Hai's first bathroom tile job

[redlude97]

Hey everyone, new here and doing my tub/shower tile after lots of reading.

One issue I've run into is that my tub/tile gap at the bottom is slightly wider 3/16" vs my tile spacing gap which is 1/8". I'll be using a mapei frost gray grout and matching caulk in the corners(alcove) but unsure of what to do about the bottom edge.

I'm worried the larger gap will stand out if I use the colored caulk since the gap will appear slightly wider.

Seems a bit OCD but could I caulk with the matching gray, then frog tape a line leaving like a 1/16" gap and caulking that with white silicone over the gray to mimic a perfect perfect grout line or am I over thinking this and just fill with white?

[John Bridge]

hello, Hai,

I don't think you'll have a lot of luck with that. I would just caulk it with one color.

[smifwal]

You could use caulk the color of the tile

[Mathman]

Well, I just made a similar mistake because I forgot to calculate the build up of the kerdi over my small ledge. I am not OCD so I just caulked it with white silicone to match the tub. But I thought it would give you a view of how it might look. The silicone job is not my best but for sure not my worst. I still struggle with silicone. If you think you can join two sections of silicone then I would love to see that demonstrated.
Picture to give you a bit of reference.

[Tool Guy - Kg]

If you’re OCD’ing over this, I think matching the color of the tile as close as possible will disguise the bigger gap the most. If you buy your silicone caulk from ColorRite, you can buy it in a satin finish that blends better with a non-shiny tile. They also sell a smoothing spray and smoothing tool that simplifies obtaining a very neat caulk bead. The neater then bead, the less noticeable it is.

[Radas]

For silicone, if you apply an even bead of caulk and immediately spray the area liberally with a soapy water mixture, it will wipe off and leave a clean joint with a few swipes of the finger every time.

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[redlude97]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations, how do I go about color matching to the tile? Colorite is online order only? Its a glossy dark gray tile

[cx]

Yes, ColorRite is online order only as far as I know.

Don't know if they can match your tile color, but if you give them the very specific tile information they might. They will mix to match any brand or type of grout if you just give them the manufacturer's color number. Available in gloss, satin, of sanded texture. In my experience the color match is near perfect.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[redlude97]

In the upper right corner of my bath shower there is a l shape corner that is a 2"×2" strip that is l shaped around a window from a 12x24" tile. I cant cut the tile in 1 piece so I was wondering if I could just cut two pieces and butt them together without a grout line since the grout line wouldnt line up with my the rest of my layout. It shouldnt see any water and I could use a sealant or lacquer over the seam. Has anyone for this or should I just play it safe add a grout line there. Hopefully the pics make sense

[cx]

Hai, it'll help if you'll keep all your project questions on one thread so folks can see what you're working on and what's been previously asked and answered. A moderator can give it a more generic title any time you'd like to suggest one.

Not sure why your can't cut a tile to fit. What am I missing?

You can do what you're suggesting, but you're not likely to be happy with the result and it's not a recommended practice.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[Radas]

If you have a wet saw with plunge feature, make your cuts slowly with the first few passes to score the "L" and then begin cutting. I start my cuts from the 90 degree corner and work my way out towards the edge of the tile. Avoid bumping the tile or rough handling as it will break.

If you're patient and careful, you can make cuts like these.

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[redlude97]

I only have an angle grinder with a diamond blade and score and snap tool. I did manage to cut the other bigger L shape but kept breaking the tiles for the l shape in the smaller corner. So when I say I can't cut it, trust me ive tried ???? and I'm tired of wasting tiles

[cx]

So, perhaps the problem is that you can't cut the pattern you want with the tools at hand rather than you can't cut the pattern you want.

Time to buy that wet saw you've always wanted?

Or maybe your local tile shop would make the cut(s) for you?

One thing I've found to work with really bitchy tiles (not all will cut with the same ease) is to lay the tile on a piece of carpet when cutting. That would be with either the angle grinder or on the wet saw. Dampens the vibrations that result in the break at that narrow junction.

The difference in diamond blades for the angle grinder can change the whole dynamic, too.

And when push really comes to shove, sometimes drilling a small hole at the apex of the cuts can prevent the breaking.

Or you can cut two pieces if you're happy with that.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[redlude97]

Hmm I'll try the carpet and drill hole tip. This is a DIY project so unlikely to buy a wet saw just for this project and this is the last cut I need to make.

With everyone's help here I lined up the rest of the layout around the window and niche so that I wouldnt need too many compound cuts like this except in the upper edge away from water so I'll see if I can make it work.

Thanks again!

[redlude97]

Was able to get the L shape piece cut although not perfect.

I will not be taking up remodeling as a profession for sure, way to much time and stress haha.

Got all the big pieces in after doing half bag batches and just ran out of time to finish around the windows and niche.

Used a layout with too much overlap so wasn't able to eliminate all the lippage.
Combine that with supposedly flat tiles that occasionally had a corner dip slightly more and I'm worried the grouting will make it stand out more.