Doing subway tile backsplash, curious about where to start and what to do with my inside corners
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Hi all, doing a backsplash right after Christmas when I have time off, just planning my layout now. I'm running exactly 99 inches in one direction and the other is 103, maybe 103 1/8 - I'm running to existing door trim and the trim isn't perfectly straight. My tiles are 3x6 subway tile. With my 1/16 spacer, each tile starts at exactly a 6 inch interval.
My questions:
With 1 side being a perfect whole tile plus half tile for my layout and the other being off by an inch, should I start and build out of my corner with a perfect offset leaving one side dead on and slivers at the other end? Or am I best to start in the middle, working outward and have my inside corner have the slivers? Alternatively I could try to find a larger tile edge trim piece, but I think trying to cover an inch with trim will be really tough and look odd.
Just curious what you guys would recommend?
I recently moved into a flipped home and wanted to put in a backsplash. I have no experience with tiling, but I spent a ton of time watching YouTube videos and researching.
Project: About ~51 square feet to tile. I chose basic 3x6 subway tile because I am inexperienced and it is cheap. I ended up purchasing about ~70 square feet of tile (I can return the left overs). I bought the ceramic tile from Floor n Decor - total cost was about $92.
I also bought: a tile cutter ($41), unsanded grout ($37), tile adhesive ($30), as well as 1/16 spacers, grout float, adhesive applicator I can’t remember the name of, sponges, a bucket, and caulk. Total all in (at that point) was $300.
About a quarter way into the project, I gave up and drove back to the hardware store. I had been trying to cut around an outlet and needed to do a complicated U-type cut. The tile kept cracking with the tile cutter and I was getting frustrated. So I purchased the cheapest wet saw they had - total cost $100 bucks. I came home, spent a while teaching myself how to use it, and started cutting. It cut my time down significantly even with a big learning curve. And a big mess!
It was a tedious process, but it turned out pretty good for a first timer, I think!
Lessons learned:
-The tile cutter made 95% of cuts, but I was not skilled enough to make the rest without a grinder or saw.
-I needed three bags of spacers to have everything spaced at the same time.
-I used super cheap tile, at 15 cents a tile, but this had no impact on the job.
-My tiles had built in spacers but I still used spacers religiously. They saved me.
-It took me about 22 hours and half a dozen Home Depot trips to do this. It cost about $450 without the returns I still need to make (2 cases of tile, sponges, an extra 2-3 buckets, an extra grout float, a mixer, etc). Should end up around $400.
Scrape off any loose paper and remaining thinset (I think that I see uncollapsed ridges from old thinset in area 3 from your photo). Use Zinsser BIN on the wall to prep the torn drywall paper areas for water based products (instead you can use an oil based primer to save a buck, but it'll smell for a few days). You'll get blistering under your mud and/or thinset if the BIN layer isn't thick enough, so apply 2 or even 3 coats--it dries amazingly fast. Fill in all of the low spots with a wide putty knife and 20 minute mud. Proceed with tiling (I would use adhesive, not mortar).
I don't like the un-taped horizontal joints in your drywall. If a horizontal grout line lands within an inch of a joint, then I would tape those joints (open it a little with a knife, mesh tape it, and use the 20 minute mud again).
What to do depends on what quality of job you desire. Are you looking for quick and easy, or something that takes time but has better results?
The areas are in varying degrees of damage. ( Not the contractors fault. Tile comes off as it comes off.)
Area 1 needs nothing to tile.
Areas 2 and 3 look to be able to have some divots filled with patching compound and then tiled.
Area 4 is best served by cutting out the drywall and installing new. There are so many big divots, that patching will still leave a weak surface.
OR
Cover all the areas with 1/4 inch drywall. It's the most work. But it will ensure a flat secure surface for the tile. A thick aluminium edge Like Schluter or another trim and you can avoid redoing the corned bead. Use plastic spacers to move the outlets out
"Thanks RMDman. Area 1 was so bad with large holes that I temporarily covered by a cutboard." – Moe 1
With that new info; If it were my kitchen, I would replace all the drywall.