Kitchen Backsplash prep

[adhof]

I'm tiling my kitchen backsplash, so I pulled off the laminate that covered the wall. The wall underneath is in pretty bad shape with lots of hard to get off glue and chipping plaster. (See photo). I guess I should have left the laminate on. How smooth does the surface have to be before I tack on the backerboard? Should I just try patching it with spackle or should I sawzall off the whole wall (sheetrock or plaster, I can't really tell) and replace it with drywall and then backerboard?

Thanks,
Adam

[bbcamp]

Adam, cut out the wall board and replace it with more wallboard (sheetrock). There's no need for backerboard on a backsplash. Removing the old and replacing it with new sheetrock wil be the quickest way to prep for tile.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

With a lot of thick old glue, I'd replace the drywall as well. It's quick and easy. Just keep the sawzall tipped on a shallow angle to barely cut through the thickness of the wall. This will keep you from accidentally cutting into any electrical or plumbing hiding behind the walls.

[ceramictec]

Just keep the sawzall tipped on a shallow angle to barely cut through the thickness of the wall. This will keep you from accidentally cutting into any electrical or plumbing hiding behind the walls.

good tip TG.

sounds like a nice job for a Dremel or RotoZip.