How Long Does MusselBound Last? Durability & Longevity Guide

When we decided to use MusselBound Adhesive Tile Mat in our kitchen backsplash project rather than using traditional thinset, one of the most common questions we were asked is “how long does Musselbound last?”

Obviously, fresh out of the pack, we had nothing but a hope and a dream that it wouldn’t start peeling off. But because I haven’t seen a ton of people updating about how their Musselbound projects are holding up, I’m here to tell you that two years later, mine is perfectly fine!

What is Musselbound?

To backtrack, Musselbound is a sticky tile adhesive mat that’s used in place of thinset for tile applications. It’s as easy as it sounds – you just stick one side onto the wall, peel away the protective film on the front, and stick your tile in place (side note: this isn’t sponsored, just sharing our experiences with it because we’re asked about it all the time)

We first used Musselbound just over two years ago when we added a subway tile backsplash to our last house’s kitchen. Since then, we’ve used it on our current kitchen’s backsplash as well.

The product directions say you can use it in showers, too, if you use their seam tape along with it to make the whole thing waterproof but personally I’m a bit nervous about that so I’ve just stuck with backsplashes that are a little safer.

So, how long does Musselbound last?

Anyway, we went back to the old house recently when our tenants moved out and we prepped the house for sale, and the tiles are all still super solid. I gave the backsplash a good clean and couldn’t find any cracking or peeling, or any spots that felt loose in any way – it looked just the same as when we installed it!

We’ve found Musselbound to be a great tool for the kinds of tiling projects where you may not be able to knock it all out in one go (which is common for us with little kids around), or when you don’t want to make a huge mess.

Musselbound pros and cons:

PROS

• No mess
• Beginner-friendly
• Easy to do over time (i.e. no rushing because your thinset is drying out)
• Long-lasting
• You can grout right away without waiting a day

CONS

• More expensive than thinset
• Tiles all need to be very dry, which means waiting if you’ve used a wet tile saw
• Once they’re stuck, they’re stuck so you can’t shift pieces once they’re already on like you can with thinset
• Surface needs to be really smooth and clean for the mat to stick properly

Overall, I’m a big Musselbound fan and for us, it’s held up so well two years later.

Updating a backsplash is a relatively easy way to make a big difference in a kitchen (especially if there isn’t tile in the original kitchen like was the case in this kitchen) and using Musselbound especially makes it much more approachable for beginners or someone who doesn’t want to have to buy a wet tile saw and trowel and some of the other tools you’d need for a more traditional tiling project.

Damn, Musselbound really should be paying me for this!

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