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Retile RV Kitchen To Improve Look And Durability

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

Most older model RVs don’t have faux tile around the sink area in the kitchen.

If your RV has wallpaper around the kitchen countertop, and you’d like to freshen things up a bit, you can install aftermarket tile yourself.

I did this to our RV about two years ago. It’s great stuff and looks so much better than the original wall paper.

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You don’t have to go buying a diamond saw and spending a fortune of time and money on installing the tile either. The tile product used in an RV isn’t the same as that used in a regular residential home or apartment.

RVs require tiles that are flexible, lightweight, and have their own pre-applied adhesive. They’re not really ‘real tiles’ at all – but they sure look like it!

You’ll find these tile sheets in big box stores and on the Internet, sometimes called Smart Tiles, peel and stick, or peel and impress tiles.

How to retile an RV kitchen using flexible, peel and stick tiles.

Video by RVtravel with Mark Polk of RV Education 101

Some rough guidelines to help in your installation:

  • Usually an RV backsplash area is around 15-20 square feet – make sure you buy enough and measure first. Take the width and height of the area, and multiply the numbers together to get the total square feet of tile you’ll need.
  • In the video, you’ll notice he scuffed the surface first with a rough cleaning pad. This helps the adhesive on the peel and stick tile grip the RV’s wall, making sure your tiles don’t come off over time.

One commenter wondered what’s the purpose of turning off the electrical power to your RV before beginning the tile installation.

You might need to remove light switch covers in the backsplash area, and it’s always a good idea not to have power to the outlet, just in case you happen to slip and get a small screwdriver jammed into the outlet opening!