The Difference Between a Good vs Bad Tile Job

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The difference between a good tile job and a bad tile job a combination of ability and caring.

Are you like me and do you ever go to the bathroom of an establishment and find yourself staring at the tile? You can’t help but admire exact tile work around a drain, a classy pattern up a wall, and stunning color pallets. It makes you want to redo your bathroom at home with a bold new style.

There are other times you stare in horror at what looks like the results of a hack saw.

Dear lord, please hire me when you want to redo your tile <insert establishment>*. I have a wet saw, not a hack saw–and I know how to use it!

I see tile work like that and think of the near perfect circles that are hidden behind the shower head, controller and diverter of my own bathrooms–and soon to be in other bathrooms!

Ahh…high quality 2014 pics from a pre-2014 cell phone. Hopefully you can still see the circular shape…

Or the most complicated pieces of tile work on a high end kitchen backsplash:

The rough parts on the backside of the edges are mortar–I had already back buttered this piece before deciding to take a picture of it.

That same tile is installed on top there.

Dry fit of a mosaic prior to install for an exact backsplash install.

As a tile setter, home builder, or DIY homeowner, it is important for us to take pride in our work. Taking a step back, looking at what we just did, then triple checking that everything is just as it should be.

Would you look at this project tomorrow, next year, or twenty years from now and feel you did your best?

Not satisfied? Pull it up and try again!

How much is an extra tile? Probably worth less than your pride and reputation. It’s probably not like you have to scrap it all either–you could recycle it into a edge piece later if you clean it off now.

How do you get one inch off the pattern and keep going without noticing?

Or think ahead to the final look.

For instance, choosing to use a 12″x12″ tile for 4″x4″ decorative tiles can be a poor choice. The tiles will have unmatched edges unless you cut off the curved edge and only use the inside of the tile.

Photographed below is a bad tile job from choosing the wrong decorative tile. Obviously, these decorative squares are cut out of a 12″ x 12″ tile with a curved edge:

I’m going out on a limb and thinking the tile isn’t more than $3…probably .99/each. It takes well over that to install this more complicated pattern. So just get four squares out of each tile instead of nine and have all the edges look the same instead of zero, one or two rounded edges with the rest as straight edged. Or use a 12″x12″ rectified edge tile.

I’m looking forward to the next couple months when we’ll be tackling a few new bathrooms to share with you here. The DeWALT wet saw won’t wonder where I am anymore. 😀

Along this line of thinking, really go over all your layout and design options for your space before putting it in place with mortar: Make a Statement with the Right Tile Pattern and How to Decide Between a Diamond or Square Tile Layout (which includes an example of a bad tile job based on the wrong layout).

*By no means is this a reflection of the food, service, or quality of the places I frequent. I’m still patronizing these places, but I do wish the installation / remodel is of higher, longer lasting quality to help with their bottom line.