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Kitchens Design Dilemma Remodeling

Tile backsplash installed before or after the countertop?

4 years ago

We are nearing completion of our diy kitchen reno. Have decided on soapstone countertops with subway tile backsplash. We plan to install the tile backsplash after the counters are in, but I’ve noticed that some photos posted here look like tiles are behind the countertops, as though the backsplash was installed first. Which is correct?

Featured Answer

Janet Mmm

4 years ago

Counters first.

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Comments (6)

Aglitter
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Backsplash is the last thing to go up. Not sure what photos you saw, but sometimes tile might be cut to give the best proportion for the entire span from counter to upper cabinet, so you might not always have a full tile where backsplash meets the counter. Counters don't go all the way to the wall. You need at least a 1/8" gap for ease, and if the wall is uneven, the counter needs to account for that. The tile fills in the gap between the counter and the wall and is added after counter installation.
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We did tile floor, then cabinets, then countertop...still waiting to put in a backsplash. If you put the flooring in first, then it goes under the cabinets, making it easier to change things later. While the product cost might be somewhat higher (the cost of the materials under the cabinets), installation will be less b/c there are far less cuts, etc. Additionally, everything is at the same level for installation...cabinets & appliances. Whatever you do, be sure the flooring materials are even & level across the entire room. If you do not put your flooring material under the cabinets, then at least put plywood under the cabinets & appliances to bring them up to your planned finished floor height. This is to (1) ensure appliances will fit, (2) make it easier to install/remove appliances (no having to raise/lower them to get them in/out), and (3) avoid the "surprise" when your toekicks end up being shorter than normal as well as lowering your counter height. (If you want a lower counter height then plan for it, don't "end up" with it b/c of an "oops!") I also suggest you run the finished floor under your appliance alcoves a least a few inches so there's no raw plywood visible when looking from across the room. This includes refrigerators, DWs, ranges, etc. ...anything that sits directly on the floor. Oh, and don't install the final quarter round or furniture molding until your floor has been installed...this way the molding will hide any uneven/rough edges.
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Need input: gap at end of counter before adding backsplash
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Hi a2gemini, Holy cow--your first counter actually avalanched on the way to your house?! Egads, that must have been an awful feeling. I'm glad that you had a great job after that! I live in northern Massachusetts. From all of my reading of GW, I should have known better than to go with the stone guys that we ended up with. It was one of the areas of the project where I got too tired of wrangling with other members of the family and took the path of least resistance. (And while I don't normally take that path, at the time, I was too exhausted to argue that we should look for another estimate/opinion on which stone contractor to go with. As my brother says "sometimes my life is just a lesson to others of what *not* to do!") --Lee
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Nope, and don't let him talk you into tiling from the top down and leaving the last couple rows of tiles until after the counters are installed. Your last row of tiles is under the cabinet so that where you like to put your cut tiles if everything lays out well that way. Ideally, your first tile that is next to your granite is whole and you work your way up (with whole tiles) until the cut tile under the cabinet. Tiling down won't look as nice. And if he tiles up, leaving enough room to slip your granite in, he is going to leave too big a gap between the first row and the granite.
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It doesn't matter that much. In fact, it my be better if the sill went in first so the tile at the jambs (if there is any) could die on top of it. Have the sill installer leave the returned ends proud of the wall enough that the tiler can get thinset, tile, and a 1/16" gap for silicone behind them. This is where trade coordination is critical. I'd have the tiler dab hot melt on a small piece of blocking on the wall that's the thickness of the thinset, tile, and gap. Sill man butts the return ends to the blocking and the tile man knocks out the blocking when he lays the tile. Sill man templated to the blocking; no way to screw up.
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Design Girl
4 years ago
Counters first.
PRO
JAN MOYER
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Counter tops MUST go first: ) And in addition, by a quality fabricator who does the template on site via a laser and you specify the edge, he shows you where any seams will be located, whre if any veining you want prominent and what is possible with your slabs/s etc. Then you sign and approve the laser template with all information. You are home, present and on the site for the entire install. : )

THEN you can address a tile installation, and you tell that fabricator you ARE tiling and require no riser for the tops. : ) when he templates.
jlynx
Original Author
4 years ago
Thank you all for assuring me that we are proceeding correctly because I was beginning to second guess myself. Slab has been selected and templating scheduled. Fabricator/installer is experienced and reputable. So excited for our soapstone counters!
salex
4 years ago
I'm excited for you - I love soapstone! If you haven't already purchased your subway tile for the backsplash, revisit your choice after the counters are installed. It slows things down, but waiting until you can see how the counters look in your space - with all of you other choices and your lighting (including natural lighting, which is specific to your kitchen) - may change what you select.

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