Tile service · Boise, Idaho
Kitchen Tile Backsplash Installation in Boise
Kitchen and bar backsplashes with tight outlet detailing, clean terminations and layouts planned around the range and hood.
Idaho contractor registration RCE-57919 · Bonded and insured · 1-year craftsmanship warranty
A backsplash is the smallest tile job in the house and the one people stare at from three feet away every day. Everything is visible: the cut around the outlet, the way the field lands at the underside of the upper cabinets, whether the pattern is centered on the range.
It is also fast. Most kitchens are a two to three day job, which makes it the easiest way to change how a kitchen reads without touching cabinets or counters.
Layout starts at the focal point
We center the pattern on whatever your eye goes to first — usually the range or the window over the sink — and let the cuts fall at the ends of the run where cabinets and corners hide them. For herringbone and picket patterns we set a control line before anything is stuck to the wall, because those patterns amplify a small error across the whole wall.
Outlets and switches done properly
Tile thickness pushes outlets back into the wall. Code requires the device be brought forward with a box extender rather than left recessed behind long screws. We extend boxes, cut tile so the cover plate covers the cut, and coordinate with your electrician when a device needs to move to keep a cut off a visible face.
Terminations that look deliberate
Where the tile stops — the open end of a run, the edge next to a window casing, the top of a full-height wall — is what separates a professional backsplash from a weekend one. Depending on the tile we use a mitered return, a metal profile, a bullnose piece, or a trim that reads as part of the design. We agree on that detail before ordering material.
Working with handmade and variable tile
Zellige and other handmade tile arrive with irregular edges, thickness variation and real color range. That is the appeal, and it is also why they need a different approach: tighter joints, sorting across boxes so color distributes evenly, and grout selected to either blend or emphasize the irregularity. We will show you a dry layout before we set.
How the work runs
Measure & select
Field measure, confirm quantities with waste allowance for the pattern, and review layout.
Prep
Protect counters and cabinets, skim or repair the wall, extend electrical boxes.
Set
Snap control lines, set field tile, cut around outlets, windows and terminations.
Grout & finish
Grout, silicone at the counter-to-wall joint, clean and reinstall cover plates.
Questions about tile backsplash installation
- How long does a backsplash take?
- A typical kitchen is two to three days: one to set, one for grout and finish, with an extra day for full-height walls or intricate patterns. The kitchen stays usable most of that time.
- Do I need to remove my countertops?
- No. We tile down to the counter and seal that joint with silicone rather than grout so the two surfaces can move independently. Counters get fully covered and protected while we work.
- Should the backsplash go all the way to the ceiling?
- Behind a range or hood, full height is a strong look and easy to clean. On the rest of the run, stopping at the upper cabinets is standard. Where there is no upper cabinet, we usually take the tile to the ceiling or to a window head so the run has a logical end.
- Can you tile over the existing backsplash?
- We remove it. Tiling over old tile adds thickness that fights the outlets, the counter edge and the cabinet reveal, and it hides any wall damage underneath that should be repaired.
Tile Backsplash Installation across the Treasure Valley
Looking for something else? See all 8 tile services.