Recycled Cork Backsplash
Introduction: Recycled Cork Backsplash
I had a small, 4 foot long, unfinished backsplash in an area we refer to as a butler’s pantry. I had always thought it might be cool to do something more creative than standard tile in the area.
A couple years ago I had made a dart board backboard with wine corks for my father’s wine / game room, and I thought it had turned out really well. I had a few corks left from that project, and I had added a number more to my collection since then. I thought a wine cork backsplash might liven up my boring butler’s pantry, so 3 days ago, that is what I decided to do.
This was a pretty easy and relatively quick project. It took several hours for me to apply each cork individually, but it was definitely easily do-able in a weekend.
Supplies
Corks (LOTS) - see step 1 for calculating how many you’ll need
1/4 plywood, enough to cover the area of the backsplash
1 1/4” drywall screws to attach plywood to wall
Liquid Nails construction adhesive, Heavy Duty (I used less than two normal caulk-gun-sized tubes)
Circular or table saw
Dremel with wood cutter attachment
Drill with driver bit
Tape measure
Straight edge
Safety glasses
Step 1: Calculating How Many Corks You Need
It’s easy to see a bag full of corks and think, “I have a LOT of corks; I’m sure I have enough for this project.” But it’s very easy to over-estimate how many you have and to under-estimate how many you’ll need.
Start by counting what you have. For the best look, throw away any that are synthetic. After you have a count, start calculating approximately how many you’ll need.
To do this, I took 16 corks and laid them out in the basic pattern I wanted to use. Then I measured the length and width of the corks in their pattern. Then I calculated an area in square inches.
So for me, my rectangular pattern was about 7.25” long and 3.375” high. The calculated area is about 24.4 square inches.
Next I measured the area I wanted to apply corks to. It was about 46.75” by 17.75” so the calculated area was about 829.8 square inches.
Finally I divided the calculated area of the entire location I wanted to tile with the calculated area of my 16 corks. So for me this was 829.8 / 24.4 or 34. Then I took this number and multiplied it by the number of corks in my original sample (16). 443
The total, 544, gave me the approximate number of corks I was going to need.
You have to remember this number is not an exact amount. In all likelihood you will need a few more than this. 5-10 percent more is probably a safe number that will give you a fair amount of layout flexibility.
There are proponents of cutting corks in half to double the number of corks you have for projects. But if you have never tried it, cutting corks (especially lengthwise and ESPECIALLY older corks) with box cutters, knives, or power tools is not a particularly easy task. I very much recommend using whole corks for this project.
I had about 360 corks. And I knew I would need close to 200 more, so I ordered a set of 200 from eBay. I figured if I was still a few short after that, I could probably ask friends and family for extras.
I completed more than half of this project with my original 350 or so corks before the 200 ordered ones arrived. Looking back if I had not been in such a hurry to get started, then waiting for the 200 to arrive and mixing them with the ones I already had would have been smarter. As it is, The lower 60 percent of the wall is composed of nearly all American brand corks while the upper 40 percent is nearly all European. Something to consider for the next cork project. :)
Step 2: Preparing Your Underlayment
I made the decision to use quarter inch plywood behind my corks mainly because I knew that down the road if I got tired of it I could remove the whole thing without much trouble. All I would have to do is pull off some of the corks to expose the screws, unscrew it, and pull it out. Then I’d have a minimal number of tiny screw holes to patch. 56