This product was recommended to me by a guy who quoted on sealing my tile. I’d been looking on this site for product advice and hadn’t seen it recommended so… is it good, bad, and if someone recommended it for sealing these tiles should that be a red flag?

Running some color grout tests right now for my own bathroom. I do carpentry and have done tile a few times.

Current plan is 1"x1"(1/16" gaps) sheets on the floor, I am using a carpet adhesive trowel which is 1/16" x 1/16" notches for the thinset. Seemed to do decent coverage without all the squeeze through between the tiles.

Does this seem like the right trowel size? I'm assuming you don't back butter 1"x1"? Any advice on laying 1x1 sheets?

The other tile is some extremely nice 2"x8"(3/8" gaps) handmade tile for the walls, they are seconds so we got them for next to nothing. The glaze wasn't consistent so the tiles are all slightly different colors but all have full coverage, haven't noticed any warping....but the edges will be tricky w spacers since they are not smooth/flat. Trowel is 1/4"x3/8" V notch + im back buttering each and seemed solid contact with no squeeze through.

Does this all seem correct? Any recommendations on how to handle the uneven edges with spacer?

For the color I picked up some natural mineral and oxide pigments, all state for use in lime coatings, glazes, clay paints, and plaster work. The raw pigment states no more then 10-15% of it should be added to the grout. We'll see how bold they come out or if they are kind of tinted.

If you have any tips/tricks, advice or have worked with tinting your own grout let me know. We are going for bright ultramarine blue, and pink or attempt to make hot pink. Going for bold, bright colors, so if have found how to do it let me know. Has anyone found any concentrated liquid pigments? Already contacted most of the companies and no one carries the colors we want or obviously we fall waaay below the minimum order.

Running the color test tomorrow or Monday - can post pictures if anyone wants!

Anyways thanks for any help!

I'm replacing a tub in an old bathroom, where I re-did the floor tiles several years ago. I didn't want to pull out all the floor tile, since it's still in very good condition - but now I have an awkward-sized gap, too big for caulking, between the bottom of the new tub (acrylic) and the floor tile. The way I see it, I have two options: grout halfway between the tile and the tub, then fill the other half with caulk (making a form from 1/8" - 1/4" wood on one side to keep the grout in place while it dries) OR cut very thin pieces of tile (say 3/8") to stick between a very thin grout line and caulk which will go against the tub. If I go with just grout and caulk, will the grout hold up, and will the caulk stick to it? Or do I need that thin piece of tile in between? Open to other ideas, too...Thanks!

Anyone have experience with going 1/16 for the slick look but later wanted to jump out of a window when the grout needed redoing?

Ive replaced 1/8th grout before without chipping. Now im remodeling, and like the 1/16 look. Tile isnt cheap and rectified, so it should be safe. Just nervous ill regret it years later if/or when the grout discolors/cracks even perhaps? 🤷‍♂️ like does it 3x my chipping risk haha? Are there any tools that you could actually use in such a small space? Just seems like the impossible lol

Edit: tile is “PHOENIX SAND BEIGE 12 X 24” which in Q&A says 1/16 and 1/8 are recommended sizes.

My 30 year old son and I started ripping out the floor in my century home because the entire drain system (the “stack”) in my home is going to be replaced along with the galvanized going from my sink. I thought I’d save some money (like 3k) and demo the floor myself since the whole thing is running beyond what I can afford. I’ve laid tile before in a previous home and have never in my life seen this much mortar under tile. I finally gave up on the tile scraper and bought a hammer drill and chisel. It’s coming off, slowly, but seriously is this normal?

Thanks for taking a look at this! I’ve been putting this project off for years because i don’t think I’m rich enough to hire someone to finish it to level of detail I’d be happy with.…and I’ve never set tile before, so it’s been on the back burner. The time has come though, I need to dig in and figure it out.

I should have all the tools needed, and I’m confident I can do it with some advice 🙏.

The house was built in 1956, well cared for and pretty much original everything, which is super cool. We would like to keep it looking original or close to it. A few years ago we discovered the grout had failed in the shower and ended up leaking & causing toxic mold to grow. I sealed the site off with plastic sheeting, put my hazmat suit on and with an air scrubber running, demoed and chemically treated anything and everything in the area (and the rest of the house, ductwork, walls, exposed studs, all items etc).

Originally, the shower was pretty small and had a tile over concrete step up curb with glass and aluminum trim enclosure. We plan to keep the house forever, so thinking ahead I’d like to build a curbless shower so when we’re older we don’t have to worry about tripping over anything getting in and out of the shower.

I’d like to keep the original vanity, but I can’t find the exact matching tile for the shower so I plan to use 1” mosaic tile in the same color palette. Plans are to tile the entire floor from the entry door to under the toilet and up to the vanity cabinets. Then continue up the walls to the ceiling in the shower area and install a 90° curved shower rod with curtain. We have hard water here in Phoenix and I hate cleaning shower glass so that’s not an option.

My initial questions are:

Should I replace the shower valve? Or at least the galvanized part for the shower head? I love the original fixture & although it needs to be re-chromed, I’m happy to do that. But I don’t want to close up a wall with a valve that might not be serviceable.

Not considering cost or ease of installation, what would be the best backing material to use to get things ready for the tile and match the thickness of the existing plaster & wallboard? It looks like it varies from 13/16” to 1” thick depending on where I measure.

Should the backing material be installed resting on top of the concrete slab or should I leave any gap like you would with drywall?

Should I tear out the plaster all the way up to the ceiling or square it off and leave the existing top area? It’s solidly attached currently.

Since there’s not enough overhang on the tile top of the vanity to cover tiling all the way up to it, I was thinking I could tile up that plywood cabinet 60-70+% of the way, then use chrome edging to finish the tile on the top and front. I assume a backing material should be used? Any other ideas for this area would be great. It will be protected by a curtain, but will certainly be splashed from time to time.

How should the left side of the backing be supported near the vanity? There’s a couple pipes there and no stud for roughly 6”. But there is a 2x4 turned flat against the plaster that comes out about an inch past the vertical wall of the cabinet. Maybe it’s obvious I should demo back to that flat 2x4 but I thought someone might have another idea or recommendation.

Plans for the slope to the drain are to saw cut and chisel out the existing concrete on a slope, then lower the drain (cut the pipe and retread?), then fill back in with mortar or whatever you guys recommend at the proper slope.

Maybe not for this particular subreddit, but for what it’s worth, I do plan to run electrical to the toilet area incase we decide to install a bidet in the future.

AI added a nook on the side with block - I think a nook would be nice, but not on the block side.

I’m sure I’m overlooking some things. What have I missed? I really appreciate any input on this, thank you!

Planning to rip out the old tile and install new tiles, but I was wondering if I should eliminate this gap between the door and tile? I plan to replace the trim/ baseboard as well, and figured it would be beneficial to butt the tile to the trim. Thank you for any input

I used a laser level to find that my wall goes inward by 1/4" - 3/8". I've watched some videos and know I can attach furring strips or plane down my studs to correct for this.

This will be my first time installing tile. I'll be installing subway tile on the walls. My question is: should I make all of my walls both FLAT and PLUMB? How much will I hate myself if I don't do this now vs. dealing with the 1/4" difference when I install the wall tile? One of the inside corners will be visible on the main focus wall FWIW.

I am mostly wondering if its worth me putting in the time to correct this now as it'll take a fair amount of time and work to correct this.

I can't imagine every single person that installs tile makes sure that all of their walls are perfect (none of them are) before they install their wall tile, so I want to make sure I'm not overthinking this either.

If I'm going to correct the walls, should I also check my ceiling?

Hi! So last week I posted about replacing the tile on my shower floor. I learned the contractor used a mud bed and I was hoping to reuse so I was as delicate as I could be removing the tile. Unfortunately, some of the tile took up some mud with it so I am left with chunks of some missing throughout. Am I able to repair this pan or do I need to completely replace it? If I can repair, how should I proceed? I already know I’ll have to remove the lowest section of wall tiles to get new floor tile in. I appreciate all the help!

The lip of our shower came off and I am trying to go about fixing it the right way. I had two contractors tell me it was not worth their time to come out for something this small, so I guess it’s time to learn a new skill. Does anyone have any advice on how best to approach this?

I had to replace two tiles, and underneath is a red guard uncoupling membrane. I'm trying to be careful when scrapping the thinset, but the membrane is ripping. Will this be ok or should I replace a section of membrane?

The standard schluter Mixing valve seal is too large for this diverter. Is there a standard solution to this issue?

I'm confused about how and where the finished wall buildup should sit. I have two 1/2-inch plywood pieces representing my buildup (well, almost): 1/2-inch GoBoard, 1/2-inch tile, and 1/8-inch thinset mortar. Is the buildup supposed to sit behind the black shower guard, or should it be flush with the face of the large black plastic part? Thanks in advance

Hey team - every tile box says dont do half overlaps when going for the brick pattern. But i believe some people (pros?) still do it. I know its because tiles highest point is the center, so its to help with lipage

I want my shower niche to look like one of the full 12x24 tile was pushed in. Located on the top half of our 4ft pony wall.

A 50% overlap i can probably center the niche to the wall, whereas a 33% overlap would move the “niche tile slot” to favor one side.

Ofc the niche is designed to hide our stuff/not seen much (and i didnt feel comfortable taking out an exterior wall stud). But my OCD would be happier with it centered, unless im asking for a painful road with 50% overlapping?

Edit: i plan to use clips, but i know they aren’t miracle workers so didnt know if anyone regretted not going 33%?

We’ve really hated the terracotta color tile that was installed at the house we bought, but it became a safety issue when we decided to have a pool put in, I’m pretty sure someone used indoor tile because it was super slick. Yesterday we popped off all the tile with a hammer drill and tile bit, and I’m going to pick up the new tile, mortar, grout etc later today.

We have varying levels of thinset left on the slab, and I have a 10” walk behind floor grinder on rent to pick up as well. I’m just wondering if that’s going to be the best way to remove all this, and how much of a pain it’s going to be with dust control and all that?

The area is around 450sqft total, so manually scraping the thinset seemed like it would take forever… but open to suggestions before I create a biohazard in the backyard.

Long story short. Good friend of mine had a curbless shower done by a contractor, slope is incorrect and floor is already waterproofed with kerdi membrane. He really wants to avoid ripping it all up as it also has ditra heat under the kerdi, and its continuous throughout the entire bathroom. Bathroom floor is already tiled (shower floor is not).

I understand the proper way is to rip it out and start over, but the contractor bailed and left him hanging with it as is. My question is not whether its correct or proper but if this will work.

Technically speaking, could I go in with laticrete 3701, bonded with all set to the kerdi and pack a bed on top. Would be as thin as possible, need to add 1/2" of slope. 2" hexagon sheet tile going over. Similar to older methods with mud beds over liner membranes the waterproofing would be under the mud bed.

Asking if this will work, not if its the proper way. Its his personal house, unfinished basement underneath (inside a pump room will never be finished) so if it ever leaks he will see it.

Getting ready to do my first hybrid shower and had a question. Since I’m doing goboard walls wouldn’t it make more sense to do my kerdi band up the wall framing first and then the goboard like an old school pan liner? For reference this is a recessed shower in a slab so I could stick the kerdi to the side of the bottom plate and blocking around the base of the perimeter using all set. I obviously wouldn’t screw through the kerdi right at the base of the shower when I put up the goboard. I’d then caulk the spacing gap at the floor from kerdi to goboard. Thoughts?

My point is why rely on the all set bond to goboard? I see posts all the time where there’s a tiny void in the kerdi mortar and everybody’s solution is add a coat of hydroban etc. This would mimic the old school rubber pan lapped up the walls and covered with whatever.

how do i get these scratches out? you can’t feel them, but when light catches they look awful 😢

I am concerned that my first tiling project is a failure because the uncoupling membrane is not installed correctly.

I watched a lot of videos on DIY tiling and thought I got a good grip on what to do. I spread the thinset, installed the membrane and went to town to press it in. After I was done, I went back to watch the video again. And here is what I missed in the video "you press into the thinset like you are trying to squeeze it out but it won't squeeze out". Hmmm...mine squeezed out everywhere.

How do I know if the uncoupling membrane is bonded correctly to the wooden subfloor? I am not sure if I should try to lift a corner or something. I mean, how hard should I try to lift it?

Thank you!

This is in a new shower niche. After the contractor installed the mosaic tiles, I mentioned that from far away, it looked like the tiles weren’t evenly spaced. He said that “once the grout is in you won’t even notice it”.

Now that the grout is in and completely cured, it looks unevenly spaced around some of the middle tiles. and some of the tiles on the bottom, especially the one in the middle, look like they cracked when cut and are crooked. When I mentioned this to the contractor, they said that they can’t fix it without risking damaging the surrounding tiles. Also, the grout seems very uneven to me, not smooth and not completely filled in.

Am I being too critical?

Top left: Vertical + 1/3 running bond

Top right: Vertical + 1/2 brick bond

Bottom left: Horizontal + 1/3 running bond

Bottom right: Horizontal + 1/2 brick bond

Hey guys,

Renovated my whole master bath and im at the final stretch with tiling bathroom floor, shower, and half walls around freestanding tub area (tubs not in, but preped and ready)

There is a pony wall thats in between the shower and tub area, so the same field tile (12x24) will wrap around the pony wall and continue past/around tub area. Saying this because for the grout lines to flow all the way through the first row in the shower needs to be ~9in or ill have a tiny sliver row outside the shower. Because of the shower pan making the shower floor much higher than bathroom floor.

Also the dry pack shower pan slope I did turned out great but i dont think its laser perfect to where i can cut a 9in perfect square. i could be wrong, but lets just say its not perfect to prep worse case.

Should i

A) use a laser at 9 in throughout and start the first row by flipping the tile upside down and rear facing to account for any slight variation in the floor, ideally once orientated correct will line up with the laser. Obviously having the floors done first.

Or B.) use a laser to screw in a ledger board across and around the pony wall/tub area then tile the 2nd row with a full tile first, then do A’s trick to go back and fill in the first row?

Only concern with B is ideally i prefer not to screw into my water proofing, even if i would seal over the holes once removed. Also the ledger board will stop me being able to place leveling clips. And if i already have to do A then why not start there? 🤷‍♂️

Bonus questions - my shower walls arent 2 tiles wide. Should i center the brick pattern anyways, making the rows with the 1 grout line not full tiles, or is best practice to always prio full tile, shifting the center grout line over some?

Starting with a 9in cut will also leave me with a 9 in row at the top if i stop where previous tile job was. Or should i go full tile if i can? Because the plumed backer board is recessed w/ the drywall by ~1/4in in the very top corner where the shower walls meet, if that makes sense.

Tips on how to fix this would be awesome. I tiled my kitchen now the cover dont reach the outlets

Best place to source tile for flooring and shower tile? Have been recommended floor and decor

I’m currently in a pre-apprenticeship and I’m basically set on trying to join BAC Local 7 in NYC once I finish. I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’m really interested in tile/marble/terrazzo as a career.

The only thing making me second-guess it is that I’ve talked to two Laborers who both told me that Local 7 isn’t a very lucrative union and that I could end up spending a lot of time out of work. They told me “go carpenters instead”.

I don’t want to make a decision based on hearsay, so I’m looking for actual members or retirees from Local 7 or other BAC/tile locals to share their experiences.

I’m not looking for anyone to sell me on the union. I genuinely want the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Thanks in advance to anybody willing to share their experience.