Installing New Brushed Nickel Backsplash in the bathroom

The backsplash behind the bathroom sink was a strip of wall paper that the factory installed.  The vinyl backed wall paper border strip was the type that had the adhesive already applied on it, with a protective paper backing, to be removed on installation.  The gold green colors matched the old gold colored fixtures, but I changed them out to what is in place now, in 2009, and the paper was starting to wrinkle a little then.  With the occasional splash on the wall paper, and the paper expanding and shrinking, the glue holding the paper has started to release from the wall.  The paper was also eroding away from the face where the cord of the electric toothbrush rubbed it.  This was clearly the wrong material to use in a occasionally damp environment.

The area to be replaced is 43 inches wide, and I had already purchased a package of wallpaper border to cover the area, but I was so cautious of the project, that I was a bit afraid pulling off the gummy adhesive vinyl backed paper, and replacing it with water activated glue type paper that we had bought, even if it was a vinyl type paper.  The strongest part of the old paper was the vinyl backing, and the adhesive stayed on the wall as it was pulled away, and I didn’t to ruin the wall trying to remove one type of glue so another would stick.  Anne-Marie and I went to the big home improvement stores, here in Duluth, yesterday and she found a color and style of backsplash material that she thought would work.  The old paper pulled off without much problem, and it left a nice tacky surface for the next material.

The new backsplash material is made to be used as a backsplash, and the larger panels are used as ceiling tiles.  This is a lesser expensive material than the metal tiles used on 100+ year old buildings.  The plastic is black with a metallic finish, and it just doesn't show well with a flash.  Cutting it to size was easy with scissors, even trimming another 1/16th inch off for the best fit.  The manufacture suggests a double sided adhesive strip, or a permanent glue.  We bought a roll of the double sided sticky foam to use. 

The backsplash had to cover the wall between the shower stall on the right and the bedroom wall on the left, and the walls are a plywood covered with a vinyl wall paper material.  The walls did not fit flush against the back wall behind the sink, but they already had trim on the edges.  The backsplash panels were able to slip behind both walls, left and right, and this made sizing and adjusting easier.  The backsplash trim pieces are called, Inside Trim and J-Trim, and I used them only on top and bottom.

The finished backsplash, and a seam that hardly shows.  The seam is in the center of the picture on the right.  The color that we used is called Brushed Nickel and in the natural light, it is close to the same color as the backsplash in the kitchen.

The time for the project was about 1 1/2 hours, and the cost for the two 18X24 sheets of backsplash material is $19.95 each, and the glue strip material, and trim pieces brought the total to $60.17.

Today is a Travel Day for us, we are leaving Duluth, and heading to the Twin Cities.