[jyl]

Working on a piece by piece kitchen remodel. Need to tile the wall that the range sits on. Will tile from floor to ceiling, but not behind the hood. Existing wall is finished, standard wallboard on wood studs, painted with sort of a textured finish.

So, questions for the guys who do this stuff!

I’m thinking the best thing to do is screw some new drywall over the existing wall, to have a smooth surface to tile on, and to use Type C or X drywall, right? There’s one light switch box and two outlet boxes that I’d have to shift outward by whatever the wallboard thickness is. Actually I’ll probably move one of the outlet boxes. Also the control for the fan. I might have to window the new board where the gas valve is, if there’s not enough clearance.

I have not done any tiling in decades. I did tile a whole kitchen (counters, backsplash, floors) and a shower back in the first house. What I remember is plenty of mastic, trowel nice even furrows, place tile, tap tile with a mallet to set, next, mastic a section of wall at a time not all at once.

These will be standard white beveled subway tiles. Snap a horizontal line at counter height, tile up and down from there? Any particular mastic recommended? Do you still use the plastic “+” pieces to get the tile spacing?

What about grout, assuming white? What kind of grout cleans most easily? Or do you prefer tiles set touching with no grout?

When I last did tile, I borrowed a tile saw with a water bath. It seemed to cut like magic. I’ll see if I can rent one.

There’s going to be some open stainless shelves “floating” on the tile wall. Do you tile first, marking where the studs are, then drill holes to mount the shelves with screws? Or do you install the shelves using threaded studs, then remove them and cut tile pieces to fit around the threaded studs?

Finally, are pot fillers a thing? I don’t really see the point of one, but if future buyers just go gaa-gaa over them, I guess it’s my chance to install one.