Swore I'd never use those peel-and-stick tile backsplashes... until my kitchen looked like a disaster zone for 8 months

I fought my wife for almost a year about those things. Thought they were cheap junk. Then our actual tile guy cancelled for the third time and we had a family dinner coming up. Dropped $180 on a peel-and-stick slate pattern from Lowe's just to shut everyone up. 2 years later and it still looks perfect. No peeling, no weird yellowing, nothing. I was dead wrong. Has anyone else had one of those hold up longer than expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.leo13d ago

Stick with it for 2 years and come talk to me. I put that same kind of stuff in my first house and it looked great until the first real humid summer. Started bubbling up around the sink area and the edges got all gross where water splashed. Ended up having to rip it all down and scrub glue off the drywall for a weekend. It might hold up ok in a low moisture spot but anywhere near heat or steam its a gamble.

the_lee12d ago

Wait, were you doing dishes and splashing water directly onto the tile edges for two summers, @ellis.leo? Because that slate pattern we used came with these little plastic spacers and a grout pen, so the whole thing is basically sealed at the seems. I do wipe down the backsplash after cooking, but the edges near my sink are totally fine since I caulked a thin bead along the countertop lip. Installation matters more than the sticker itself, I think.