Builders of  Outdoor Kitchens, Fire Pits & Tables, Pergolas & Everything Else in the Backyard

Tile Types For Outdoor Kitchens

Why consider tile for your outdoor kitchen cabinet finish?

1. Endless choices of textures and colors to make it your style.

2. Maintenance - there virtually isn't any.

3. One of the least expensive finish materials you can choose.

Types of Tile for Outdoor Kitchens

Porcelain tiles are the most durable, and the finish holds up the best outdoors.

Material costs will run between $2.00 and $15.00 per square foot.

We are not as fond of ceramic tile and try to avoid using it. Some ceramics will hold moisture and

deteriorate the decorative finish. However, many of the popular new tile styles have to be made with ceramic to

achieve a variety of textures and multi-dimensions. Material costs range from $1.00 to $10.00 per square foot.

Glass tile continues to be trendy. Glass tile is also the most expensive tile,

with material costs ranging from $6.oo to $40 per square foot. In addition, it is the most difficult to

work with and make look good. But, if you want to create something spectacular, don't rule it out.

Natural stone tiles come straight from the earth - travertine, marble, slate, and limestone are the primary varieties. Material costs will range from $2.oo to $10.00 per square foot. The advantage of natural stone is it's the

same color all through, so we don't have to worry about finishing the edges.

What are the most popular tiles for outdoor kitchens?

Modern, contemporary, and transitional are the most popular design styles. Large-format tiles can

accomplish either of the three design types. The term large-format means real big tiles.

We're talking tiles that range in size - 24"x48", 8"x60", 30"x60" or even 36"x36" to mention a few. There are

tons of colors and finishes to choose from and plenty of places to find them.

Trendy, trendy, trendy are "wavy" tiles or multi-dimensional tiles. Oh man, these are extremely hard to

install to look good on an outdoor kitchen. In addition, they have secret little patterns to them, creating

more waste than other tiles. But if you're trendy, no matter the pain it causes us to install,

you may be willing to pay the price.

Will Outdoor Tiles in a Kitchen last and hold up to the weather?

When installing porcelain and ceramic tile on an outdoor kitchen, almost every tile has to get cut at least once,

if not three or four times—leading to tiny chips and chatters occurring at every cut. In addition,

every tile's top coating responds differently to the cut. We use the best blades available on all our saws

and grinders, but the chips still happen.

We use diamond polishing pads to re-create a factory edge on highly exposed cuts.

Raw edges need to be covered, whether a cut or factory edge. Most tiles do not have a coordinating bullnose

tile or pencil tile to cover the edge. Whenever possible, we miter outside corners. Additionally, edges are

exposed at refrigeration components and grilling appliances and covered with Schluter strips. 

Glass tiles always present us with surprises. Most of the time, there is no great way to cut them to avoid

chipping either on the top or the bottom. In addition, many glass tiles have a special coating on the back that

doesn't allow you to see what's behind. Or, you can see through it requiring a perfect (no bubbles or voids behind it) application of adhesives to get the right look. Also, the color of the adhesives will affect the final color. 

Guess what? All the tiles are not the same thickness or the same size, and many of them have bows or warps in them.

We use special spacers and wedge clips to control joint sizes and help take warps and bulges out.

But, sometimes, the tiles finish unevenly. 

All tile requires grout for the joints to achieve a finished look. We try to keep all joints somewhere

between the tiles touching and 1/8th inch on your outdoor kitchen. Grout completes the final look and

helps hide most of the chipping. Before the grout is applied, to keep from driving yourself crazy,

don't inspect the tile too closely.

Many of the things you see are not issues or problems. It's just not finished.