Router that cuts next to a wall? Fitting kitchen backsplash tile to an out of level cabinet.
This starts out as a tile issue and winds up a carpentry tool question. I’ve got a project coming up, simple tile backsplash in an existing kitchen. Run tile on the wall from the top of the backsplash to the bottom of the cabinets. Problem is, the cabinets are not quite level or even.
The tile is 1/2″ x 1/2′ squares on mesh, and on one three foot run of cabinets, it’s off by nearly 3/8″. I’m not inclined to want to cut the little tiles to fit nicely up to the bottom of the cabinets (which present a 5/8″ or so thick edge of plywood slightly lower than the cabinet bottoms).
So I was thinking, if there was a way to run a tool like a router that had a 1/4 or 5/16″ width of cut, and rabbet out (is rabbet the right word?) a groove in the plywood, I could just bury the tile up behind it and not have to cut ANY tile.
Or perhaps there is another way. Nothing is going to look perfect. I thought about trying a piece of wood trim on top of the tile except that there are a few exposed edges on the tile and the little end of the wood might look “odd”.
Any ideas?
Replies
That's an interesting problem and you could probably achieve what you want with a multimaster and great care, but let me ask this... how do you plan on cutting tiles elsewhere? Certainly there must be other places (like around outlets) where you'll need to cut tiles.
I turned down a backslpash tile job because the customer wanted to install 1X1 tile that were 1/16" thick. I tried, but couldn't figure out how to get an acceptable cut in such a thin tile. But someone did. I was back there for something else and I saw the tile installed and it looked pretty good.
I think you need to figure out how to cut these tiles to do the job right. Obvviously, so do I.
geoff
The offset base on my lam. trimmer wouldn't allow me to get close enough if I could find a bottom cutting bit . An undercut saw might work, but boy-would the mess be worth it? That and getting into corners-blowing out the end of cabs-staples............
Multimaster-pretty tedious, some chisel work to clean the groove is possible.
I'd opt I think for cutting the tile to fit-instead of tight to the bottom of the cab and grout that would fall out.........get them close and use color matched caulk and a nice bead. Won't make up a big gap so you'll have to get close as you go along the goofy bottom of cabinet line.
If you were to talk them into a lite rail on the bottom of the cabinet rails and returns, that'd hang down enough to cap the pc. of wood trim you mention.
I think I'd cover the face of the tile with mosaic tape and run it through a tile saw. (You want a lighweight one with a thin blade for this.) Or just use nippers -- should be able to cut those 1/2" tile pretty cleanly.
Another question
Which run is off-uppers or lowers.
How many uppers? do they go tight to a ceiling or soffit?
If the uppers are off-could you rehang to perfect?
The repeat on 1/2x1/2's are going to draw attention to what's off...............well, assuming you lay them good to a counter splash.
Taper Jig For Mosaic Tile.
I recently did a job using a 1/2" stone mosaic tile. It required some tapered cuts. I built a jig out of 1/4" plexiglass that would hold a 12" strip of tile. The jig was plexiglass top and bottom held together with screws and wing nuts. Clamping it down tight allowed me to cut a taper on a whole strip of tile at once. The strip had to be 3 or 4 tiles wide for the jig to grab it tightly.
or
Consider a moulding.
Use a MultiMaster to cut the 5/8" completely away, being sure to angle the cut upward toward that back.
Set the tiles to reach up enough to where a new, thinner 5/8" piece will cover.
Good comments!
I hadn't considered cutting the bottom edge of the back level, that's actually a possibility.
I'm not scared of cutting the tile, I did a similar job with the random-length strip 1/2" tiles a while back. At that time I believe I used some clear contact paper to hold the tiles on the sheet while I trimmed them. Some pieces were pretty small on some of the cuts. I like the idea of the plexiglass jig, too.
They WERE thinking of using random circle tiles from 1/2" to 1 1/4" on mesh but that would have been crazy to cut and also it's 45.00 a sq ft, so you can't mess it up. And piecing it together is NOTHING like fiddling with squares.
As far as cutting around outlets, by and large I found that you've got enough margin to play with around outlets and switches that you don't have to do much cutting at all.
I like the idea of nippers, too, esp in areas like the top edge next to the cabinets or outlets where the edges are hidden and it doesn't need to be perfect like it does on the exposed edges where the backsplash just ends.
Anyway, again. lots of good ideas, thanks!
Geoff in Seattle