I started this almost exactly 1 year ago - September, 2020. And I'm just now getting around to finishing it. What the video doesn't show is that it isn't actually finished, there's still a section above the window that is not tiled. I'll get that done soon, but wanted to clear this project out of my video queue. The hold up was putting on the three coats of water based poly to protect it - I knew it would be the least enjoyable part of the project and that gave me enough of an excuse not to get it done. With everything I said in the video about how much time went into it, it's definitely worth it if you want something unique and different. I'm now thinking that I really should do the second wall in the kitchen (counter is "L" shaped) but use the panel method I described in the video. Still a ton of work, but then installing ceramic tiles isn't a walk in the park, either.
At first I thought it was natural stone. It doesn't make much sense to use wood as the back of the kitchen counter. If you definitely want it to be wooden, it would be more logical to scale the floor you want to lay with 3 mm plywood and stick it to the floor. You could do it much quicker and easier. It is not pleasant to interfere with the use of the kitchen for a long time. I think you're tired of it.
I've just finished a project like this one. At the begining it seems easy and pretty fast. Then you cut all your wood, and you realise you have to sand it. A Nightmare. I glued it on 4mm plywood but, trust me, it's thin, it curves with regular glue (t*bond v2). Go for the 8mm instead. Sprayed with white, water based, varnish. 1 year of bad words by my wife, but a lot of fun for me. I didn't glued it on the wall (concrete in my region), I just fixed the panels with screws on strips of wood (fixed on the wall with fishers) so cables can pass behind it. If I will sell the house, this stuff will go with me due to the time i've spent to build it, you bet.
I love this. I will do as suggested making panels and gluing the pieces onto the panel. Spraying the panel outside, and then putting the panels on the wall.
It looks really good! I'm doing something similar in my kitchen too - ripping 2x2's from softwood (species yet to be determined), cut them to random lengths then split them with a hatchet and glue the smooth side to the wall. But now that I've watched this, I think I'll glue them to a thin piece of plywood first lol
That's where the sense of accomplishment comes from. Having invested lots of time into a project and not shelling out a ton of money to pay someone else to do it. Patience is valuable these days. Looks amazing.
Beautiful job John!! one of a kind and works with the kitchen 1000% . Did the same thing with natural black slate tiles..all different thicknesses and random lengths of tile and we also added different heights to the mix. Did an 8 foot long by 5 foot tall backsplash and it took 2 days of cutting tile and then another day to tile the entire thing. We sealed all the tiles before cutting, then again before installing and then again after install. Something you could have done was sealed them before hand. We added in a magnetic strip from Ikea(stainless finish) to hold our knives (recipes,etc)to the backsplash. It was a one of a kind backsplash that got a lot of 'likes' from neighbors and friends. Just goes to proves that nice things take a lot of work.
I think it came out looking great! I'm a tile setter by trade and I understand how time consuming small tiles can be. I think the idea of installing them first on a sheet of plywood is a fantastic idea, it's much like the small tiles that come in sheets to make it easier. Thanks for sharing and your kitchen is turning out real sweet! Shalom
Yes! I've been wanting to do a pallet wood tile kinda similar to this and had thought about the panel idea, but wasn't sure. After seeing this I'm definitely going with panels, that finish application gave me anxiety.
I’m blown away by the look and the alternate thinking behind this. Other than Alm’s patterned plywood, this is revolutionary to me. Just what I wanted to do on my porch wall which I was settling for shiplap look. Guess I better put aside 2 years for an 11x14’ wall. Keep up the amazing work.
I love a project that finishes so darn pretty that anyone can appreciate it, but reveals enough of itself so that people who can figure out how it was made are stunned speechless.
Wow that looks so much better than I would have pictured. I like that you had the foresight to not cut all the little blocks exactly the same thickness. It really tuned out great.
The result is really attractive John. You also get full marks for tenacity in doing all of that cutting, sanding, preparation and finishing. Well done indeed!
Man, that's a lot of work, but it looks great. Building the panels in the workshop is a good idea. You can also buy rolls of double-sided adhesive tile backer. It's like double-sided tape, but wider, thicker, and made for jobs like this one.
Superb end result 😃 one things for sure. All that time spent, making and finishing will make you appreciate the end result every morning you see it in your kitchen 🙂
Man that really turned out beautiful. I used to have a tile business and I've gotten into projects that took what seemed like forever but this really had to feel that way...looks like it was worth the effort in the end though!
I know what you mean. 20 years ago I did a 2ft by 6ft bar top in 1/4" thick fir wood tiles. I made the mistake of using wood glue at first. What a disaster. Had to scrape clean and cut 17 new tiles. LOVE the results, won't do it again!
That has to be the nicest splashback ever! I also appreciate the time, energy and effort put into it, but imho the end result was worth that...and more!
I need a drink after just thinking abut the amount of effort this took. I really like how it turned out, your kitchen looks amazing. Lovely camera angles and editing as well!
That's beautiful John, well worth the effort. Thank you for sharing the 'I'd do it differently' ideas too as we are going to do something similar in our bathroom. You saved me a ton of time!
Right up there with your usual high bar of both creativity and careful, thoughtful work. Your woodworking videos are great, but the less frequent home videos are always an extra special treat. We all look forward to the upcoming big kitchen reveal video, not to mention the other rooms. Thank You!
Love the fact the you signed your project. There must be some 10k decks that I’ve built that I’ve signed and dated from Texas to Virginia. I think I’m going to do this as my back splash. I love the look. Thank goodness I’m retired.
I can imagine that it took forever, but the end result does look 5 stars. They sell plastic Hessian backed ceramic/mosaic tile strips that use the principle that you talked about with gluing the pieces to a plywood backing beforehand. It makes hanging these kinds of tile mosaics much, much quicker.
That does look really nice. Dusting it must be a challenge what with all those little ledges. I might try something similar, but I'll probably use larger tiles (2"X4" maybe), all the same thickness, with beveled edges. Put them up in an offset pattern, like bricks. Something to think about anyway. I really like the panel idea. I need to put up some wainscoting in parts of my house to cover cracks in the drywall that refuse to stay patched. The panel-built approach will make that a lot easier than what I was thinking.
It looks great John. A lot of work but it shows to those who can see what it takes to put it together. The idea of fastening them all to a 4x8 panel then cutting out what you need, or cutting the back panels so size first then layering on the blocks is great. Then as you said you can apply finish in the shop where it's faster and less mess for the kitchen. Must have been tough working on that around daily use of the kitchen for the past year.
WOW. I can't say that loud enough. That is sooo beautiful. It might have taken an age to do it but definitely worth the time and effort. You just added a million dollars to the value of your home 😎
I'm really liking this John, it's unique, and it fits your kitchen better than those glass sheets would. Seems like you could also work with "subway tile" sized sticks and take your slices there and have some fun with that as well. Awesome!
That looks great John! I would try your recommendation with the thin plywood preparation so that you can prepare this in the shop and be able to spray it so that it won’t be that time consuming. Thanks for sharing the project and your tips.
This looks terrific and I would really love to do it, but I won't for 2 main reasons: (1) The surface appears to very uneven, which by itself is not a problem, but that brings us to (2) which is that you can't really clean this backsplash if food gets on it. If you only microwave dinners in your kitchen, then I guess it's okay, but for any fully functional cooking kitchen, this is a much less than optimal solution.
That looks incredibly good John. I'd never have the patience to do it like this but I love the idea of doing it on a piece of plywood. What a great look for a backsplash!
Good gravy, that looks good! Like, **really** good. And that thin plywood backer idea? Excellent idea for more than just this. I'll be tucking that away in the memory file. I admire your ingenuity!
Looks great. And choice of material makes it really special. If you were to do it again maybe laying all the pieces out and pre-finishing them with a spray would make the work a bit easier.
Looks beautiful! Love that you admit you think of better ways to do it.. AS your doing it. I can really relate! However, I think you did it the best way to achieve the nicest looking results. The plywood laminate would have led to thickness issues with the outlet, window trim, etc. Just found your channel and love it!
What do you think about prefinishing the tiles prior to installation? just laying out all the tiles and spraying one side of them. I do really like the look of the finished project. great idea.
I love the look of it, if applied to plywood wouldn’t it make it a little too thick? Despite it takes an eternity to do, thanks for sharing your process John it gives me a new option for a bathroom I want to refinish
I love it. The wall is beautiful. But I can see it must have been a lot of work, and keeping your lines straight must have been difficult too. Looks great, thanks for sharing
John spectacular back splash. Would 1/4" plywood be a thick enough base? I'm thinking about doing this in multi colored acrylic with LED lighting from under cabinet instead of under cabinet lighting.
I think you should take your own advise and mount on 1/8” backer board and do the other side. I wonder if a mesh would work as the backer. It looks spectacular. I wonder how the outlet cover would look made out of walnut.
Beautiful look for a custom kitchen. I wonder if a panel system could be designed that wouldn't look like it was panels ? One where the sections stick out on one side and are inset on the other so that you could maintain the custom look you achieved but with essentially pre-finished wood panels that look like the individual blocks. If you could achieve that commercially I think it would become a very popular look for kitchens, family rooms, rec rooms and feature walls.
I wish all youtube videos were like this one . This was really nice quick insightful video, the look is priceless. Full of wonderful little tricks I got inspired from. One step ahead of you( I figured out the plywood template on my own, yey me ! my backsplash was longgrain "tiles" of various woods rather than endgrain and it only took 4-6 months :), but who's counting ). I get some issues from of contraction/expansion (1/16 spacing) even if I use this "special" wood grout that is supposed to be very flexible. Not sure how you get around that , maybe it is not noticeable on the endgrain ...
I'm not one to usually leave a comment just stating something you already know, but this looks amazing. The 3d texture really gives it that little something extra.
I started this almost exactly 1 year ago - September, 2020. And I'm just now getting around to finishing it. What the video doesn't show is that it isn't actually finished, there's still a section above the window that is not tiled. I'll get that done soon, but wanted to clear this project out of my video queue. The hold up was putting on the three coats of water based poly to protect it - I knew it would be the least enjoyable part of the project and that gave me enough of an excuse not to get it done.
With everything I said in the video about how much time went into it, it's definitely worth it if you want something unique and different. I'm now thinking that I really should do the second wall in the kitchen (counter is "L" shaped) but use the panel method I described in the video. Still a ton of work, but then installing ceramic tiles isn't a walk in the park, either.
“The least enjoyable part of the project” is why half a dozen of mine are still in the shop.
At first I thought it was natural stone. It doesn't make much sense to use wood as the back of the kitchen counter. If you definitely want it to be wooden, it would be more logical to scale the floor you want to lay with 3 mm plywood and stick it to the floor. You could do it much quicker and easier. It is not pleasant to interfere with the use of the kitchen for a long time. I think you're tired of it.
I've just finished a project like this one. At the begining it seems easy and pretty fast. Then you cut all your wood, and you realise you have to sand it. A Nightmare. I glued it on 4mm plywood but, trust me, it's thin, it curves with regular glue (t*bond v2). Go for the 8mm instead. Sprayed with white, water based, varnish. 1 year of bad words by my wife, but a lot of fun for me. I didn't glued it on the wall (concrete in my region), I just fixed the panels with screws on strips of wood (fixed on the wall with fishers) so cables can pass behind it. If I will sell the house, this stuff will go with me due to the time i've spent to build it, you bet.
I love this. I will do as suggested making panels and gluing the pieces onto the panel. Spraying the panel outside, and then putting the panels on the wall.
Definitely worth the time imo
As a tile setter who does annoyingly complicated backsplashes, I appreciate the work that went into this, it looks awesome!
It looks really good! I'm doing something similar in my kitchen too - ripping 2x2's from softwood (species yet to be determined), cut them to random lengths then split them with a hatchet and glue the smooth side to the wall. But now that I've watched this, I think I'll glue them to a thin piece of plywood first lol
Now that I think about you could glue just about anything imagineable to a thin piece of plywood and then cut to size, finish and install…I like it!
A project that takes a ridiculous amount of time...I'm in for it! Very cool look
Thanks Marius :)
That's where the sense of accomplishment comes from. Having invested lots of time into a project and not shelling out a ton of money to pay someone else to do it.
Patience is valuable these days.
Looks amazing.
Beautiful job John!! one of a kind and works with the kitchen 1000% .
Did the same thing with natural black slate tiles..all different thicknesses and random lengths of tile and we also added different heights to the mix. Did an 8 foot long by 5 foot tall backsplash and it took 2 days of cutting tile and then another day to tile the entire thing. We sealed all the tiles before cutting, then again before installing and then again after install. Something you could have done was sealed them before hand. We added in a magnetic strip from Ikea(stainless finish) to hold our knives (recipes,etc)to the backsplash. It was a one of a kind backsplash that got a lot of 'likes' from neighbors and friends. Just goes to proves that nice things take a lot of work.
Absolutely the nicest looking backsplash I have ever seen. Showed it to my wife and she said the same thing.
I think it came out looking great! I'm a tile setter by trade and I understand how time consuming small tiles can be. I think the idea of installing them first on a sheet of plywood is a fantastic idea, it's much like the small tiles that come in sheets to make it easier. Thanks for sharing and your kitchen is turning out real sweet! Shalom
Yes! I've been wanting to do a pallet wood tile kinda similar to this and had thought about the panel idea, but wasn't sure. After seeing this I'm definitely going with panels, that finish application gave me anxiety.
I’m blown away by the look and the alternate thinking behind this. Other than Alm’s patterned plywood, this is revolutionary to me. Just what I wanted to do on my porch wall which I was settling for shiplap look. Guess I better put aside 2 years for an 11x14’ wall. Keep up the amazing work.
I love it. I preferred big polished ceramic tiles to clean them easily, just wipe them and you're ready but this is a whole new level, amazing.
This is the prettiest and most original backlash iver ever seen. Good job! I love your kitchen!
your patience produces something extraordinary
I love a project that finishes so darn pretty that anyone can appreciate it, but reveals enough of itself so that people who can figure out how it was made are stunned speechless.
So, by the looks of the signature you put behind it, this took a year..?!
Looks great, totally worth it!
Wow that looks so much better than I would have pictured. I like that you had the foresight to not cut all the little blocks exactly the same thickness. It really tuned out great.
The result is really attractive John. You also get full marks for tenacity in doing all of that cutting, sanding, preparation and finishing. Well done indeed!
Man, that's a lot of work, but it looks great. Building the panels in the workshop is a good idea. You can also buy rolls of double-sided adhesive tile backer. It's like double-sided tape, but wider, thicker, and made for jobs like this one.
Superb end result 😃 one things for sure. All that time spent, making and finishing will make you appreciate the end result every morning you see it in your kitchen 🙂
Its alqays a pleasure watching John work
One of A kind John, thank you for taking the time to share it with us.
Play safe from Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada.
Now that is cool! Glad you learn the hard lessons for us!
Thanks :)
Amazing! I love the “lesson learned” at the end about how to do it better! I may try this in my shop.
Man that really turned out beautiful. I used to have a tile business and I've gotten into projects that took what seemed like forever but this really had to feel that way...looks like it was worth the effort in the end though!
Full video on basically how not to do something. But hey, it still works, and the result is very nice. Thanks, John.
I know what you mean. 20 years ago I did a 2ft by 6ft bar top in 1/4" thick fir wood tiles. I made the mistake of using wood glue at first. What a disaster. Had to scrape clean and cut 17 new tiles. LOVE the results, won't do it again!
It looks absolutely amazing!! Loving the last sentence: "If I had my time back... I would actually ... do it again." :)
After seeing so many split faced tiles it fantastic to see something that looks so much better and original
That has to be the nicest splashback ever! I also appreciate the time, energy and effort put into it, but imho the end result was worth that...and more!
I need a drink after just thinking abut the amount of effort this took. I really like how it turned out, your kitchen looks amazing. Lovely camera angles and editing as well!
Love the way this turned out! I’ve always loved your home improvement projects.
absolutely beautiful idea, workmanship, and result
That's beautiful John, well worth the effort. Thank you for sharing the 'I'd do it differently' ideas too as we are going to do something similar in our bathroom. You saved me a ton of time!
Very unique and satisfying outcome, I have installed similar T&G panels made of dark walnut and reclaimed wood on walls and bars.
Damn! That looks extremely nice! Really makes your kitchen look like something you would see in a million dollar home.
Looks great ,like most things you live and learn but the end result speaks volumes.
Right up there with your usual high bar of both creativity and careful, thoughtful work. Your woodworking videos are great, but the less frequent home videos are always an extra special treat. We all look forward to the upcoming big kitchen reveal video, not to mention the other rooms. Thank You!
I think it looks great! When I re-did my backsplash with 2 x 3 tile it took quite a while, so I can really appreciate the work that went into this!
I freaking love that!!! I like how you used different thicknesses, really gives depth and dimension to the wall. EPIC GROOVY-NESS!
FAR OUT!
That backsplash is a freakin showpiece….the moneyshot of that kitchen!
John it came out beautiful. I love it
Like most of your videos, it’s going right into my potential projects playlist.
Love the fact the you signed your project. There must be some 10k decks that I’ve built that I’ve signed and dated from Texas to Virginia. I think I’m going to do this as my back splash. I love the look. Thank goodness I’m retired.
Love the wall John, it really does l👀k classy but, I think you deserve a medal 🏅 for all the work involved 👍
I think it looks amazing. I think doing the panels is the right way to go
I can imagine that it took forever, but the end result does look 5 stars. They sell plastic Hessian backed ceramic/mosaic tile strips that use the principle that you talked about with gluing the pieces to a plywood backing beforehand. It makes hanging these kinds of tile mosaics much, much quicker.
That does look really nice. Dusting it must be a challenge what with all those little ledges. I might try something similar, but I'll probably use larger tiles (2"X4" maybe), all the same thickness, with beveled edges. Put them up in an offset pattern, like bricks. Something to think about anyway.
I really like the panel idea. I need to put up some wainscoting in parts of my house to cover cracks in the drywall that refuse to stay patched. The panel-built approach will make that a lot easier than what I was thinking.
It looks great John. A lot of work but it shows to those who can see what it takes to put it together. The idea of fastening them all to a 4x8 panel then cutting out what you need, or cutting the back panels so size first then layering on the blocks is great. Then as you said you can apply finish in the shop where it's faster and less mess for the kitchen. Must have been tough working on that around daily use of the kitchen for the past year.
I wish i could like x1000, that is awesome looking... would look great as a textured speaker cabinet too.. just awesome.
This to me is worth the effort. John this looks amazing!
What a beautiful result!! AND WHAT A LOAD OF WORK!!!!!
The kitchen looks great. Truly unique.
Hard work, hell yes. Worth it, absolutely. It looks fantastic John.
WOW. I can't say that loud enough. That is sooo beautiful. It might have taken an age to do it but definitely worth the time and effort. You just added a million dollars to the value of your home 😎
I'm really liking this John, it's unique, and it fits your kitchen better than those glass sheets would.
Seems like you could also work with "subway tile" sized sticks and take your slices there and have some fun with that as well.
Awesome!
That backsplash looks amazing! I love it
Patience is a virtue. Looks awesome !
That looks great John! I would try your recommendation with the thin plywood preparation so that you can prepare this in the shop and be able to spray it so that it won’t be that time consuming. Thanks for sharing the project and your tips.
This looks terrific and I would really love to do it, but I won't for 2 main reasons: (1) The surface appears to very uneven, which by itself is not a problem, but that brings us to (2) which is that you can't really clean this backsplash if food gets on it. If you only microwave dinners in your kitchen, then I guess it's okay, but for any fully functional cooking kitchen, this is a much less than optimal solution.
That looks incredibly good John. I'd never have the patience to do it like this but I love the idea of doing it on a piece of plywood. What a great look for a backsplash!
Good gravy, that looks good! Like, **really** good. And that thin plywood backer idea? Excellent idea for more than just this. I'll be tucking that away in the memory file. I admire your ingenuity!
Beautiful and very creative. Love to hear what inspired this design. Thanks!
Beautiful wood.
What a clever use for this material. If it was easy every one would be doing it.
Wow!! That’s a lot of work but it turned out beautifully…..thanks for sharing.
It looks spectacular.
You have a very clean, appealing style in whichever project you do.
It looks great! It really looks simple, but I can believe that it is VERY time consuming. However, it is done and now you get to enjoy it. Well done.
Sensacional. Sem palavras, trabalho magnifico e detalhoso ao extremo. Parabéns....
It may have been a nightmare to complete but it looks stunning!!
John, you're a glutton for punishment. That is a LOT of work.
Well done though. It looks great.
Looks great. And choice of material makes it really special. If you were to do it again maybe laying all the pieces out and pre-finishing them with a spray would make the work a bit easier.
It looks amazing! The spalted maple is absolutely beautiful!
I love it, it's beautiful, and I would never want that huge job on my plate... (never say never!)
Wow looks awesome, I have to give you props for your patience
Looks beautiful! Love that you admit you think of better ways to do it.. AS your doing it. I can really relate! However, I think you did it the best way to achieve the nicest looking results. The plywood laminate would have led to thickness issues with the outlet, window trim, etc.
Just found your channel and love it!
That whole kitchen is amazing!
That looks amazing. That must have been an insane amount of work. But the finished product looks worth the time. Fantastic job!
Looks stunning...and I like the panel idea....you have the best ideas John!
that is unbelievably good looking
What do you think about prefinishing the tiles prior to installation? just laying out all the tiles and spraying one side of them. I do really like the look of the finished project. great idea.
I love the look of it, if applied to plywood wouldn’t it make it a little too thick? Despite it takes an eternity to do, thanks for sharing your process John it gives me a new option for a bathroom I want to refinish
It looks amazing! 👌 you have for sure the most original backsplash, but an insane amount of work.
It’s amazing! Congratulations for that and I understood why you will never do it again.
That looks so great! Awesome video John. Amazing kitchen design.
Very cool looking! I had the same idea as I was watching you glue each one individually
I love it. The wall is beautiful. But I can see it must have been a lot of work, and keeping your lines straight must have been difficult too. Looks great, thanks for sharing
Looks great! The only thing is cleaning it if it gets splashed will be hard or just take a lot of time compared to tiles.
THIS IS AWESOME!
The last comment is telling "If i had my time back I'd actually do it again".
John, That is absolutely beautiful I think I might be copying you buddy such a unique look thumbs up 👍to you. Thanks for sharing.
John spectacular back splash. Would 1/4" plywood be a thick enough base? I'm thinking about doing this in multi colored acrylic with LED lighting from under cabinet instead of under cabinet lighting.
Beyond words !! ❤ the backsplash!!
A lot of work but the end result is stunning.Thank you for sharing
Awesome job John you're very creative and genius 👏👍🙂!
I think you should take your own advise and mount on 1/8” backer board and do the other side. I wonder if a mesh would work as the backer. It looks spectacular. I wonder how the outlet cover would look made out of walnut.
Now that I have a CNC, I can quickly make the four that I need and try it out :)
@@JohnHeisz that would be epic
Beautiful look for a custom kitchen. I wonder if a panel system could be designed that wouldn't look like it was panels ? One where the sections stick out on one side and are inset on the other so that you could maintain the custom look you achieved but with essentially pre-finished wood panels that look like the individual blocks. If you could achieve that commercially I think it would become a very popular look for kitchens, family rooms, rec rooms and feature walls.
Looks really awesome! Love the maple in your kitchen
Wow that IS a lot of work, however it does look good. Great video John, thumbs up.
I wish all youtube videos were like this one . This was really nice quick insightful video, the look is priceless. Full of wonderful little tricks I got inspired from. One step ahead of you( I figured out the plywood template on my own, yey me ! my backsplash was longgrain "tiles" of various woods rather than endgrain and it only took 4-6 months :), but who's counting ). I get some issues from of contraction/expansion (1/16 spacing) even if I use this "special" wood grout that is supposed to be very flexible. Not sure how you get around that , maybe it is not noticeable on the endgrain ...
I'm not one to usually leave a comment just stating something you already know, but this looks amazing. The 3d texture really gives it that little something extra.
Fits my 2U rule... Unique and Useful... Thanks for sharing.
Perfect. I am contemplating something like this but dreading the labor.