Tried to tile my bathroom backsplash and ended up with a wavy disaster

Spent last Saturday tiling the wall behind my sink in my condo, used a level and spacers but somehow the tiles started shifting as I went. Now I've got this wavy line near the top that's driving me nuts, probably from the thinset drying too fast in the heat. Anyone had luck fixing a tile line without pulling everything off?

3 comments

3 Comments

owens.laura12d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain so hard! I tried tiling my laundry room floor last summer and the same thing happened to me. I was sweating buckets because the AC wasn't working, and by the time I got to the last row, the thinset was crusting over within minutes. The tiles just wouldn't stay put and I ended up with this wonky line that looked like a roller coaster track. For yours, I'd try grouting it first to see if the waviness is less noticeable once the grout is in. If it's still bugging you, a good tile guy told me you can sometimes pop off the worst few tiles and redo just that section without wrecking the whole thing. Did you use a beating block to tap them all even while the thinset was still wet?

lisab3212d ago

Holding the spray bottle tip is good but nobody mentioned checking your tile itself for warping. I bought a box of subway tiles from a big box store last year and like every fourth tile had a slight bow in it. If you lay them flat on the counter you can spot them but standing up on the wall they just keep shifting. You can still use them but you gotta mix them in with the straight ones or put the worst ones up high where it's less noticeable. Might be worth taking a level to the tiles you haven't used yet before you pull anything off.

garcia.cameron12d ago

The thinset drying too fast is the real culprit here, especially if the AC was off. I've found that misting the wall with a spray bottle before applying thinset can buy you a few extra minutes. Popping off just the top row of wonky tiles and resetting them with fresh thinset is totally doable, just be careful not to break the ones below. Grout will hide some waviness but probably not all of it, so the targeted fix is your best bet.

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