I need to tile a kitchen back splash from counter to cabinets. Backerboard at the moment is drywall, textured and painted. I‘d like to hear some opinions on tiling directly over this or using cement backer board. Also thinset or mastic?
If you need a tile saw Home Depot will rent you one.
Most thinsets are not recommended for drywall. They won't stick, but a latex modified thinset will. I would use the mastic. If you do go over the drywall it's a good idea to sand it lightly to remove any glossiness from the paint. You also need to degrease the wall. Backerboard is good but not really needed if the drywall is sound and flat.
You can tile directly over the splash area the way it is. You should use a good quality multi-purpose thinset with most products. You can probably get away with mastic if you use light-weight wall tile, but you get a better installation using multi-purpose thinset with the majority of products out there today (stone, glass, metal, porcelain, large-bodied tiles, etc.). Be sure to caulk where the tile meets the countertops and where it meets wood.
Well, it depends on a few of things. If the drywall is really lumpy, I would use the cement board. If the area near the sink gets really wet, I would use the cement board. Honestly, I would try and smooth down the drywall before making the job any harder than it has to be. As for thin set vs. mastic, well I prefer mastic for thin small tiles because of the smaller notches and for wall work because I find there is less slippage, but they also say that mastic is not good to use in a wet area because it can mildew. Honestly if I were doing your job, I would leave the drywall and sand it down, (that is unless you are just talking about a normal light texture, then I would just leave it alone), use mastic and call it a day.
You said textured. Is that textured paint or lumpy texture . If lumpy texturing, you have to get it smooth. Sand ,scrape or replace, just so its smooth to go over. No cement backer board required. This really isn t a wet area to really be concerned about.. Thinset or mastic will work fine. Thin set is a little harder to work with if your not all thatexperiencedd. But thin set is cheaper. If your using a self stacking tile its real easy. But if the tile your using requires spacers to hold it up until you set the spacer its a pia, but can be done. Mastic , w/ the right trowel , the tile will pretty much set and hold into place until you put a spacer in. Thin set will skim up and set up much quicker when using over dry wall .. The moisture will absorb into the dry wall just faster so you can t do as big an area at once..So when I do thin set over dry wall I make my thinset just a bit( just a bit) so that it ll set a bit longer. This takes practice and you need a bit ofexperiencee. . Now if your using some glass tiles you should use thin set.And they want you to use a special enhanced thin set.. Any questions you can e mail me thru my avatar and check my qualifications there GL
