Tiling up to kitchen worktop

[jgw1]

You may see that I have posted around but they are different questions *honest*.

I am tiling a kitchen splash back this weekend. What is the recommended way to tile to the worktop.

I was going to:

1. Seal the worktop-wall join with silicone prior to tiling.
2. Tile the mosaics ontop of 2mm spacers to leave a gap between the tiles and worktop
3. Grout
4. Use BAL transparent silicone and corner tape (4mm) between worktop and grout/tile.

Any comments.

Wasn't sure if I tiled right up the worktop (which would be easier) whether it would look disproportionate with a 4mm bead of silicone at the bottom.

[mikethetile]

you wont have a 4mm gap it will be 2mm and yes always leave a silicone gap between top and tiles

[timeless john]

I've always just used the worktop as my starting point and sealed before and after tiling - can't see the silicone making any difference to the aesthetics of the finished look - unless it's not applied correctly. Honestly!

[deanotile]

when you fix the tiles use the grout float to tap them in to the adhesive to give a flat and even finish. as above i start off the work top so i get a nice straight line. if you are using transparent silicone this will also look nicer.

[jgw1]

OK,

Looks like I can do it either way - the important thing is to do it with silicone!

I am slightly worried about using a tile trim in the kitchen. Its U shaped and the two sides will be tiled up to the bottoms of the cabinets. The mosaics are coloured all the way through so won't look too bad if left unedged. The alternative is to add a trim - but a great big silver line on top the tiles will look unsightly in my head.

Do you always use a trim with mosaics that are coloured all the way through or can it look attractive without it?

[doug boardley]

I didn't use trims on this one, and placed mosaics on 2mm spacers off the worktop although I'd not siliconed it at time of taking pic.

[jgw1]

Brilliant thanks, no trim for me that's how I want it to look, a metal trim would look a bit odd for me I think and I don't like the plastics ones.

[aph257]

I use a caulk along the top which is paintable, silicones are not usually.

[Alberta Stone]

Trim, both metal and plastic comes in a wide variety of designer colors these days so it is possible to get the right style to suit.
But glass and stone can look very good without any metals.
I never use metals on any stone product for edges unless they are specified by the owner.
But glazed tiles really need a metal trim to hide their biscuit look on the edge, although, some manufacturers make special edge tiles which eliminate the need for metals.

[Scott]

I always silicone the tops to the wall just to keep any water or dirt from going down the back of the units. As above for the rest of the info

[jgw1]

Just to let you folks know I used silicone before tiling and after. This did the trick, one thing to watch is when smearing out the silicone first time round (sealing the gap between the worktop and the wall) that this will make the wall resistent to primers and the like. I found that in a few places I needed to rescore the surface. I could have taped up the wall as well as the worktop to avoid this.