How to Install Premium Mosaic Tile on a Bathroom Backsplash

The backsplash behind your bathroom sink is there to protect the wall from water, but also to add a decorative element to the room. Using tiles for a backsplash is the most traditional approach, and mosaic tiles tend to give a very intricate look to the project. Mosaic tiles are very small tiles, which come premounted on mesh sheets so that you don't have to lay each individual tile at once. Start with a smooth, clean, flat wall.

Tape measure
Pencil
Level
Thinset (mortar)
Notched tiling trowel
Mosaic tiles on mesh sheets
Tile spacers
Razor knife
Trim tiles
Grout
Grout float
Sponge
Caulk

Instructions

- 1
  Mark out the dimensions you want for your backsplash on the wall, with a pencil and level. Leave enough room around the edges for the trim tiles.
- 2
  Cover the marked area in thinset mortar, spreading it on with your notched trowel.
- 3
  Press the first sheet of mosaic tiles in place in the thinset. Put spacers between the tiles along the bottom row and the countertop. Press each individual mosaic tile into the thinset to make sure they’re fully set.
- 4
  Hang the next sheet in the same manner, putting spacers between the two sheets of tiles. Use your razor knife to cut through the mesh backing between the tiles, if necessary, to get the sheet to the right size at the edges. Cover the whole area.
- 5
  Use your trowel to spread thinset on the back of a trim tile. Press the tile to the wall at one side of the mosaic tiles, with the unfinished edge of the trim tile facing the mosaic and the finished side facing out toward the open wall. Set spacers between the trim tile and the backsplash.
- 6
  Repeat the process of hanging trim tiles, putting them up in a perimeter all around the mosaic section.
- 7
  Let the tiles set for 12 hours. Pull out the spacers.
- 8
  Grout the tiles, pressing the grout into the spaces with a grout float while squeezing it off the surface. Wipe up the excess grout with a damp sponge.
- 9
  Allow the grout to dry for 24 hours. Run a bead of caulk along the base of the backsplash where it meets the counter.

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