santanaf's Profile

No need to hire a pro at all on this one, just need some time, patience, and an understanding that tempered glass must be handled very carefully on its edges, otherwise it quite literally explodes on contact. As others have stated, tempered glass is extremely important in this application.

Pros will tell you that you can't do this yourself, but that is only because they fear the DIYer will take away their business.

Go to a good online glass supplier to put in the order. I used WilsonGlass.com for my frameless shower enclosure custom install, it's the same kind of glass. You can give them the measurements, specific to your install, with all sorts of weird angles if need be, then they have a local supplier make the tempered glass for you and you pick it up at their will call. I would use 1/2" in this situation, as it will give a certain feeling of significance to the project. Once you get the glass put up the necessary cleats and brackets in place on your walls.

Use metal cleats with significant rubber gaskets to protect the edge of the glass. Like I said, if your glass edge or corner comes in contract with a similarly rigid surface, your glass will INSTANTLY shatter into thousands of pieces.

Dry fit the glass to make sure it fits the way you need it to.

Be aware, tempered glass has the tendency to warp slightly during the tempering process, in this situation, if there is a slight warp, no problem, your brackets will pull the glass tight against the wall, but if the warp is too severe, the glass distributor will need to recut it for you.

Also be sure to check for chips and dings before you leave the distributor, they won't recut for you if you find them after you get home.

Once you've dry fit the glass and you are happy with it, take it down and paint the back of the glass with a high quality (BM, perhaps Sherwin Williams) oil based super high gloss paint . Use a very low nap roller, and make sure you are rolling each coat on with full coverage. Go in straight lines and be consistent. You will need to let it dry THOROUGHLY between each coat. I would do 3 coats with light colors, and 5 with dark colors (like red).

Once dry, hang the glass on the cleats you've already installed, and make sure you do not scratch the painted area. Then silicon any gaps along the top or sides where dirt or debris could fall behind the glass. Leave the bottom without silicon so you have a place where condensation can escape, especially on a backsplash where temp differences can be severe. If you don't do this, you may end up with blistered and bubbling paint.

Keep in mind, tempered glass is NOT cheap. It is FAR more economical to purchase and install most glass tile. Only do this if you want this look, it is not a cost saving alternative.

Also, if you are going to use a mastic (and I do not feel it is necessary given a proper bracket system) DO NOT RELY ON SIMPLY USING A MASTIC TO HANG YOUR GLASS!!!! You must hand it with cleats and brackets to secure the glass in place. Otherwise you will end up with a huge risk for a giant shattered backsplash and lots of wasted money.