We’re getting granite countertops and DW wants the backsplashes tiled. This looks great in the displays at the Big Box stores or in all the magazines. Where they don’t show a single outlet or switch interrupting the pattern.
In our case approx 18 linear feet of wall includes 3 switches, 5 outlets, 1 phone jack & 1 cable outlet. Which pretty much puts the kibosh on a nice uniform pattern.
Concurrently I’d like to add under cabinet lighting and the switches to control it.
So this has me thinking that I should bite the bullet and peel back all the drywall and relocate the boxes upwards, maybe putting strips of the beveled plugmold just beneath the upper cabinets.
I’m wondering about shortcuts that allow me to avoid burying any junction boxes?
Anybody done this before?
Thanks!
Replies
ive covered backsplash areas with tile, laminate, stainless and have always liked the look of tile
its not very difficult, only tricky part is cutting tile around electrical boxes
if you are doing electrical work do it first of course and makeit easy, just cut out the drywall in large sections above the cabinet with an eye to replacing it before tiling
Sometimes there is no way around the problem of many outlet boxes. It's the way it is.. It has to be explained to the homeowner what looks like a small amount of tile work is in fact a jigsaw where you are actually making the pieces as you go. What with the outlets and maybe a kitchen window to take into consideration not to mention when tiling around the outlets you keep clear the area for the screws which hold the switch/recepticle. It's picky, picky work.
Don't forget the box extentions when puting back the recepticles and switches.
roger
Beveled plugmold is a nice way to go.
As long as all the wall penetrations are at the same height I wouldn't worry too much about them landing on the tile layout. It's nice when it works out, but looks fine when it doesn't. The extra work is annoying but not that hard to deal with.
There are no shortcuts to avoid burrying j-boxes. You just plain can't and shouldn't do it. Ever.
Edited 4/15/2007 10:50 am ET by woodguy99
Like these. http://www.tasklighting.com/pdfs4app/APS_Gen_info.pdf
Nice! I didn't know those existed. For angled strips I've always had to make up angled backer, and sometimes angles filler pieces for the sides if looks are important. Those are nicer!
If you pick the right kind of pattern it won't be shocked by the appearance of a box. I'm thinking along the lines of a plain tile, or multicolored tile without large, bold patterns.
You can get rocker switches that are right on the undercabinet lights or there are touch pad switches that mount on the bottom of the upper cabinets. That will help some, though you'll still have to contend with the outlets. If you need to have an exposed j-box, maybe mounting it under the cabinet (or on top if you have a space between the cabinet and the ceiling) may help it be less noticeable.
Last tile backsplash job I did was 13" square tile set on the diagonal with 2" square pewter medallions set every two tiles.
Diagonal of 13" tile = 18-3/8"; space from counter to cabinet = 18" so every tile gets one corner cut no matter what. Your life will be easier if you use a smaller tile.
Job was about 25 linear feet with 4 single outlet boxes and 2 double outlet boxes plus a window of course. All over highly polished jet black granite. Cover everything with the blue release tape and cardboard - bifold door boxes work great for this.
Every tile, except about 3 bullnose, got cut in some fashion and most at least twice. Spent 2 days cutting tile, wet saw for most cuts. I told HO the job would take forever - he was OK with T&M - I said OK with me, when do we start?
Lots of time, HO added pewter switch plates - looked great when done.
The most time consuming are the closed cuts in the field of a single tile for a single switch box - 4-1/2" grinder with a diamond blade does a nice job, but you have to go slowly or break the tile when out near an edge. Finished the corner cuts and made notches for the box screws with a diamond grit blade in the jig saw. The pewter plates were only available in standard size - all fit and covered nicely - fussy work.
Don't take the lazy way out and grout between the granite and tile - keep a space open during tile installation and grouting - caulk this seam with a matching sanded caulk. Grout will look great until the season changes and it cracks out due to movement.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
Edited 4/15/2007 8:07 pm ET by JTC1
I thought I was the only one who would tackle such a backsplash. I did one last year in 12 x 12 black slate over black granite. At least mine were set square to the countertop. The HO called me in and wanted 18 lineal feet opposite some existing black slate, that had been installed 10 years. Luckily I could find some that matches at 12' across the room. Had 7 outlets in the 18' and every one was in the middle of a tile. I wound up cutting the outlet holes with a dry diamond blade on my skill saw as my wet saw arm is fixed. By the time I grouted I had about 12 hrs in the job.
Oh gosh, whatever you do, do NOT bury those junction boxes (:~)
Here's a couple of pics for you to consider. Outlets are dealt with and cut around. Not always pleasing to the eye. Plug mould keep in mind that you will see the cords hanging down, and you still have the tele and cable to deal with.
One of these pics shows the outlets poorly placed and not inline with one another. That is something to avoid.
Using the proper tools you cut the tile to fit around the outlets. it's that simple. Making a good choice of color for the outlets helps too. And by the time you fill up the counter with everything that lives there well.................
It's your kitchen, not a showroom. Remember that. Good luck.
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Edited 4/15/2007 8:31 pm ET by EricPaulson
Edited 4/15/2007 8:31 pm ET by EricPaulson
Edited 4/15/2007 8:32 pm ET by EricPaulson
Here's how mine worked out. As you can see, the bottom of each box is right on a grout line. All junction boxes are located above the upper cabinets, where they can be accessed but aren't obvious. The only ones I needed connect the undercabinet lights to the house power and switch.
The undercabinet lights are visible in one shot. They're a type of light cable that can be cut in increments of 18". HD used to sell them, but I now have to get them off the web.
All tile cuts were made with a wet saw. All holes that were in the middle of a tile were made by making cuts about 1/8" apart and breaking out the strip.
The joint between the bottom tile and the backsplash was filled with caulk which matches the grout (as another poster suggested).
George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
Thanks for all the responses. To be clear - I have absolutely no intention of burying any junction boxes. Thinking along the lines of identifying where the circuit starts and leaving that box in place. From there up to the bottom of the cabinets for the balance of the outlets.
Garbage disposal switch is just a leg off the box under the sink, it'll be pulled out and I'll put an air switch on the counter next to the sink.
Phone jack and co-ax will be moved up high as well.
One concern with the beveled plug mold is that a few of the things plugged in all the time run off transformers (his & hers cell phones / Answering machine). Don't want the weight of these transformers fighting gravity and coming undone.
This takes care of the transformer problem. There are others with two outlets.
http://www.amazon.com/Ziotek-Power-Strip-Liberator-14in/dp/B0009K98BS/ref=sr_1_24/104-7939084-1381521?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1176690446&sr=1-24George Patterson, Patterson Handyman Service
I thought the same thing when my wife told me she wanted our backsplash tiled. After deciding that she wanted 6x6 tumbled marble set at a 45, I started measuring and drawing in AutoCAD. We have 1 lightswitch, 5 receptacles, and a phone jack. Moving the electric wasn't an option I was about to pursue. Did I mention that she wanted 1x1 glass accent tiles spaced evenly throughout the backsplash?
I'm not a pro and had never set a tile until this project. Slow going (212 cuts in 150 tiles) and a lot of microwave dinners later, I'm done except for applying a couple coats of sealer. Is it perfect? No but damn close for a first shot at setting tile. Are my wife and I happy with it? Yep.
I attached a PDF of my layout drawing and a photo from the other day.
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Edited 4/16/2007 1:23 am by boiler7904
I'm still struggling with the particulars of my box layout vs. it's impact on tile size and pattern. And all the concessions I might have to make.
Here's another thought, Rather than run a beveled plugmold just beneath the upper cabinets, run it horizontally across the existing boxes. Fish the original wires into this channel and avoid any buried splices or junction boxes.
The plugmold would become a horizontal element in the design of the backsplash.
It this works I'll attach a sketch I've made to illustrate the concept.
Given the choice of having a few outlets or a piece of plugmold through the middle of my pattern, I'd choose the individual outlets every time. Looks way better, especially if you pick the right outlet color.
If I'm not mistaken, you'd have to leave the old outlet boxes accessible (visible) in addition to the plugmold.
Everyones pics show standard outlet covers, even mine. It's the easiest way to go but perhaps not the best.
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Consider looking into the off the shelf custom covers that might compliment whatever tile in-fill designs you might like. Also, consider looking into the truly custom covers that must be hand made or ordered via catalog. Someone here might have a ready link for something like that.
Since you are still thinking of moving the junction boxes you could completely remove your current drywall and start over.
Find the tile and trim you like and dry-set it on a large table. Take careful measurements of the results and transfer it to a kraftpaper template or just be extra careful and go straight to the wall and put up new boxes were you need them. Add blocking as necessary to accomodate the placement. Then pull new wire and you're ready to rock.
If you don't want to pull every thing off you might try using old-work boxes, the ones with the ears, and reroute the existing wiring, You can then cover the old, empty boxes. That's NOT how I would do it unless it was just one box out of whack.
Just getting away from the standard white or ivory covers might be enough.
Edited 4/17/2007 9:59 am ET by RalphWicklund
If you replace the drywall with 1/2" plywood where you are going to tile, you'll have more options as to where you put the outlets because they don't have to be located next to a stud.
Excellent suggestion. Maybe this is all I need to do.
Draw the tile layout full size on the Plywood and position the boxes where they'd least interfere with that layout.
Well this tiled backsplash project first discussed a couple months back is just about complete. Swapping out switches and outlets to Decora style in an almond color.
At the same time I'd gotten box extenders to account for the added thickness of the tile and adhesive. But find when I use them I can't get the receptacle covers tight to the tile. There's a gap of 1/16 or more.
If I don't use the box extender I can get them tight to the tile.
Are the box extenders really necessary? The way I look at it the exposed cut edge of the tile is not flammable or conductive any more than the box extender would be anyway.
Thanks