Recently, I had the idea to take a tile backsplash, square mat that I had laying around and turn it into something more productive. This was a fun project as all of the materials are some thing that I have on hand and it has multiple purposes.
I used it in a photo shoot for some props and it also doubles as a small cutting board and a place to put my soap pump and scrubber in the kitchen. All of these materials are inexpensive and can be found at your local home improvement store or maybe even a restore.
Here are the things that I used:
Materials
- small tile backsplash square
- old scrap flooring, but anything like plastic, wood or LVP would work. This is just to hold the tile mat in place. Just keep in mind wood isn’t waterproof
- non- sanded white grout
- Liquid nails
- Caulk Gun
- Grout trowel
- bucket and whisk
- Old cloth
Step 1: Securing the Tile
The first thing I needed to do was make sure that the tile was secure. Since it’s on a flexible tile mat, any kind of movement would make the grout crack out of it the second it gets shifted.
I had some old flooring laying around and decided to use liquid nails to attach the tile mat to this piece of old flooring. Anything would work if you have a piece of scrap wood or plastic. It is just something to keep it secure. I like this old piece of flooring because I could cut it down to be the exact size of the tile mat and not have any overhang, plus it is waterproof. They also sell smaller flooring squares at most home improvement stores and you could just pick up one of these, and use it as well.
Using liquid nails, I attached the flooring piece to the back of the tile mat and pressed down evenly over the whole surface to make sure it was secure. I let that cure for about an hour.
Step 2: Mixing the grout
Next up, I mixed my grout.
I used a small project bucket and a plastic whisk (that is dedicated solely for cement or grout use and mixture) according to the package directions.
I started with a little bit of water at first, and it was kind of clumpy and added more gradually until it was the consistency I needed. It should be about the consistency of smooth peanut butter.
I let it sit for just a couple of minutes to let any air bubbles rise out that occur during mixing and we can getting ready for applying the grout. I made sure that the tile was completely set to the piece of flooring that I had glued on and that my area was clean and safe by using a piece of old cardboard to prevent any mess from getting on the floor around me.
Step 3: Applying the grout
This is where all of the magic starts to happen. Using the rubber grout float, I dipped out some of the grout and placed it on top of the tile. Using steady pressure and the edge of the grout float I applied the grout in between the cracks of the tile. You push down slowly, so that the grout mixture will go down into the grooves.
Don’t be afraid to push a little bit hard and to apply it in different directions making sure that the grout gets down deep into the cracks. If you do not do, this air will be underneath the grout, and once it settles to the surface you will have weird gaps where you don’t want them.
Slowly, working with the trowel, work the material throughout all of the cracks of your tile mat. Be sure to go in several different directions and don’t be afraid to apply a little bit more than you think you need to to ensure that all of the spaces are full.
The grout should be almost level with the top surface of the tile. Keep working with the grout until you feel satisfied at all of the cracks are full. Then let the material sit for about 30 minutes until it is more set up, but not completely cured.
Step 4: Polish the haze away
A lot of people do this next step with a sponge, but can also be done with a cloth. I prefer to do it with a cloth that is only slightly damp, as I feel like the sponge sometimes takes off more material from the cracks than is necessary.
This step is important because the grout is also sitting on top of the surfaces of each tile. You’ll probably notice that there’s a haze over each tile and it doesn’t look shiny or very good.
That’s OK.
That’s how it should look at this step. This last step is really what brings out the beauty of the tile and cleans everything up.
Start by dipping a cloth in a bucket of water and gently buffing away any haze that is left on the surface of the tile. It should be mostly set up by this point, but still try to be careful. Do not to pull any extra grout from the cracks by pressing too hard. Move gently in multiple directions and circular patterns to try to prevent from digging the grout out and any spots on accident.
Do this until all of the haze is gone off of the front surface of the tiles and you feel like the grout is sitting evenly at all of the cracks. Let all of the grout cure for a couple of hours before removing it.
Then you should be good to go. You can use this as a cutting board, or a surface to place wet things like sponges, scrubbers or soap dishes by your sink. It’s a fun little way to use up extra backsplash pieces that you might have laying around too.
I hope you enjoyed this project. Let me know if you try it.