Retiling the Backsplash: Demolition and Cement Board

Last weekend, we jumped in headfirst into a big kitchen project... retiling our backsplash! We had always planned on replacing the current backsplash with subway tiles, but at Costco one day we randomly happened upon this gorgeous glass and marble mosaic tile at an amazing price. I've never ever thought I would like any glass/mosaic tiles enough for our own kitchen backsplash, but I am so in love with this tile. We made the decision to go for it after Costco came out with a huge markdown coupon. We got each box of 5 square feet for $21, so it was about $4.20 a square foot. 

The first step was to demo the current backsplash. We knew that the tile would be adhered to drywall, and that we wanted to try to save it, but soon we figured out that was not possible. Oh well, we knew that installing cement board would be economical and would prevent mold, as well as make it easier for someone to take down this tile and redo in the future. 

After we cut off the power and removed the electrical stuff, Aaron used an arsenal of tools to get that tile down. I'm not really sure he used one favorite technique, but he used a grout saw, beat on a chisel with a mallet, and used a crowbar. 

Once we got all of that tile and drywall out, we made a detailed diagram with every measurement we would need. 

Then we went to Home Depot and purchased cement backerboard, the proper screws for that, and a carbide-tipped blade. The YouTube videos make the "score and snap" method look so easy, but we had quite a bit more trouble. On the  way few pieces, we had to score it almost all the way through on both sides. Here's a big tip that saved us a lot of time later on: score it nice and good, and then place a 2x4 on one side of the score line. Have one person stand on the 2x4 and the other lift up from the other side. It snaps cleanly every time, as long as you've scored it well enough! For holes for outlets, carefully drill holes and score until you can punch out the outlet area. 

We then drilled the backerboard into the studs.

The next part will be the installation of the tile itself! In my opinion, this part was actually really fun!