The manufacturer recommends that you just slide the edging under the tile as you install it. I prefer to have it already installed and used as a starting point to place your first tiles. So, I would just use silicone to tack it in place and added a couple of nails to hold it until the silicone dries.
The gap between the countertop and the wall by the overhang resulted in a chat about where to stop the backsplash. The gap was at least ¼” wide. That would be a lot of caulk to fill in that gap. And Efiwym was not happy with that much caulking. Initially, I wanted to stop it at where the upper cabinet ended, but Efiwym wanted it to be to the end of the overhang to hide the gap. I thought it would look weird with the backsplash just hanging out there, like we went too far with it. I came back with an idea to install a twelve-inch shelving next to the upper cabinet to have something for the backsplash to be tied to.
The shelfing would be in red oak, stained to match the cabinet and run the whole height of the cabinet. I will save this DIY project for a later day. For now, I would just install the backsplash and put up the shelving unit when I finish building it. Yes, I will be building it! I did look online, but I could build it so much cheaper.
Back to the preparation. Finally, I installed the edging by the overhang and the stove. Because I was going to put up the shelving by the overhang after installing the backsplash, I applied a 2” x 2” piece of wood where the bottom the shelf would be. This piece of wood would be a guide to the height of the edging and the backsplash. I measured off the piece of wood for the height and verified the height with the upper cabinet. The countertop was level, so I knew if the measurements matched, I was level.
I when downstairs with the edging, marked the length, clamped the edging on the bed of the table saw, and cut it with my hacksaw. I cleaned up the cut edge with the table grinder and was careful not to scrape off the white finish on the edging. Back up stairs with my cut piece of edging. I also had drawn a plumb line for the location of the edging. I ran a bead of silicone along the line and placed the edging into place. The silicone was soft enough that I could move the edging, but strong enough to hold it in place. This silicone idea was working great! Once I had it where I wanted, I pounded two galvanized roofing nails to hold it in place until the silicone dries. I wiped off excess silicone on the edging and that edging was done. I had a great starting point for my tiling,
For the stove, it was critical to have a plumb line from the bottom of the microwave to the wall base molding. I used my 4-foot plastic level to draw a line. I discovered my plastic level is bowed. So, it was useless. I would use the edging as my straight edge and use my torpedo level instead. I got the measurement to run the edging from the microwave to the wall base molding and went downstairs to make the cut. I returned upstairs, and the edging was too long. I don’t know how that happened. I used the edging as a guide and re-marked the new measurement. Back downstairs to do a re-cut. Back upstairs I went to install the edging.
Using the edging as a guide with my torpedo level, I drew a line from the microwave. I checked and rechecked to make sure I was plumb. Once I was satisfied, I ran a bead of silicone along the line and placed the edging into the silicone. Again, I lined up the edging to the line and pounded three nails to hold it in place. I then proceeded to push the stove back into place to see if the edging lined up with the side of the stove. Wow! Not only did the edging line up perfectly, but the edging was high enough so you could not see behind the stove. No need to add any tile behind the stove.
However, I was not done. I wanted to put some edging so it would be level with the countertop. It would allow me to run the tile across the back of the stove. Also, it would give me a level ledge to put my tile on. I measured the length that I needed and cut it to size. Again, I would use the edging as a straight edge to level it. My biggest concern was to make sure the edging lined up with the top of the countertop so the tile would flow evenly from the countertop to the edging.
I already put a bead of silicone on the wall. I placed the edging against the silicone, but the edging was too long. I measured it wrong again. I re-marked the measurement on the edging, wiped off the silicone, and went downstairs to re-cut it. Well, apparently, I did not get that right either. So, one more time. This time I used the table grinder to shave off a little. This time it fit. I leveled it off and put two nails to hold it in place.
The next day I removed the edging. I thought about it and I knew the edging was too high. When I checked, it was indeed too high. The edging came off easily, and one more time I reset it so it lined up with the countertop. I was ready to tile.