Full Height Backsplash and the Easy Tile Calculator

EasyGraniteTile.com’s Easy Tile Calculator has a feature that can automatically calculate a nominal 6 inch backsplash or lower. For years, that has been the standard backsplash ordered by our customers. However, we have recently received a number of questions about how to calculate full height backsplash for kitchen countertops, so I thought it would be a good idea to post my answer.

For full-height backsplash, you need to calculate the area of the wall you want to have covered with backsplash. It is a good idea to divide the wall area into rectangular segments of similar heights and round up to the next square foot for each. You will want to add at least 10% to cover scrap that you do not anticipate.

You also need to carefully determine how many feet of edging you are going to need to finish the exposed edges where the tile does not butt up against the countertop or the bottom edges of the cabinets. Also be alert to any corner trims you will need. You will need to order additional outside corners for those.

When you have figured all of this out, you will be ready to run the Easy Tile Calculator and place an order. After you run the Easy Tile Calculator, load your shopping cart, then Click on the “Process Order…” button which will take you to the final shopping cart. You will want to add the extra tile and edging figures you have come up with.

You call our toll free line when you are placing the order if you are unsure about all of this. We will be glad to help.

With EasyGraniteTile.com you really can do a great job installing your own granite tile countertops!

The Granite Tile Guy

With Easy Granite Tile’s Machine Polished Edging You Can Do a Better Job on your granite countertop than you ever thought possible.

On our home page we link to a very fine article published by Readers’ Digest’s The Family Handyman entitled, “How to Install Granite Tile Kitchen Countertops.” The first sentence reads, “Granite tiles are as easy to install as ceramic tile, except for the edges.”
“Except for the edges…”

The greatest challenge for any installer is getting a quality edge or bullnose on the exposed edges of the granite tile. Granite is hard – Very Hard. (Maybe that is why they call it granite?) And polishing granite edges so that their finish matches the top face requires training and practice – a lot of practice. That is why the people at Easy Granite Tile™ developed our machine profiling and polishing system.

Precision machinery is what makes possible a consistent standard of quality in any manufacturing business. This is especially true when working with a material as hard as granite. Easy Granite Tile™ has perfected the most precise tile-edging technology available anywhere. Our quality is unsurpassed. The surfaces of our bull-nosed edges match the face of our natural stone tiles in both dimensional consistency and finish. Every edge is machined and polished to a consistent 5/16” radius bull-nose by our unique machining process.

Only with precision, MACHINE POLISHED, FACTORY EDGING is it possible to achieve a truly professional looking installation. The accuracy of our machining and polishing equipment ensures that the finish on the bull nosed edge not only matches the finish on the top, but it also makes an exact edge-to-edge fit of your tiles possible. And that is the key to a professional-looking tile job.
With Easy Granite Tile™, you CAN do it yourself and have the professional looking job you want and can be proud of.

The Granite Tile Guy

Granite Tile Kitchen Countertops: You Can Do a Great Job Yourself with the Easy Tile Calculator™, Part 2.

Question: “Why is there no provision for sink or oven on the layout plans provided?”

At first glance, the schematic diagrams for Easy Granite Tile’s™ Easy Tile Calculator™ may appear incomplete because there is no provision for sink or oven in the layouts provided. As I will explain below, the impact of the sink or oven on the kitchen layout was thoughtfully considered.

The location of the sink in the layout has no impact at all on either the amount of edging needed for the completion of the counter top and very little impact on the amount of tile. In many cases, the cutout for the sink will be taken from each of the tiles impacted. With larger sinks, the impact is one, or possibly, two tiles. In other words, the potential impact by the footprint of the sink cutout is so small that its impact on the final total is negligible.

The impact of the oven on the layout is similar. With the loss of tile due to overlapping, the impact on the number of tiles can be as little as two tiles and, less frequently, as much as four. Our experience with granite tile countertops has always been that it is always better to have a few extra than being short of tile on a job. That is why many professional tile setters use the extra tiles in the stove placement to make up part of extras in their calculations.

Just another reason you can count on Easy Granite Tile™ and our Easy Tile Calculator™ to help you do a great job on your kitchen or bath countertop!

The Granite Tile Guy

Granite Tile Countertops: You Can Do a Great Job Yourself with the Easy Tile Calculator™.

As a result of our experience in helping literally hundreds of do-it-yourselfers with their tile edging needs, we found that one of the greatest difficulties the home craftsman has is accurately calculating the amount of tile and edging necessary to complete the job. That is the reason Easy Granite Tile has developed the Easy Tile Calculator™.

The most common mistake made by homeowners (and sometimes even professional granite tile installers) is not ordering enough tile or bullnosed edges. The result is a shortage of tiles or machined edges necessary to complete the installation. The problem of tile shortages can be much more significant than just the cost of ordering and shipping replacement tiles. Finding replacement granite tiles that match the color of the original order can be a real problem because granite color can vary from lot to lot. And there is also the frustration of the completion of an entire installation being put on hold for just one tile or edge.

The Easy Tile Calculator™ was designed to provide an accurate estimate of your granite tile countertop job while minimizing the chance of making the most common mistakes. These mistakes include: failure to include enough material for self edge and/or backsplash, using exact countertop square inches to determine the number of tiles, or just measuring the countertop incorrectly.

To use the Easy Tile Calculator™, just click on a “BEGIN HERE” button on any of the browse pages, enter your Zip Code, and follow the prompts. The Easy Tile Calculator™ will calculate the amount of tile required, calculate the number and types of edges needed, include additional tiles and edges to cover unexpected shortages, and calculate shipping charges.

Just another reason why with Easy Granite Tile, You Can Do a Great Granite Job Yourself!

The Granite Tile Guy