How To Tile a Kitchen Splashback
How do you tile a kitchen splashback?
Tiles are an affordable DIY option for a splashback, and they let you add colour, pattern or texture to a kitchen without touching the cabinetry. The job breaks into three stages — adhesive, grout, sealant — and the Selleys White For Life system supplies a product for each: a ready-to-use tile adhesive, a ready-to-use grout and a silicone sealant.
The work itself is not difficult. What catches people out is the waiting between stages, which is substantial and non-negotiable: 24 to 48 hours before grouting, three to seven days before sealing, and 72 hours for the sealant to cure. Budget a full week from first tile to finished job.
Before you start
Make sure the surfaces are clean and free from grease or loose particles. Any fresh paint, membranes or coatings, render or concrete must be allowed sufficient time to cure before you tile over it.
Step 1: Adhesive
- Apply Selleys White For Life Tile Adhesive in vertical strips 5cm apart on the back of the tile.
- Position the tile and press down firmly. Because of the product's high initial hold, support during curing is not usually necessary. Start with the bottom row of tiles.
- If you are laying multiple tiles, use spacers to keep the grout joints even. Wall tile joints are typically 1.5–3mm wide.
- Check that the tiles are level, tapping lightly with a rubber mallet to level them if needed.
- Remove excess adhesive from the face of the tiles and from the joints using turps, before the adhesive cures.
Why start at the bottom: each row rests on the one below while the adhesive takes hold, and the bottom row sets the line everything above it follows. A bottom row that is out by a millimetre becomes a visible taper by the top.
Why remove excess adhesive now: adhesive left in a joint will not accept grout, and adhesive on a tile face has to be ground off once cured. Turps takes it off in seconds while it is wet.
Step 2: Grouting
- Once the tile adhesive has set — usually 24 to 48 hours — remove the spacers, and clear dust and debris from the joints. Seal porous tiles before grouting, or removing grout from the tile faces will be difficult.
- Grout small areas at a time with Selleys White For Life Grout, working the grout into the joints and smoothing it off with a rubber squeegee or grout float.
- Allow the grout to firm up in the joints, approximately 20 minutes. Allow longer in cold conditions.
- Using a damp — not wet — sponge, clean the tile surfaces by wiping lightly in a circular motion. Finish with a single wipe diagonally across the tiles with a clean, damp sponge.
- After 24 hours, buff and polish the tile surface with a soft clean cloth.
The 20-minute firm-up is the timing that matters most in this stage. Wipe too early and you pull grout out of the joints; wipe too late and the haze has hardened onto the tile face. Cold weather extends it, so watch the grout rather than the clock.
"Damp, not wet" is not a nicety either. Excess water in the sponge washes cement out of the joint surface, which is what leaves grout patchy and chalky once it dries.
Sealing porous tiles first — natural stone, unglazed terracotta, some matt finishes — stops grout pigment soaking into the tile face where it cannot be removed.
Step 3: Sealing
- Allow the grout to fully dry — three to seven days — before applying sealant between the tiles and the benchtop.
- Ensure the surface is clean. Using a scrubbing brush and dustpan, remove any debris from the dried grout line.
- For neat joints, mask the sides of the joint with tape.
- Using Selleys White For Life Silicone, caulk the sealant into the joints with steady pressure.
- Tool off to a smooth finish and remove the tape before the sealant skins.
- Clean up with turps before the product skins.
- Allow 72 hours for the sealant to cure completely.
Why the joint between tile and benchtop gets silicone, not grout
This is the question the three-stage sequence answers without stating outright. Grout is rigid and will crack in a joint that moves — and the joint between a wall and a benchtop is exactly such a joint, because two independent elements meet there. Silicone flexes. Using grout in that corner is the most common reason a tiled splashback develops a crack along the bottom within a year.
The White For Life Silicone figures
| Technology | Acetic cure, 100% silicone sealant |
| Tooling time | 5 minutes |
| Skin time | 10 minutes |
| Tack-free time | 17 minutes |
| Cure rate | 6mm in 24 hours; 12mm in 72 hours (at 23°C) |
| Full cure | 72 hours |
| Elongation at break | 290% (ASTM D412) |
| Application temperature | 10°C – 35°C |
| Pack size | 300 gram cartridge, white |
| Guarantees | 25 years against cracking, crumbling or peeling; 5 years against mould growth |
Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications.
The five-minute tooling time is tighter than most silicones, so work in short runs rather than caulking the whole splashback and then going back to tool it. Tool with a spatula dipped in detergent water within 5 to 10 minutes of application, and get the tape off before the 10-minute skin time.
The guarantees are conditional. The 25-year and 5-year guarantees apply when the product is used as directed for private use and within 6 months of purchase, and the mould guarantee requires the product to be cleaned regularly with Selleys White For Life Tile & Grout Cleaner to avoid build-up of soap scum. The guarantees are also framed around use as a system — the adhesive, grout and sealant together.
Limitations — where these products should NOT be used
- White For Life Silicone is not paintable. Complete any painting seven days before applying sealant.
- Not suitable for permanent immersion, or for metals other than aluminium and stainless steel.
- Cement and concrete surfaces must be coated with a suitable paint and allowed to dry before applying the sealant.
- Do not grout before the adhesive has set — 24 to 48 hours — and do not seal before the grout has fully dried, at three to seven days. Rushing either stage traps moisture and undermines the stage above it.
- Porous tiles must be sealed before grouting, or grout removal from the tile faces will be difficult.
Clean up
Remove excess tile adhesive with turps before it cures. Clean grout haze with a damp sponge during the working window, then buff after 24 hours. Uncured silicone comes off with mineral turpentine; cured silicone has to be removed with Selleys Sealant Remover, or by cutting and scraping.
Safety: two of the three stages need eye protection, for different reasons
This job runs over a week and the hazard is not evenly spread across it. The adhesive and grout stages are ordinary wet-trade work — gloves, and a dust mask if you are cutting tiles. The sealing stage and any stripping of an old bead are the two that carry serious classifications.
Selleys White For Life Silicone is classified hazardous with the signal word Danger. Its classes are Eye damage — Category 1, causes serious eye damage, and skin irritation Category 2. (The product page states the classes without quoting hazard-statement codes, so none are quoted here.) Category 1 eye damage is permanent injury rather than irritation that settles, and the geometry of step 4 is the reason it matters: a 300 g cartridge under gun pressure, run along a benchtop joint at roughly chest-to-face height, with a nozzle that can spit when you release the trigger and the plunger pressure keeps pushing. Safety glasses or goggles for the whole caulking run, not just the first bead.
Selleys Sealant Remover, named in clean up for cured silicone, is also Danger and is Poison Schedule S5: H304 (may be fatal if swallowed and enters airways), H226 (flammable liquid and vapour), H336 (may cause drowsiness or dizziness) and H315 (causes skin irritation). Dangerous Goods Class 3, UN 1133, Packing Group II.
H226 next to a cooktop is the connection to make. A splashback joint is usually within arm's reach of gas burners and a pilot, and the remover's method leaves a thick layer evaporating for at least ten minutes. Vapour is denser than air and travels along the bench and the floor. Isolate the cooktop, run the rangehood, open a window, and no smoking. H304 means the tub is never decanted into a cup or a bottle in a kitchen, and if any is swallowed the first aid is to rinse the mouth, give water and not induce vomiting.
You can mostly avoid needing it. The page tells you to clean excess off with turps before each product cures — adhesive, grout haze and silicone all have a window. Work in short runs and take it off while it is wet, and the Danger-classified remover stays in the cupboard.
Nitrile gloves throughout. Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.
Common questions about tiling a kitchen splashback
How do I apply the tile adhesive?
In vertical strips 5cm apart on the back of the tile, then position and press firmly. The product's high initial hold means support during curing is not usually necessary.
Where do I start?
With the bottom row, so each row above rests on a level line.
How wide should the grout joints be?
Wall tile joints are typically 1.5–3mm wide. Use spacers to keep them even.
How long before I can grout?
Once the adhesive has set, usually 24 to 48 hours.
How long do I leave the grout before wiping?
Allow it to firm up in the joints for approximately 20 minutes, longer in cold conditions. Then wipe lightly with a damp — not wet — sponge in a circular motion, finishing with a single diagonal wipe.
When can I buff the tiles?
After 24 hours, with a soft clean cloth.
How long before I can seal?
Allow the grout to fully dry — three to seven days — before applying sealant between the tiles and the benchtop.
How long does the sealant take to cure?
72 hours. Its cure rate is 6mm in 24 hours and 12mm in 72 hours at 23°C.
Why not just grout the bottom joint?
Because it moves. Grout is rigid and cracks in a moving joint; silicone flexes with it. The tile-to-benchtop corner is a silicone joint.
Do I need to seal my tiles before grouting?
Porous tiles, yes — otherwise removing grout from the tile faces will be difficult.
Can I paint over the silicone?
No. White For Life Silicone is not paintable; complete painting seven days before sealing.
How do I keep the grout and sealant white?
The mould guarantee requires regular cleaning with White For Life Tile & Grout Cleaner to avoid a build-up of soap scum, which is what mould feeds on. For grout that has already discoloured, see Selleys Grout Stain Whitener.
How do I apply the tile adhesive?
In vertical strips 5cm apart on the back of the tile, then position and press firmly. The product's high initial hold means support during curing is not usually necessary.
Where do I start?
With the bottom row, so each row above rests on a level line.
How wide should the grout joints be?
Wall tile joints are typically 1.5–3mm wide. Use spacers to keep them even.
How long before I can grout?
Once the adhesive has set, usually 24 to 48 hours.
How long do I leave the grout before wiping?
Allow it to firm up in the joints for approximately 20 minutes, longer in cold conditions. Then wipe lightly with a damp — not wet — sponge in a circular motion, finishing with a single diagonal wipe.
When can I buff the tiles?
After 24 hours, with a soft clean cloth.
How long before I can seal?
Allow the grout to fully dry — three to seven days — before applying sealant between the tiles and the benchtop.
How long does the sealant take to cure?
72 hours. Its cure rate is 6mm in 24 hours and 12mm in 72 hours at 23°C.
Why not just grout the bottom joint?
Because it moves. Grout is rigid and cracks in a moving joint; silicone flexes with it. The tile-to-benchtop corner is a silicone joint.
Do I need to seal my tiles before grouting?
Porous tiles, yes — otherwise removing grout from the tile faces will be difficult.
Can I paint over the silicone?
No. White For Life Silicone is not paintable; complete painting seven days before sealing.
How do I keep the grout and sealant white?
The mould guarantee requires regular cleaning with White For Life Tile & Grout Cleaner to avoid a build-up of soap scum, which is what mould feeds on. For grout that has already discoloured, see Selleys Grout Stain Whitener .