My wife decided we need to tile the backsplash area before family visits in a couple weeks. Its not very big, about 15 feet of counter top total. We watched some videos and saw people using peel and stick adhesive. Not self adhesive tile, but its 12x12 sheets of glue with wax paper on both sides. Instead of spreading glue, you peel one side off and stick it to the wall. Once you have your tile ready, peel off the other sheet and stick the tiles on the wall. They claim its as good as or even better than traditional adhesives.
Pros: easy, no mess
can work slowly-no open time to worry about
Cons: questionable integrity (no experience with this peel and stick adhesive)
Instant stick means no repositioning

Has anyone here used this stuff?

 

You probably already know that all those "easy" short cuts come with a downside like the tiles pulling off etc.

Best material is mortar, I would not even recommend mastic as I tried it on a very small back splash, total of 6' and it was PITA so I can just imagine how these new and easy sheets must be!

 

that kind of says it all.

 

Yeah...
Can you recommend what to use? Consider my house is very old and there could be movement over time. Would mortar be prone to cracking and dropping tiles?
Is mastic basically glue? I'm imagining something like the yellow glue we used to lay a sheet of vinyl. If so, shouldn't that hold tighter and help to isolate any movement?

 

Any of your premixed thinsets would work fine. They are a lot like mastic and work fine for small tiles. You don't want to use it for large format floor tile but for a wall that isn't in a wet area it's fine. Read the instructions and select the right notch trowel for the size of your wall tile. They make ones that are little throw away for small projects.

 

Premix thinset is perfect for backsplash installs. It is inexpensive and easy to use and you wont have to be concerned about tiles falling off.