I finally finished tiling my kitchen backsplash after 3 months

So I started this little project back in June thinking it would take a weekend. Ha. Three months later I just grouted the last tile last night and honestly I'm shocked I actually stuck with it. I did maybe two rows a week because I kept messing up the cuts around the outlets and had to redo them. The total square footage was only like 18 feet but I bet I used twice the tile I needed because of all the waste. The best part is my wife walked in while I was cleaning off the haze and just said "it doesn't look crooked" which is basically a trophy in this house. Has anyone else had a small diy job turn into a months long thing or was it just me being stubborn?

3 comments

3 Comments

flores.mark12d ago

Yeah the "caulk is peeling" comment made me laugh too. I had a buddy who took 5 months to hang a single interior door because he kept cutting the hinges wrong and had to keep ordering new ones.

aaronroberts12d ago

Man I feel that wife comment in my bones. My girlfriend walked past my half finished bathroom reno for four months straight and the only thing she ever said was "the caulk is peeling" on day one. But really I gotta ask - did you use a wet saw or one of those manual tile cutters? Because I tried the manual one on some subway tile and the corners kept chipping and I almost threw the thing through the window.

troyc1712d agoMost Upvoted

Manual tile cutters are trash for subway tile edges unless you score them perfect and snap clean on the first try. I used a wet saw with a continuous rim blade, set the fence once and ran them through like butter. Zero chipping, even on the bullnose pieces. If you're stuck with the manual cutter, try putting blue painter's tape along the cut line before you score it. It'll keep the glaze from cracking out on the corners.