What we do

Backsplash & Kitchen Tile

Tile is the most visible small job in a kitchen and the one most dependent on what is behind it. Almost all of its failures are substrate failures.

Why it goes on last

A backsplash is set against the countertop and under the wall cabinets, so both have to exist first. It is genuinely the final trade in most kitchens, which also makes it the one that absorbs the accumulated delay of everything before it.

Outlets, and the thickness nobody accounts for

Tile adds depth to the wall, and the outlets and switches in a backsplash have to come forward to match. That is small electrical work, done properly with spacers or box extenders, and it is worth confirming it is in the scope rather than discovering it at the end. In a kitchen where the counter circuits are being touched anyway, this is a sensible thing to combine.

The permit answer is usually simple

Tile itself is a finish, and no city we cover publishes a permit requirement for installing a backsplash. That changes only if the work moves outlets rather than extending them, which is electrical work with its own rules.