How to Lay Out a Mosaic Backsplash

Making your own mosaic backsplash will bring individuality and color to your kitchen or bathroom, but it can be tricky, not to mention back-aching to set out the mosaic directly on the backsplash. The best way to arrange the layout of your backsplash and tackle the finicky task of applying mosaic tiles to the wall is to do the layout of your mosaic backsplash onto pieces of fiberglass mesh, which you then can adhere to the wall in sections.

Mosaic design sketch
Scissors
Fiberglass mesh
Mosaic tiles
Mosaic adhesive
Tweezers (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Divide your backsplash design sketch into a grid of squares no bigger than 1 foot each. Number the squares, so that you know the order they go in, then cut the design into squares with scissors.
- 2
  Cut squares of fiberglass mesh to the same size as your design squares.
- 3
  Lay a design square flat on a work surface and place a square of fiberglass mesh on top. Stick on your mosaic tiles using mosaic adhesive, following the design underneath the mesh, and ensuring a gap of approximately 1/8 of an inch between each tile.
- 4
  Place the tiles on the grid with tweezers if they are very small. Unlike regular tiles, mosaic tiles are held in place primarily by grout, so the adhesive is used to set the layout and to keep the tiles in position while you grout.
- 5
  Repeat on all the design squares so that you have the entire backsplash mosaic done. The layout of your backsplash is now complete.
- 6
  Remove the design sketch from behind the fiberglass mesh so that it doesn’t get stuck there, and place it gently on top of the mosaic so that you know the square’s sequence in the design.

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