Warning: my kitchen backsplash took 3 weekends instead of 2 days

I figured tiling a 20 square foot backsplash would be a quick weekend job. First day went fine laying the tile but cutting around the outlet boxes took me 4 hours because my wet saw kept wandering. Then the thinset said cure time was 24 hours but it was still soft after 2 days in my damp basement. By the time I grouted and sealed everything I was into my third Saturday. How long did your simple tile job actually take compared to what you planned?

3 comments

3 Comments

charlieh7412d ago

Jumped into my first tile job thinking it would be a weekend thing too, and I came out of it with the same lesson you did. In my experience, every home project has that hidden 60% nobody talks about, like how "replace a faucet" turns into a trip to the hardware store for a basin wrench and then another trip because you stripped the supply line nut. Your backsplash story fits a pattern I see everywhere, people plan based on the best case and forget that real life throws in curing time, tool trouble, and damp basements. I've started adding a buffer of half again as much time as I think it'll take, and I still end up surprised. Take this with a grain of salt, but I swear home improvement time estimates are written by aliens who don't own houses.

fisher.jessica12d ago

Watched my buddy try to hang a new front door last fall and it took him three weekends because of a hidden rot problem he didn't see until the old door was off, then he had to rebuild the whole frame. It's like houses are built by gremlins who hide problems in the walls just waiting for you to start something simple. I told him he should have just painted the old door and called it a day, but he kept saying "it's just a door" like that made any difference. When you factor in the four trips to Home Depot and the borrowed tools that didn't fit, he could have built a door from scratch in less time. Your aliens theory makes more sense than any contractor I've ever talked to, honestly.

torres.riley12d ago

That hidden 60% is real, I always double my time estimate and buy all materials before I start.