My 'quick' bathroom tile job turned into a two week puzzle

I thought I could lay a simple subway tile pattern in a day, but I didn't account for the weird angles around the old window. I spent about 14 days just cutting tiny pieces to fit, and I still have a weird triangle gap I'm calling 'artistic'. Anyone else have a simple project that turned into a geometry test?

3 comments

3 Comments

uma_lopez2mo ago

The real trap is grout. You get the cuts perfect after days of work, then the grout color changes everything. A dark line can make a slightly off cut look ten times worse. I used a light gray and it turned my careful work into a highlight reel of every tiny mistake. Now I see why pros charge so much.

the_val2mo ago

How did you even pick a grout color? I stood in that aisle for twenty minutes holding little sticks up to the tile like a crazy person. And you're right, it's like the grout decides to point out every gap you thought you hid. Makes you want to just caulk the whole thing and call it a day.

anthony1272mo ago

Oh man, that's the universal rule of home projects. Every single one has a hidden "gotcha" that turns it into a logic puzzle. My bookshelf install met a wall that was not even close to straight. Suddenly I was an engineer figuring out compound shims.