How do I tile a splashback?

A splashback is the ideal first tiling job: small, forgiving, and highly visible if you get the setting out wrong. Almost all of the skill is in the planning — where the joints fall and whether the first row is level.

Safety

What you'll need

• Tiles plus 10% for cuts
• Tile adhesive and notched trowel
• Tile cutter or nippers
• Spacers
• Grout and a grout float
• Spirit level and batten
• Eye protection

Step by step

1. Measure the area and buy 10% extra tiles for cuts and breakages.From the same batch — colour varies noticeably between batches.
2. Set out dry first: find the centre and lay tiles out to see where the cuts fall.Adjust the centre line so the cut tiles at each end are equal and not tiny slivers.
3. Check whether the worktop is level.It usually is not. Fixing a level batten as your starting line is what stops the whole splashback sloping.
4. Fix a temporary batten along your level starting line and work up from it.Screw it lightly into the wall; you will remove it and fill the holes later.
5. Spread adhesive with a notched trowel over a small area at a time.Enough for a few tiles. Adhesive skins over faster than beginners expect.
6. Press tiles firmly with a slight twist and use spacers between them.The twist beds the tile into the adhesive. Check for level as you go.
7. Cut tiles for the ends and around sockets, measuring each individually.Do not assume the gap is the same at each end. Score-and-snap cutters handle straight cuts; nippers handle awkward shapes.
8. Leave the adhesive to cure fully — usually 24 hours — before grouting.Grouting too early lifts tiles and traps moisture. This is the most common cause of failure.
9. Grout with a float worked diagonally across the joints, then sponge off the haze.Diagonally so the float does not pull grout out of the joints. Sponge before it hardens.
10. Seal the joint between tiles and worktop with silicone, not grout.That junction moves. Grout cracks there; flexible silicone does not.

Tips

• Tile down to the worktop last, and always finish the bottom edge with silicone rather than grout.
• Buy a cheap score-and-snap cutter rather than trying to cut tiles with a hacksaw — it pays for itself on the first job.
• Wipe grout haze off before it fully dries. Once hard it needs a proprietary haze remover.

Common mistakes

• Starting from the worktop — Worktops are rarely level, so the whole splashback ends up sloping. Use a level batten.
• Setting out from one end — You end up with a full tile at one end and a sliver at the other, which is the most visible tiling error.
• Grouting before the adhesive has cured — Tiles shift, and moisture is trapped behind them.

Questions people ask