12 Home Depot Tools You Need For Your DIY Kitchen Backsplash

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Your kitchen backsplash is a protective layer against the damaging effects of food debris, grease, water, and more on your walls. On top of this importance, it can also add to the aesthetics and create a cohesive design in your space. For instance, installing light-colored, glass, or mirrored backsplash is one of the ways to brighten a dark kitchen. You can even find cheap backsplash ideas that will look like you splurged, including ceramic subway tile. No matter which one you choose, Home Depot has all of the tools you need to do the job yourself.

A DIY kitchen backsplash requires a lot of basic items that you might already have, such as a hammer, a measuring tape, and old sheets to protect countertops. For the tools you don't already have, Home Depot has you covered, even if you're new to DIY projects. The retailer carries everything for backsplash installations — from safety goggles, tile spacers, and tile cutters to chisels, trowels, grout floats, and sponges. In this list, you'll find 12 must-have tools for your DIY kitchen backsplash. All of them have been highly rated by Home Depot customers and can be delivered to your local store or right to your home. Also, typical retail prices are included for each product, but keep in mind that these can fluctuate.

When it comes to DIY projects like installing kitchen backsplash, safety equipment is important to protect you from dust and pieces of tile. These DeWalt safety goggles feature soft rubber around the inside and an elastic cloth strap for comfort. On the outside, the lens is made with polycarbonate and a hard ToughCoat, shielding your eyes from stray shards leaving scratches that could obscure your field of view. The goggles also have ventilation channels to prevent lens fog.

You can get the DeWalt Concealer Safety Goggles for $12.59 at Home Depot.

Sharp knives are essential utensils you need for your kitchen, but they aren't made for DIY projects. Depending on the type of backsplash you install, you may have to cut mesh backing to fit. You'll also need something to cut open caulk tubes and trim tile spacers to size, and this utility knife from Husky is designed for these tasks. It has a folding design, a thumb stud for single-handed opening, a lock-back mechanism for safe cutting, and 10 replacement blades.

The Husky Folding Lock-Back Utility Knife is sold exclusively at Home Depot for $7.97.

If you choose to install standard tiles that don't have a peel-and-stick backing for your backsplash, you'll need to mix and apply mortar to secure the tiles to your kitchen wall. You'll also need to mix your grout if you don't purchase a pre-mixed one. By using a drill attachment like this Anvil eggbeater, you can save a lot of effort and time while ensuring that the thinset mortar powder is thoroughly wet. It's constructed with cold rolled steel and fits standard ½-inch drill chucks.

The Anvil Eggbeater Mixer is sold exclusively at Home Depot for $12.97.

To apply mortar for a standard tile backsplash, you need a notched trowel that complements the type of tile you choose. This QEP trowel features ¼-inch square notches along two sides of the stainless steel blade, which is rust-resistant and ideal for installing natural stone tile. It also has a rubber handle and a die-cast shank with nine rivets for durability. Best of all, you can use it for plank flooring if you decide to redo the floors in your kitchen, too.

The QEP Square-Notched Trowel is at Home Depot for $14.48.

You might be inclined to install backsplash in line with your kitchen countertops, but they may not be perfectly level. With this 12-inch magnetic level, you can mark exactly where to start setting your backsplash and regularly check that the application is straight as you go. It has a heavy-duty frame with shock-absorbing endplates, allowing it to withstand falling on concrete from 10 feet high. Meanwhile, the high-contrast vials make the level easy to read. Larger sizes are also available, if necessary.

You can get the 12-inch Empire Magnetic Level for $16.97 at Home Depot.

Along with keeping the backsplash level, you want to ensure that the grout lines between standard tiles remain even and uniform throughout. A gap of ¹⁄₁₆- to ⅛-inch generally looks the best on kitchen walls, so this pack of ⅛-inch Rubi spacers will work beautifully. While you have to remove protruding spacers before the mortar completely sets, these hard plastic pieces are designed for a rigid, leave-in hold at the tile corners for easy grout application over the top without cracks.

A 200-pack of Rubi Leave-In Tile Spacers is at Home Depot for $5.12.

Backsplash tiles come in various shapes and sizes. Even if you select basic rectangular tiles, you'll need to cut at least some of them for a uniform aesthetic at the corners, edges, and around outlets. This Husky tile cutter has a ⅞-inch titanium coated tungsten carbide cutting wheel and heavy-duty base for cutting ceramic or porcelain up to ⅗-inch thick. While renting a tile cutter for a day or two is cheaper, owning one means you'll be ready for future DIY projects.

The Husky Tile Cutter is $99 at Home Depot.

Once your backsplash is in place and the grout is mixed (or premixed), you'll need a grout float to fill the spaces between the tiles. This grout float from QEP may look similar to a trowel, but instead of a metal notched surface, it has gum rubber padding for spreading grout across smooth and textured tiles before pushing it into the gaps. Additionally, you can use it to press tiles gently into mortar and to remove excess grout from the surface.

You can get the QEP Gum Rubber Grout Float at Home Depot for about $9.97.

If the wall you intended to install backsplash on is painted or covered in old mortar from removing existing backsplash, you'll need to sand down the surface to improve the mortar adhesion. You might also need sandpaper to smooth rough edges on the tiles that you cut, if necessary. This sanding tool kit by Gator includes a foam block that's easy to hold. It also comes with 12 sandpaper sheets in three levels of coarseness for each stage of your DIY kitchen backsplash project.

The Gator 13-Piece Sanding Kit is $11.98 at Home Depot.

Removing existing tile backsplash can be difficult and lead to drywall damage without the right tools. To make it easier and safer for your wall, you can tap a chisel into the grout between and mortar behind tiles with a hammer to loosen the pieces. This Draco Pro mason chisel features a thin, high-grade blade for precise cutting. For increased protection of your hands, it also has a large target head on the opposite end so that you're less likely to miss as you're hammering.

The Draco Pro Mason Chisel is at Home Depot for $15.97.

Near the end of your DIY kitchen backsplash project, you'll need to apply tile caulk along the outer edges where it meets your cabinets, countertops, and window frames. Doing so will prevent moisture from getting behind the backsplash and those fixtures. While you can use the caulk tube on its own, a caulk gun like this one from Anvil will make the task much easier, dispensing a smooth bead with little effort.

You can find the 10-ounce Anvil Drip-Free Caulk Gun for $5.98 at Home Depot.

Consumer Reports ranked the Hawkins New York Lurex Sponge the best kitchen sponge, but it's not designed to handle the excess grout cleanup that you'll need to do for your backsplash project. QEP specifically designs these extra large grouting sponges with rounded corners to grab the grout without damaging it or digging it out of the gaps as you wipe in a circular motion. Just don't forget to only slightly dampen the sponge, and rinse and wring it out frequently as you clean.

A three-pack of QEP Extra Large Sponges is at Home Depot for $4.97.