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Self Adhesive Kitchen Tile Mod 2013

redkoat64
Explorer
Explorer
My husband and I do this every year. It's cold outside, we are dying to go camping, but instead we end up at the annual RV show in our area. Just to check out what's new,right? I was actually looking to see what was new with the Big Country, which I really like. As we walked the length and breadth of our local arena, I kept noticing that all the 2013 models had this awesome glass tile in the kitchens. Except it wasn't glass tile at all! It was a self-adhesive gel tile. After examining the product for what seemed like forever, I turned to my husband and gave him "the look". Which in our marriage, is loosely translated as,"Oh, crap, she's going to do another project!"

In all fairness, though, we have been looking for a backsplash for our kitchen for some time now. It's not that I am particularly messy when I cook. But seeing these latest models with this tile product really got me motivated. I found exactly what I wanted at homedepot.com. The product is called Smart Tiles and is sold exclusively by homedepot.com. We chose the "Dune Mosaic", to match the dark brown and neutral tiles in our rig, but they do offer a number of different styles, which would compliment any decor. The items shipped very quickly and I was giddy with anticipation. I almost waited until the next day to start, but that is just not my style!:B

We (I, let's be real here) began by removing the wallpaper border on the wall we were working on. We just wanted the impact of one wall, so we did the wall behind the stove. At $9 a sheet (We purchased 12,whoa), these are not cheap, but the results will astound you. Removing the wall border wasn't difficult, but in older rigs, it might be a problem. I suppose if you couldn't get it off, this product would cover right over the wallpaper, but as you will see, a super-smooth surface is best. Our wallpaper left some adhesive residue, which turned out to be a good thing. The Smart Tiles are peel and stick and do allow for removing and re positioning,if necessary. I worked from left to right, bottom to top, cutting when needed with a sharp pair of scissors. This project probably took all of an hour, but most of that was spent with me just staring at my handiwork like an idiot. So here it is (drum roll, please)




Some words of advice:If you are not particularly handy or crafty,give this project to your wife/girlfriend/daughter. Not to be sexist, but unless you spent the better part of your childhood cutting out Barbie paper dolls, you will suck at this and make an unholy mess of this project. But not to worry, when your significant other sees these little jewels arrive, they will snatch them from your hands anyway.
Seriously, work methodically. I measured twice, then carefully peeled the backing away and when placing the tiles worked them up from the bottom up. Simply pressing them gently was all they needed. They overlap nicely as well. I used my excess to cut half tiles for the ends and top.

All said, I am totally jazzed with this backsplash. It looks very high-end and custom residential. I would love to use this in the RV bathroom around the sink. Truthfully, I want to cover my whole house in these tiles.;)Smart Tiles clean with a damp cloth, come in a range of colors and are the perfect solution for RVs.

Enjoy!
137 REPLIES 137

Wiscampsin
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for the feedback redkoat64.

redkoat64
Explorer
Explorer
Hello,sljkansas! Thank you for the feedback! If I had to do this again (and believe me, it wouldn't take much) I would choose a Smart Tile that had a stronger "pop" of color in it. Why? Because in our rig, the kitchen is the first thing you see when entering. So these tiles make for BIG impact. As it is, I do like the color we chose.

The Smart Tiles website has indicated that the tiles can be used in residential applications. I am certainly no expert, however, I can say that my tiles are on TIGHT. I imagine it would take a sustained amount of high heat to make these tiles to slide off. Because they are laid end to end and in some cases overlapped, there is a certain amount of pressure that keeps the tiles in place. But, if you full-time it, or if you cook for more than a couple of hours at a time, I would contact the company and see what they recommend. Have fun! MJA

sljkansas
Explorer
Explorer
Love and DW saw them and we are going to go look for the right colors for our Big Horn.
One thing I read was that a hair dryer will help remove them. Well how much heat is generated around the stove and will it be too much and the tiles will loosen?

What do you think?
Steve & Linda
Son married (1 DIL, 3 granddaughters 1 grandson)
Daughter Married.
Miami Co. Kansas
2004 F350 CC dually 8ft bed 6.0 PSD
2009 Bighorn 3670RL
B&W under bed hitch with 18k companion hitch

redkoat64
Explorer
Explorer
Hi, Wiscampsin! Thank you for the positive feedback! I was VERY pleased with the amount of adhesion that we got with this product. As noted, we did have some residue left from removing our wallpaper border, so that, plus the thickness of the product makes me confident that the tiles would not fall off, even in colder temperatures. We went with this product over, say, faux stone and adhesive (or mortar) for that very reason. I didn't want to be putting stone or tile (which can get heavy) on those walls, exposed to cold or a darn good jolt on our wonderful Interstate system. That fact alone made me choose Smart Tiles over glass. I would hate to travel all day, only to open the RV door to cracked mortar and glass all over the place! This is one instance where it was worth it to spend a little more to get the look I ( I mean, "we") wanted. Best of Luck!

Windwalker55
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Explorer
Looks great. Good job.
2007 Kodiak 160 Hybrid
"The mountains are calling and I must go." John Muir
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Wiscampsin
Explorer
Explorer
DW loves the look. I looked at the Smart Tile web site. I'm curious how the adhesive will hold up in the winter when camper isn't used??? Last thing I want is to find that it fell off :(.

Nerak
Explorer
Explorer
Your backsplash looks fantastic! I will be doing a little measuring in my RV and then checking out Home Depot! Thanks for posting your photo so we could see how great it looks. We try to avoid the RV shows because we don't want to catch that "bug" when you start to look at the new RV's. Your backsplash is a great update idea!

jrichard
Explorer
Explorer
Great job...it looks nice!

Ron3rd
Explorer III
Explorer III
Beautiful job redkoat. I've seen those tiles around a lot at Home Dept and Lowes etc, and did not realize they were not glass. Looks like a good option.
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forty4san
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Fantastic
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JRandall
Explorer
Explorer
Bought some on closeout at Home Depot which just happened to match the teal green and white in the galley area. I used clear liquid nails to apply to wall then grouted with non-sanded grout. (Non-sanded grout is more flexible) After a year of travels, there are no cracks or separation due to wall flex.

AllegroD
Nomad
Nomad
That looks great.

Merrykalia
Explorer
Explorer
It looks great!!
2017 Ford F350 Crew Cab 6.7L 4x4 DRW

Roundtwo-40
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Great job!
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FranknDiane
Explorer
Explorer
Beautiful! I have been dreaming about what to replace the backsplash in our Voltage, this is the perfect tile! As soon as we get ours out of storage this is the first project!
Frank, Diane, Tyler (our teenager) & Duke (the cat)
2012 Chevy 3500HD Duramax,Crew Cab, 4x4,DRW
2013 Voltage 3600
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