Premium Black Mini
A backsplash we fabricate and install — see it in real kitchens below, then get your free quote.
Details
- Color
- black
Templated, fabricated, and installed by our own crew across the northwest suburbs.
How we do backsplash installation →
Free in-home quoteWhat kind of tile is Premium Black Mini?
We stock Premium Black Mini as slate, 4.5x16. Sierra Blue Mini and Silver Travertine Mini sit in the same style family if you want to compare. It reads black. Slate is dense natural stone with a cleft face, so the surface reads textured rather than flat.
Specs
What is on the spec sheet — nothing inferred.
- Color family
- Black
- Primary Color(s)
- Black
- Material Type
- Slate
- Grout Free
- Yes
- Environmental
- Greenguard Gold, USGBC/LEED
- Product type
- Hardscape
Sizes and finishes
How it is actually sold — measured off the spec sheet, not rounded.
Sizes
Premium Black Mini is made in a single size, 4.5x16. That makes layout simple — what you see in the sample is the module you get across the whole wall.
- 4.5x16
Finishes
It comes in one finish, split face.
- Split Face
What to expect once it is installed
The ratings that decide whether the finished wall matches the sample.
Grout free
No grout lines by design. That removes the thing most people end up scrubbing, and it puts the burden on a flat substrate instead — which we verify before quoting, not after.
Certifications
Certified Greenguard Gold · USGBC/LEED. Greenguard Gold is the stricter of the two Greenguard tiers, written around schools and healthcare. It can also contribute toward LEED credits if your project is chasing them.
How it gets into your kitchen
5 steps, 2–21 days end to end.
Select and order tile
Choose tile, pattern, and grout color; confirm stock. In-stock tile ships in days; special-order tile is the usual delay and can take two weeks or more.
Tip: Order 10-15 percent overage. A broken box or a bad cut without spare tile stalls the whole job; leftover tile is also your future repair kit.
Wall prep
Remove any old backsplash, repair and prime drywall, mark outlet moves and under-cabinet lighting wiring before anything is set.
Tip: This only happens after the countertops are installed — the tile has to land on the real counter line, and slab handling would endanger finished tile.
Set tile
Tile is laid out from the counter line and set in thinset mortar. Half a day for a simple subway field; up to two days for herringbone, mosaics, or full-wall runs. Mortar cures overnight before grouting.
Tip: Ask to see the dry layout before setting starts — centering on the range, how cuts fall at corners and outlets. Ten minutes here prevents the one flaw you will stare at forever.
Grout
After the overnight mortar cure: grout, clean, and tool the joints. Half a day to a day.
Tip: Grout color changes the pattern more than tile color — confirm the swatch against your actual set tile, not the showroom board.
Caulk and seal
Flexible silicone (never grout) at the counter-to-tile joint and inside corners; sealer on natural stone tile and cement grout.
Tip: The counter joint must be caulk because the counter and wall move independently — grout there cracks within a season. Check it annually and recaulk as needed.
What it costs installed
Published benchmark ranges, so you can sanity-check any quote — including ours.
| Line item | Typical range | Unit | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| GFCI outlet added during backsplash installation | $130–$300 | per project | 2023-11 |
| Kitchen backsplash project, tile (typical 30-40 sqft) | $500–$1,500 | per project | 2025-08 |
| Professional tile backsplash installation, all materials | $30–$75 | per sq ft | 2023-09 |
| Remove existing backsplash | $3–$6 | per sq ft | 2023-11 |
| Tile backsplash installed | $15–$40 | per sq ft | 2026-07 |
| Tile backsplash installed | $15–$45 | per sq ft | 2023-11 |
Regional benchmarks for the Chicago market — not an Ace quote. Your number depends on square footage, edge, cutouts and tear-out.
Sources: BobVila.com, 2023; Fixr, 2025; Inch Calculator, 2023; Angi
What to put next to it
Built from the color we measured off Premium Black Mini itself, not from its name.
Read off its own swatch, Premium Black Mini measures #56575A: mid, essentially neutral. We match that to Charcoal and build the pairings from there. Close enough to neutral that the cabinets get to make the decisions; this will follow them.
Hardware
- Warm Brass / Satin Gold — gold jewelry on gray flannel. Against this surface it is a step lighter, which lifts the surface without washing it out classic
- Copper — Copper pulls against charcoal like embers in ash, and every fingerprint just speeds the living patina you were going to want anyway.. Against this surface it is a step lighter, which lifts the surface without washing it out current
- Matte Black (Metal) — tonal, hardware disappears into the mass. Against this surface it is a step darker — enough separation to read as two materials solid
Countertop
- White Veined (Marble-Look) — inverted tuxedo — dark base, light top. Against this surface it is much lighter, so the cabinets carry the room and this recedes classic
Island
- Natural / White Oak — dark perimeter with a wood island keeps it livable. Against this surface it is a step lighter, which lifts the surface without washing it out current
Cabinets
- Warm White / Ivory — A charcoal island anchored by warm white perimeter is the combination clients stop questioning after year five — it simply never dates because it never trended.. Against this surface it is much lighter, so the cabinets carry the room and this recedes classic
Similar surfaces
Same family — worth seeing side by side before you commit.
Questions about Premium Black Mini
Answered from this product’s own spec sheet and our measurement of it.
What size is Premium Black Mini?
Premium Black Mini comes in one size, 4.5x16. One module across the whole wall keeps the layout simple — what you approve in the sample is what you get.
What color is Premium Black Mini, really?
We measured its own swatch at #56575A — mid and essentially neutral. It sits close to neutral, so it takes direction from the cabinets rather than fighting them. Names are marketing; that number is what the camera saw.
What is Premium Black Mini made of?
Premium Black Mini is a slate tile, which is what decides how it is cared for — see the sealing answer below.
Does Premium Black Mini need sealing?
Yes. Slate wants a sealer to keep it from taking on stains, and it will show water spotting near a sink until it is sealed.
Does Premium Black Mini need grout?
No — it is designed to be set without grout lines. That installs faster and leaves nothing to discolor, but the substrate has to be genuinely flat. We check that before we quote, not after.
Questions about this surface
Can I install a tile backsplash myself?
Of the three projects, this is the most DIY-friendly: small area, no structural stakes, forgiving timeline. The skills that separate good from regrettable are layout planning around outlets and edges, straight cuts (rent a wet saw), consistent spacing, and clean grout work - and buy 10 to 15 percent extra tile for cuts and breakage. Professional labor runs roughly $5 to $20 per square foot if you decide midway that a flawless finish matters more than the savings.
Can I install my own backsplash, or should I hire a tile setter?
A straight running-bond or stacked ceramic backsplash is one of the most DIY-friendly tile jobs in a house - small format, no water exposure like a shower, and you save roughly $10-15 per square foot in labor. Hand it to a pro when the job involves glass tile (visible adhesive and cut edges), natural stone (sealing, blade chatter, breakage), herringbone or diagonal layouts (compounding alignment errors), large-format panels, or any slab product, which is fabricator work full stop. Whoever installs it, outlets are the tell: sloppy cuts around receptacles are the first thing a trained eye notices.
Ceramic or porcelain - does the difference actually matter on a backsplash?
Less than the sales pitch suggests. Porcelain’s advantages - density, near-zero water absorption, chip resistance - matter most on floors; a backsplash never gets walked on, so glazed ceramic holds up fine for decades there. Choose on looks and price, with two caveats: porcelain is the better canvas for convincing marble and brick looks, and ceramic is markedly easier to cut if you are DIYing.
Do I have to tear out the old backsplash, or can new tile go over it?
Tiling over existing tile is technically possible on a sound, flat installation, but most professionals recommend removal: doubling up adds thickness that crowds electrical outlets, window trim, and the counter joint. Removal typically costs $3 to $6 per square foot and often takes chunks of drywall with it, so expect a wall-repair line on the quote - that is normal, not padding.
Words that show up on a quote
Sixteen terms fabricators use as if everyone knows them.
- Mohs hardness
- A 1-10 mineral hardness scale used to compare countertop scratch resistance. Marble sits around 3-4 (scratches easily), granite 6-7, quartz and quartzite about 7, porcelain 7-8. A steel knife blade is roughly 5.5 — materials above that resist kitchen-knife scratches.
- Apron-front sink
- Also called a farmhouse sink: a deep bowl whose front face is exposed, replacing a strip of the cabinet front. Requires a modified, reinforced sink base - fireclay and cast iron versions commonly weigh 100-200 lb - and a countertop cut that wraps three sides of the bowl instead of a simple oval.
- Arris
- The sharp line where two surfaces of a countertop meet, such as the top and the edge face. Easing the arris means softening that line slightly so it resists chipping and feels smooth.
- Dolomitic marble
- A calcium-magnesium stone frequently sold as "soft quartzite" or under names like "super white." It looks like quartzite but etches and scratches like marble. Verify any quartzite purchase with a lemon-juice test on a sample: true quartzite will not etch.
- Edge grain
- Butcher-block construction where boards are glued with their long edges up, showing parallel strips of grain. More stable and affordable than end grain (the checkerboard of growth rings used on chopping blocks) and the standard construction for wood countertops.
- Edge profile
- The shape a fabricator grinds and polishes into the exposed front edge of a countertop - from a plain eased square to decorative curves like ogee. It affects style, chip resistance, cleaning effort, and price.
- Engineered quartz
- A factory-made slab of roughly 90% ground natural quartz mineral bound with ~10% polymer resin and pigments. Non-porous and never needs sealing, but the resin limits heat and UV tolerance. Sold under brands like Cambria, Silestone, Caesarstone, and LG Viatera.
- Etching
- A dull, slightly rough mark left when acid (lemon, vinegar, wine, some cleaners) chemically dissolves the polished surface of a calcium-based stone like marble. Etching is not a stain: sealer cannot prevent it, and removing it requires re-polishing the stone.
- Laminated edge
- An edge thickened by gluing a second strip of matching stone flat beneath the front edge, doubling the apparent slab thickness; the glue line remains visible on the edge face.
- Mitered edge
- An edge built from two stone pieces each cut at 45 degrees and epoxied so the seam hides at the corner, making thin stone read as a much thicker slab.
- Ogee
- An S-shaped decorative edge profile: a concave sweep on top flowing into a convex curve below. A classic choice for traditional and formal kitchens.
- Sink gauge
- The thickness of the steel in a stainless sink; lower numbers mean thicker metal. 16 gauge is about 0.063 in (1.59 mm) and resists dents and noise best; 18 gauge is about 0.047 in (1.2 mm) and is the value standard for residential bowls. Thinner than 18 gauge, flex and drumming become noticeable.
- Sink reveal
- The amount of sink rim left visible at an undermount cutout. A positive reveal leaves a sliver of rim showing (forgiving to fabricate, the common default); a zero or flush reveal aligns counter and bowl edges exactly (precision work that costs more); a negative reveal overhangs the bowl (sleek, but the thin lip can chip and the hidden rim traps grime). The reveal is set permanently when the countertop is cut.
- Sintered stone
- A slab made by compacting mineral powders and clays under extreme pressure and heat ("sintering") until the particles fuse — no resin binder. Heat-proof, UV-stable, and non-porous; Dekton and Neolith are the best-known brands. Often grouped with porcelain slab countertops.
- Stone sealer
- A penetrating liquid applied to porous natural stone (granite, quartzite, marble) and concrete that slows liquid absorption so spills can be wiped before they stain. Wears off with use — most stones need resealing every 6-24 months. A quick test: if water stops beading and starts darkening the stone, it is time.
- Waterfall edge
- A countertop treatment where the surface turns 90 degrees and continues down the side of an island or cabinet run to the floor, usually with mitered, book-matched corners.
Want this in your kitchen?
We supply and install Premium Black Mini out of our Elk Grove Village shop — templated digitally, cut to your cabinets, installed by our own crew.
Ready for a real number?
Free in-home template and an honest quote — you keep your money until there's a countertop to trade it for.