Ok, I have a VERY small kitchen and thought I could handle putting in a mosaic tile backsplash above countertop.

I very carefully pried a 4" high laminate backsplash off of the wall. All was fine except for 2 foot section where the old backsplash covered up a wood board, NOT drywall as on the other parts of the wall.

I had planned to use some joint compound on the other parts of the drywall to take care of some imperfections, but don't know how to handle the wood. It does not look like plywood, but just a wood board about 4" high. I am not skilled enough to remove it and put in drywall. What are my options?? BTW, this kitchen is at least 30 yrs old.

Thanks for ANY advice. Am hoping I can put the thinset right over this area...

 

I'm not a tile guy at all but I believe you should prime it first.

 

How flush is the wood to the surface of the adjoining drywall? If it is flush, and you are using a mastic, priming the wood and tiling would probably suffice. If it is set back, then you need to determine the setback and apply either mud or sheetrock to flush it to the other wall parts. You could also post a pix or two of this so we can see what you see. It may help with better answers. http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html
Oh, welcome to the forums!!

 

The main problems wil be, tiles not adhering to the wood surface and differential expansion.
You can overcome both of these problems by using a good quality flexible tile adhesive, and following instructions on the container. This may require a primer coating. These can be easily obtained from any specialist tile stores used by your local profesional tilers.