![]() Make sure you have plenty of sponges, water, rags, etc. You can lay out your first row dry to make sure it looks good - you don't want to have 1/10 of a tile left on one end and a full piece to start, it can look poor. If you are using bigger tile and need to cut only the middle out of a tile, you will probably need to buy some diamond tip hole saws (for your drill) or get tricky with trying to reverse plunge cut on your wet saw. If you need to cut out the middle portion for an outlet, to look like a "U", you make multiple cuts to the proper depth and the small thin strips of tile left will just snap off at the proper cut depth. I like to cut most tile with a score and snap (not natural stone, wet saw all the way), but use a wet saw for multiple cuts, especially around outlets. If you go with other tile, most cabinets are 18" above counter height (though definitely measure - I install mine at 19" for personal use) so if you have bigger tile, make sure you space it out so you don't have small cut offs at the top or bottom. Otherwise, look for spacers that match the tile width you want. If you go with subway tile, you probably won't use spacers, they usually have built in tabs for 1/16 space for grout. ![]() Thinset needs to be mixed and will set more quickly, so you have to work fast or mix smaller batches. Though, mastic is very easy to work with and gives you plenty of working time. I prefer thinset due to it not having issues with water. Of course if you find an imperfection in the wall half way through adhesive, your choices are bad looking tile or tearing it out and starting over, where as with most you can use creativity to fix the variance. The advantage is that it's uniform depth makes it slightly easier to lay backsplash assuming your wall is already perfectly flat as you can ignore a dimension. It's less reliable, generally more expensive, and doesn't teach you an incredibly cool skill. Others mentioned this, but I would never use adhesive. Go slow, take your time, and you will have something wonderful to be proud of.Īnd for a first timer use cheaper tiles, as you will make many cutting mistakes, regardless of method. Remember that good tile work requires precision in 3 dimensions, and that fixing a bad job takes vastly longer than doing it right the first time. Never found this super helpful, but all things else equal it probably won't hurt. I have heard a recommendation to use a mortar that is a different color from your grout so you can easily see if you made a gap in the grout. It doesn't have to be far off, but at least a line of spacers is absolutely necessary (you will caulk this and it will look great while giving flex room). I also see lots of bad saw work, though it can be better for certain hard cuts (making u's in a tile with snips is rough).ĭon't tile all the way to any surface - and especially not your countertop. I rather enjoy using snappers and nippers instead of a saw. You can post pictures of your project, materials etc., and ask questions. Head over to the John Bridge forums if you want help from the pros for free. Still managed to sell it for close to that afterwards. We bought one used for $40 and it owed us nothing after a number of projects. ![]() ![]() You might also find a used one on craigslist for not very much $. Well worth the rental fee for a professional look. Use a tile saw (wet saw) and not a tile cutter. ![]() Then you'll need to choose sanded or unsanded grout depending on the size of the space between the tiles you would never want to use sanded grout if the spaces are less than 1/8". Use the spacers as temporary inserts by placing them perpendicular to the wall (i.e., with only one nib between the tiles) and then removing them once the mortar has dried. You'll also need to use spacers between the rows so that you can get some grout in there. It resides on a top shelf of my garage when not in use and takes up very little space.Īs others have said, start from the bottom up when tiling. The other reason I like this saw is its compact size. To use it to trim around an outlet, I cut the straight edges first, angle the tile so I can cut away the bulk of the waste in-between and then just use the front edge of the blade to gently nibble back to the cut line that is perpendicular to the blade. While it doesn't have all the creature comforts of a larger more expensive saw, this has seen me through two houses full of tiling projects. Nobody looks up underneath the cabinet unless they are looking their for a reason.įor smaller DIY projects, I highly recommend the linked wet tile saw. Like the other poster said, start with the counter and work up. It is so cheap and simple to use and will hold for the life of the tile. I too wouldn't rely on any sort of self adhesive in any situation. ![]()
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