New profound respect for Tile Installers

[Gordon Kaske]

And their Creed "Where you start is where you end up".


I'm a union carpenter, and there is nothing I have experienced that is more tedious than trying to get grout lines to line up in a shower stall with a tiled ceiling, and a niche, and a drop headered entry door. I know for you pros its probably a cake walk. I think I did good considering this is my first time doing a shower stall, but I would never make any money at it.


Kudos to the Tilers you guys earn every penny.

[WendyHMN]

Hint: turn your ceiling tile 45 degrees. It will eliminate a lot of frustration.

[bbcamp]

Another Hint: Paint your ceiling.

[Shpedly]

Amen Gordy. I need a whole lot more experience under my belt if I was going to make money at it. As a union carpenter you probably have 2 advantages over me though. You know how to measure correctly the first time and you probably always know where a dang pencil is. Got me one of those pencil on a retractable string things, but I lost the dang thing somewhere, so now I'm back to having at least 10 pencils laying around where I'm working.

[Gordon Kaske]

Wendy 45ing the ceiling was to busy to me. I did the floor on a 45 though. I don't find it frustrating just tedious.



BBCamp painting the ceiling would not have been a good idea with a drop headered door. There is only 6" between the top of the shower door, and the header so its like a sauna.


SHPEDLY I lose my pencils to. One behind each ear, and a couple at the tile saw, and the shower.

[Houston Remodeler]

Once told to me by a tile master with 70 years experience;

If tiling was easy, we wouldn't have jobs.

[Shpedly]

Paul, 70 years of tile and still standing? You sure this tile master isnt Superman in disguise?

[Houston Remodeler]

The name of his company was S. Boni & Sons. He was one of the sons. In his mid 80's he was still setting tiles. According to him, he lernt from his father, starting to carry buckets of ceement as a young lad of 9 or 10. I'm sure there was a snow covered hill in that story somewhere. I used to joke with him that as a child he would often see Michelangelo at the Carrera mine.

In his later years we'd get to the jobsite and he would start complaining,"Don't you know I'm supposed top be retired?" I can't see that well out of my good eye" ... "Stop doing such good work! If this keeps up I'll never get any rest" Then at the end of the job, "OK, I fixed it for you this time. So don't call me until October 2048 and not a day sooner"

But who needed eyesight when he could float a wall perfectly plumb by feel.

[jwmezzanotte]

My grandfather is 86yrs old. Still builds rock walls "when I'm bored"...

[Shpedly]

Paul and John, They dont make men hardly like that anymore.