Kitchen Floor & Backsplash Tile Installation

Backsplash Installation

A backsplash is the most visible tile surface in most kitchens, and it has to live alongside the countertop material, the cabinet color, and the hardware finish all at once. We see a lot of subway tile in Hill Country kitchens — it works with almost everything and the grout joint width is one of the most meaningful design decisions in the whole project. A 1/16-inch joint reads modern; a 3/8-inch joint reads traditional. We discuss these details before any tile is purchased.

We also install hexagon, zellige, hand-painted cement tile, marble slabs, and large-format porcelain in backsplash applications. Each material has different installation requirements. Zellige, for example, has natural thickness variation that requires more mortar adjustment tile by tile. Marble and natural stone need a non-staining white mortar to avoid ghosting through the surface.

Kitchen Floor Tile

Kitchen floors take abuse. Dropped items, cooking grease, chair legs, and foot traffic every day. Porcelain is the practical choice for most kitchen floors because of its density and stain resistance. Large-format tiles (24x24 or larger) are popular for their clean grout-line-minimal look but require a very flat subfloor and the right mortar system.

Wood-look porcelain planks have become common in Hill Country kitchens that want warmth without the maintenance of actual wood. They install differently from square tiles — the offset pattern and long edges require more attention to lippage (height difference between adjacent tiles), and the plank format shows subfloor imperfections more obviously.

Backsplash Material Options