Before I even begin, I want to apologize to Amy Matthews, the host of HGTV’s Renovation Raiders, for this horrible photo of her. She is a stunning woman but no matter how many times I paused the TV to capture this picture of her catching the tin tile as it fell off the wall during the prep phase of the Open-Plan Dream Kitchen episode , I always caught her mid-word.
Actually, I couldn’t help but laugh and scream at the TV at the same time. I wanted to tell Amy to call Milan over at Decorative Ceiling Tiles for instructions on the best way to cut and install a metal backsplash. There are tricks – the most important of which is to buy the backsplash tiles which measure 24 inches x 18 inches and are actually aluminum, but look like tin rather than the square 24″ tiles. They won’t rust, have no sharp edges like real tin tiles, and are easily cut and glued and then nailed up. But most importantly, Amy and her team were not properly applying the glue to the tile – that’s why the tiles were falling off the wall. As Milan explains in his Tin Backsplash installation instructions, in addition to applying the Liquid Nails to the wall it is crucial to “take care to spread enough adhesive on the rear of each tile to fill any crevices in the panel.”
The closest tiles to the ones featured are called 0607 Delicate Daisies Backsplash and are also available in 24″ x 24″ and 48″ x 24″ tiles. It looks like the Renovation Raiders team might have painted the tiles white themselves because the color is only on one side. Milan highly recommends priming and painting the face side of mill finish aluminum. But truthfully, if you can at all swing it, consider splurging for the White Coated Aluminum #3. It will save you lots of time and the finish will be perfect. Once Amy and her team got the installation methods down, they proved that a metal backsplash really can transform a kitchen from drab to fab in just a few hours.
If you love this idea but want to save time and money, consider using faux tin backsplash rolls. You can literally measure your space and then just roll out the backsplash and cut it with a scissors. Currently, the featured pattern is not available but both the WC80 Faux Fleur di Lis pattern and the WC20 pattern in white pearl will give you a very similar affect for a fraction of the cost.
Make it a beautiful day!
No Comments