut for the end of several rows. We installed each piece individually and I removed the mesh from all the peach and clear glass. We also used the umber/root beer glass and left the paper backing on them. This way is very labor intensive but resulted in only 2 small quartz pieces at the end of 47 rows total. The X spacers worked best for us on the glass tiles but I liked the larger saucer ones for the quartz pieces. After, we used the Aqua Mix to seal the tile. I used micro fiber cloths-wet and dry-to clean only the glass pieces. After 3/4 days ready to grout. Nervous about this. Just follow the directions as to mixing, wiping, etc. Chose lt. pewter from TEC which is shade darker than desired end result of delorean gray. DH applied the grout. OMG-it is so dark!!! Will this be a HUGE mistake?? Following directions, start to sponging. Wring sponge-don't want water dripping. Even with the before sealing the grout will stick to the crevices of the quartz. Micro fiber to wipe the glass. Brass wire brush for the quartz. Surprise-it looks good and the grout has lightened to almost exactly the delorean gray. YEA!! After few more days, we apply the final coat of the same sealer and I only wipe the glass tiles.

Here are some pics. HTH. It is a DIY project-not too difficult but very labor intensive to get it right especially since we are not pros!!

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Comments (12)

chris45ny
Original Author
13 years ago
Also forgot to mention that we used several buckets of water during the sponging process. We emptied the bucket in the laundry room tub due to the grout. Change the water frequently. The brass wire brush was used to get out the grout that worked its way into the quartz piece crevices.

Pics:

Trying the layout per poorowner's advice using the drywall screws to hold the sheets up

Several rows done installing piece by piece

Looking good

Before first sealing

After first sealing

Before grouting

OMG-the grout is so dark-what have we done!!

Lt. pewter is the top sample stick and delorean gray is under it-that's the color we want

The color ended up pretty close to this sample of delorean gray

{{!gwi}}
Close up pic

Final coat of sealer

Close up of how it looks 5+ hours after final seal coat
gsciencechick
13 years ago
Spectacular! You should feel very proud of yourself, though I'm sure you're exhausted.
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kitchenaddict
13 years ago
Hi chris!

I was excited to see that you were posting your backsplash:) I love Fire and Ice.

I really appreciate how helpful you are to others, explaining the whole process. I am not a DIYer, unfortunately, but so many on this forum will benefit from your experience.

It looks beautiful..so many interesting colors and textures... I bet you will enjoy looking at it for many years to come!

KA:)
remodelfla
13 years ago
That looks really beautiful. What amazing pics too! Thanks for posting this.
carol08
13 years ago
Gorgeous! And the step-by-step account of the process was both helpful and inspiring. Thanks!
Kathryn Bunn
13 years ago
chris, the tile looks amazing.

Your post couldn't have come at a better time! My fingers are crossed hoping mine will get here tomorrow. Granite gets put in on Sat then will start the f&i install.
kristine_2009
13 years ago
Thanks so much for posting Chris! You guys did a great job, looks amazing!
Question for you, in corners and where the tile meets cabinets and countertop....are those areas supposed to be grouted or caulked? How did you guys do it? I remember reading on the forum there are times to caulk instead of grout, but I don't remember all of the rules. LOL
chris45ny
Original Author
13 years ago
kristine-Since we had the matching 4" granite backsplash DH used grout only between that 4" and the fire and ice pieces and grout only where it met against the cabinets. If you are installing without the 4" backsplash DH says will need to run a line of caulk not grout where the fire and ice meets the countertop. They sell caulk to match color of the grout. The DIY is not difficult-just takes time as we don't normally do this. Now that it is completely dry it really turned out better than I expected. This weekend I'll finally have my stove back where it belongs!! My kitchen is almost done-just some little things left to do. I wish you success in your backsplash install. Don't forget to post some pics.
Kathryn Bunn
13 years ago
chris,

Sorry to bombard you with questions but this project seems a little daunting. When did you use the wire brush? Right after grouting and before sponging? Did you get all your stuff at Lowe's or HD?

BTW, the tile distributor didn't call me today so the tile isn't in yet. Bummer.

Thanks!
chris45ny
Original Author
13 years ago
katie lou-After we did the sponging twice as instructed after grouting we used the wire brush to get any remaining bits of grout from the quartz pieces. Because those pieces have crevices/uneven texture, etc. the grout sticks. You could use some sort of nylon sponge but my husband just happened to have this brush which worked great and was small enough so that it didn't scrape out the surrounding grout. Just brush lightly and you will see the grout starting to smear up on the stone. Then you wipe it off with a microfiber cloth. I used the cloth instead of a sponge as I didn't want to wipe off the grout that was in the 1/8" spacing areas. The glass was no problem. Wipe with damp cloth and then buff dry with a dry one. It is daunting but you can do it!! Be prepared for it to take time depending on the amount of area, how many cuts, etc. The only thing I would do differently is not use the lt. pewter color grout-it was so dark and this particular backsplash looks best with a lt. gray or beige color. We sponged 3 times instead of 2 as it was so dark. It could just be the brand. When we used Laticrete grout for our kitchen floor it mixed up way lighter before it was even sponged. We ended up with the delorean gray color-maybe out of shear luck!! It's hard to decide on the best grout color. If you start with a lighter color it will lighten up some with each sponging. I chose to end up with a lt. gray as I thought it would look best with my order. Don't forget to post pics. Have fun!!
Sponges, spacers, putty knife, diamond tip blade from Lowes
Thin set mortar from HD
TEC grout and Aqua Mix sealer from tile store
Kathryn Bunn
13 years ago
Is it a no no to seal the quartz before putting it on the wall?

It seems more efficient not having to go back and clean off the glass.
chris45ny
Original Author
13 years ago
katie lou-I really don't know the answer to that but DH said "why not." Maybe someone who is more of a "tile expert" will chime in. When we were sealing the tile, DH just used a 2" stiff bristle nylon brush.

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