DIY tiler here, and I've done my share and then some. Grizzly story time... 12" square floor tiles using a diamond wheel to cut them, all seemed fine. Now, I never knew that diamond wheel cutters tend to produce ceramic 'sawdust' so when grouting I was working with the sponge and bucket technique BUT ungloved... The next day my fingertips burned but I could see nothing until we used the magnifying glass... the pad of each finger was impregnated with microfine slivers of ceramic. A warning to every newbie out there. And yes, tiling can feel like a thankless task until you see the final result! Nice Job, Brad!

@radchander

3 жыл бұрын

These kind of real life personal safety tips are always very helpful.Thank you,

@zieghart2

3 жыл бұрын

I did my first subway tile when ai was 17. My dad warned me about the splinters and told me to use gloves. Being a stuborn know-it-all teenager I decided to ignore his advice and ended up getting a bunch of cuts. That was the first and last time I ever did tile without gloves.

@negotiableaffections

3 жыл бұрын

@@zieghart2 I am not alone - I share your pain. 😥

nice and refreshing to see a video that shows it's not always easy to do these kinds of projects - thanks for keeping it real

Finally, something I wasn't completely clueless on before I watched the video! The backsplash came out great, dude. A couple tips for the future incase you do another one: Usually no matter what kind of tile, you can run a vertical row at the ends to give it a clean cut off look. If you have any visible chips, a tile polishing pad on an angel grinder will work wonders like it was never there. And the biggest one. when you do your final wipe with the spunge, wipe in an upside down "V" direction and slightly overlap each one like when cutting grass. You'll find that you end up wiping off spots multiple times with each pass. Not sure how well I did it explaining but it has saved me a lot of heartache in the past. Keep the videos coming!

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Christian, nice tips, I definitely need to pick up a polishing pad!

Couple of tips: When placing tiles, place the bottom edge on the tile below first, and then fold the tile to the wall straight next to the previous tile. Then slide the tile away and place the spacers. That way you never fill the joint with adhesive. I already see you doing it, but it might help other people. When speading adhesive on the wall, spread a little bit further than the last tile, and don't get near the last tile with the trowel when you need to spread more. That also helps to keep adhesive out of the joints. When cutting tiles with snap cutter, sand the edge. Right after cutting the edge is razor sharp, and you can still cut yourself on it after grouting. Just a quick swipe with some 320 grit sandpaper will do, or better, a diamond sanding block.

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, should have mentioned that tip with sliding it. And the tile is definitely sharp!

@clarkt9925

Жыл бұрын

I had to read these instructions a couple of times but now I understand what you’re saying and it makes perfect sense. Thanks!

This tutorial was excellent! Purchased basically what was stated here, following the instruction and knocked out my first ever backsplash job in my home perfectly. Thanks!

After we finished the backsplash in our kitchen, my folks liked it so much, they asked us to to theirs. 😁 Between that and three bathrooms, we have lots of practice tiling. And it's super-satisfying to see the finished product. Looks good! Thanks for sharing!

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

I bet you blew through the last few!

I feel your pain. I recently finished a tiled backsplash in my kitchen renovation. It came out fantastic, but as it was my first ever time doing any tiling at all, it was a bit of a stressful experience.

Maaaan I've been installing a backsplash in my kitchen, which I've never done before. I'm glad to know that I am not the only one who is having the issues lol. Thanks for being real and telling all of the hard times and frustrations. I had turned to my wife while applying the grout, and was like the videos be lying, because they all be like " oh it's so simple and quick you see". I was like BS it's simple and quick lol.

Great video! That said, to make life easier, it may be best to switch out your outlet boxes in the kitchen. Rip out the old and put in the adjustable type. This will allow you to move the box out to the desired depth, to allow the plate cover to be flush with the backsplash tile.

A pro tiler I spoke to said he uses a small diamond file and they are less than $10.00 at H Depot. They are in the tile, mastic area. They smooth the edges of those chips and the rough edges that a tile saw leaves a tile with. This was a great tutorial. I'm painting my cabinets white after I make new rustic doors for them. I want to put in new hinges too. In the ones I currently have, the side that attaches to the door slides into a slot and is tightened by a screw. They loosen all of the time and when I go to open them the door comes off. New hinges are on order.

thank you - you inspired me and i removed a section of drywall with backsplash today and left enough of the stud exposed for the new drywall.

We did the same subway tile (size/color) except we opted for a light grey grout to give our all white kitchen some contrast. Yours looks good!

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

We were on the fence with a light gray, but stuck with "white" which is darker the tiles so does flgive a little bit of contrast. But I bet yours looks good too

I just did our kitchen backsplash, and yes you are right it’s a little tough on the back, but in the end it’s worth it , good job my friend

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

yes, it's definitely a weird space to work in. Either squatting or bending the whole time

This was wonderful --- thank you for sharing!

thank you so much for putting this up with all the pointers etc, I am going to redo my kitchen myself, already into it, lol, but needed alot of what you pointed out in here, Thank You

you are entertaining...to say the least. haha. Thanks for this. I really appreciate the time it takes to make these for us. Great job!

I laid stone backsplash over the cheap builder grade tile. There are plenty of great products that allow you to skip the drywall phase. Would do it again the same way. Made it super easy.

Great job with the tile. I did one in my last house that was great. Made counter tops as well with MDF and laminate. That was a pretty fun project and got rid of the avocado green stuff from the 70's. I will say that you missed the boat with the easy install for the switched under cabinet lighting.

Great job. Looking forward to trying this myself now

Use the two bucket method for cleaning the grout, one to get the grout off the sponge, one to re-wet the sponge. Also, lots of subway tile comes with built-in spacers for tighter grout lines.

Looks great Brad!

Looks awesome, man!

Looks great! Good job!

Thanks for confirming me in my decision to source this out. And thanks for letting Alan Rickman/Snape add his own snippet of comment 😁

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

God rest his soul 🙏

Nice job and I really understand that I’m tile contractor and doing this job for long time but people think it’s easy job they never know how much crazy is this job

Looks great! Your editing skills are getting pretty darn good!

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

all credit to our editor Chris!

It's nice to see you struggle sometimes too! I'm glad you included it.

This video was very helpful for my first backsplash project.

Totally agree with you! Tiling was horrible for me too!

Awesome, Brad! Fantastic job! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

thanks, brother!

Brad, Brad, Brad!!! That's me cheering you on Bud. Great video as always Bud. Bro., so happy for your Channel growth Man. It was your wainscot video from years ago that got me watching & I think you were around 70K subs back then & I thought you were BIGTIME!! Now you're BIGTIME Bro.!! Well deserved. Hoping all is well Bud, Dirty Jersey out!!

@Fixthisbuildthat

2 жыл бұрын

lol, we've had a good run so far. Here's to keeping it going!

I use an Oslolator tool for the drywall removal... They have a drywall blade that does really good... doesn't go way past like the sawz-all would.

Great work Brad! Now I know yet another job that I won't ever be doing myself! Thanks....😂👍

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

😂 😂 I don't blame you, Steve

Really awesome outcome. Congrats.

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

thank you!

Nicely done. The only thing I'd add is to always seal your grout. Especially if it's white and especially in the kitchen near the stove where grease and splatters abound. Sealing your grout will keep it looking nice and bright white for a long time to come.

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

This premixed variety has a sealer additive in it 👍

I can't believe this has less then 100k views in 24 days! You need more views. I love this channel!

Looks very nice! Great job!

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great job!!!

Grout that matches the tile hides problems. 👍

Good job buddy! And you’re right it’s a lot of work. Seems to go on and on forever.

Props on the thumbnail. Very slick I'm sure you were going to get feedback on that.

Looks good. I did a little backsplash in my bathroom and I didn’t like doing it. It was hard work..

Nicely done

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Thx, Tom!

On open edges on the sides of the install, you can create a nice finish by using a plastic or aluminum tile edge.

Added about 3 hours of watch time on this view this past weekend. Thought I got lucky and didn't have to drywall, well unfortunately the prior owner cut some corners and mounted some mesh sheet tiles over holes in the very wavy drywall 😭 After that ordeal was corrected I had also fixed the wavy back wall. a two day project turned into a 4 day, 6 lowes trips, long weekend. Thanks for being as detailed as you were, it helped me feel confident about doing this as my first tiling project.

Finally someone gave credit wear credit is due. Not a project the butcher, baker, candle stick maker can knock out on a weekend like a lot of these videos say. This project requires some skills.

Turned out very nice. BTW, di you paint your cabinrts yourself or did you have some do that for you. The rason I ask is I have some outdated oak cabinets that I would like to paint white, but I have heard a read that it is not as easy as one would think. Any insight on how you did yours wold be much appreciative. Thanks

thanks for the video! just completed my kitchen subway tile backsplash with zero experience following your guidance. I'll be referencing your channel in the future!

Drinking game: Take a shot every time Brad says "Level" in the tiling segment

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

hahaha, well at least the did come out level

@miguelare3

3 жыл бұрын

@@Fixthisbuildthat damn stop already im really drunk 🥴

@JillofAllTrades2

3 жыл бұрын

@@miguelare3 😂😂😂

@psychorabbitt

3 жыл бұрын

Take a shot every time Glen from DIY Creators mentions pocket holes and you'll be dead of liver failure.

Looks good but it would look a lot better if you would have taken the tile to the end of the countertop. Adding some bullnose for edging to fill that space would work.

Hi. Thanks for the video. Can you stick a tile on already painted drywall, or does it have to be onto an unpainted surface?

Thanks!

@Fixthisbuildthat

2 жыл бұрын

Appreciate the Super Thanks!

nice job. I usually butter the tile instead of the wall, it’s arbitrary tho. thin set doesn’t stick to spackle, better not to bother taping those drywall seams?!

Looks great! I’d love you know what your countertops are.

Thanks for the video! Quick question, how did you make sure your first row was level? Thx

Here in the UK we abandoned the tile splash back about 5 years ago, probably for the reasons you were encountering. We now use a form of shower wet wall which now comes specially produced for kitchens. They come in a variety of sizes the most common being 8ft x 2ft. Great video

@martylucas8557

2 жыл бұрын

Seriously? That’s a real cop out. I think I know what material you’re talking about, Kohler sells it for shower surrounds. Besides being pricey, it’s very limited. What happens when you want to change it out or new home buyers don’t like the color or pattern? It sounds to me like the British are abandoning a profession a real skill set in being able to tile. I’ve seen enough botched tile jobs, even from so called pros, to know that tiling isn’t as easy as it looks.most of the tile work I’ve done has turned at pretty nice. But it’s harrowing at times to get the tile in place while the mastic is quickly drying or the grout cleaned before it dries. Try using Fusion grout…It’s a small section at a time or you pay big time for it! Check out Landberg Tile. Oh my goodness! What an incredible craftsman. He also has a good talent for putting his videos together. He’s got a great channel!

Good job bro keep it up subscriber here from Philippines

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome thank you!

LOL...we just finished a subway backslash in our kitchen...OMG AGGRAVATING!!! I feel your pain brother!

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

great outcome, but yeah...aggravating at times!

They do make notched spreaders similar to a drywall knife or you can make your own by notching a Bondo spreader. Flooring and tile suppliers sell "notchers". And hopefully you kissed the cut edges at each end with a stone or sandpaper. They are as sharp as broken glass.

Hey Brad - Question for you. I have a stone and grout kitchen backsplash and am wanting to remove it and put up white subway tiles. Do you recommend removed the whole wall like you did here?

Looking good bro

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

The tile spacers were a bit big for my liking - subway tiles look sharp with a thin spacer. Never use pre-mixed grout; it shrinks back; mix your own mud. Apart from that, not bad. 👌🏻

It sure must be nice to have perfect counter tops. No one speaks to the rest of us that had builders that did not remotely level our counter tops.

Nice job, especially cutting around the outlets. Did you use drywall or cement board behind the tile?

@joaquinsuarez6090

2 жыл бұрын

It looks like sheetrock, the green one that is better than plain one for humidity and only a couple more dollars per sheet. Cement boards are for showers and bathtubs which have daily water contact.

3x6 subway was always my favourite backsplash to do. Now I sell them and don’t go anywhere near installs lol

Did you have to change the depth set of your outlet gang boxes to put the faces back on or did you use spacers? Or were they already pre-set and you used the same depth tile?

What is the kitchen wall color you painted with? it looks very versatile and neutral, not too cool or warm.

Nice job 👍 what kind of drywall mud did you use ?

Nice job Safety tip: always turn off electricity before demo. If possible turn off gravity prior to installation. It can speed up the job and reduces mess.

wow that looks like a lot of work! :)

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

It was!

Looks great, Brad. How did you finish the exposed edge? Also don't forget to measure the height of the space to make sure you don't have a sliver at the top. And no "me" nails required this project. Take care. Bill

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Hey, Bill. I just caulked the edge but made sure that it was only finished tile on that side. So the ceramic glazing wraps around the tile then the caulk covers the rest

Ufff i live in Germany and the Ways how you do something like this is really different but still helpful. XD

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

how's it different? would love to hear how it's done elsewhere

@christianlautenschlager9693

3 жыл бұрын

@@Fixthisbuildthat well in Germany as i know there we 1put the new over the old when not noticeable or we remove the old tiles but not the rigibs. You calledt it Dry wall funny word. Well also there is no wood behind it (in most cases) but steel. That is what i noticed being Diferent from how you did it and how i know it, it´s done in germany. If there is something else you wana find out how it is done in germany i work am a wood carpenter myself. (with the wall, i got the knowloedge from working in a painting company.

@UgY1994

3 жыл бұрын

Im from Denmark which is close to germany, and ill say you doing it the same way in the video as "we" do. Ofc the layers behind the drywall is not the same. But you doing the same. maybe Christian just had a specific job where they needed to do it differently. Btw im a construction manager in my daily job.

Professor Snape sighting had me in giggles!

Did you move your outlets out to match the new depth of tiles or were they already the right depth?

Pretty good job for a non pro. To get a better finish on the ends of cabinets try tile edging, a lot cleaner and better. Also the reason you were having problems with tile not wanting to move after a bit is because that was clay tile you were working with and that absorbs the moisture out of the glue. Plus you had raw drywall that does the same. You could’ve grouted the same day you set those tiles. That’s the one good thing about clay and drywall.

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Considered an edge but didn't like the metallic look

@jakeklassen3702

3 жыл бұрын

@@Fixthisbuildthat that’s understandable. I’m guessing your supplier or where ever you went didn’t have much selection of edging because there’s actually tons of colours to choose from but Big box stores won’t have them all. It’s more of a tile speciality store thing.

@joaquinsuarez6090

2 жыл бұрын

@@Fixthisbuildthat They sell white plastic edging too.

Definitely use a laser level, but on a tripod so it doesn’t get in the way, just did this and definitely helped keep me level around a corner (L shaped kitchen).

@marcopoulin1897

2 жыл бұрын

Laser on kitchen splash only amateure use it

@Camperfanatic01

2 жыл бұрын

@@marcopoulin1897 might be true, but it let me do a professional job and saved me $. So I’d use it again.

About to start a similar project but checked the level on the countertop and it off by at least 7/8". How to proceed?

Looks great! Come do my place next?

Looks good I do a ton of backsplash is and I always go from left to right it’s a lot easier

@joaquinsuarez6090

2 жыл бұрын

What about lefty people?

@marcopoulin1897

2 жыл бұрын

What about when you center the hood fan have to be the starting line

I'm at the point where I put in the replacement drywall. I noticed that even though the old drywall was a 1/2" thick and the new drywall is 1/2" thick, the drywall sunk in a little closer to the studs than the old drywall. Is this okay?

Just tile over old tiles. Use some grip and go. Huge time saver.

Beautiful!\

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Speaking of not using a sawzall on drywall above the range… I was installing a vent to the outside for the microwave and drilling a pilot hole for my jigsaw, I unbeknownst to me drilled directly into the 220 wire which tripped the whole house breaker. After I checked to see if I had pissed myself, calmed down my wife, and counted all my fingers and toes, I found the drill had insulated me against the shock from the electricity but not against the shock the whole event was to my heart. Lesson Learned: Do not ever blindly go into any type of drywall removal using a tool that drills or cuts. Use the punch method by first knocking a hole in the drywall and then pulled it off the studs.

Great job. And yes up is always better (in my opinion). Lol

U should of use a finish on edge and to be more protected on ur outlets cover outlet and switches prongs with electrical tape

Doing a subway tile, can I use just mastic on existing painted drywall??

at 7:11 When you use snap cutter you will have two equal halves

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

yep, true. Another benefit of it

What did you use to extend the electrical outlets out to match the tile?

@joaquinsuarez6090

2 жыл бұрын

Just buy longer screws to secure them in place.

Can you please make a video on how to use SketchUp? Or recommend someone? Thanks

A pack of baby wipes are also handy to keep around, really for any project, to clean up with.

Nice job, tiling is not easy and the grouting can be a pain, I only work a small area and only put the grout in the gap, avoid going across the tike, the clean up on the tile can take just as long as the grouting itself, clean as you go...

😎👍🍺Excellent Job!!!!

Good job, but a tile edge strip like Schluter edging would of made it more finished than a sharp tile edge. I do a lot of backsplashs and never do one without a finished edge

@joaquinsuarez6090

2 жыл бұрын

How do you attach the edger plastic or metal to wall?

You got into a groove adding the grout?

Next time you do this, take down the uppercabinets. This is (mostly) a simple job, but makes the tiling much easier and saves your neck and you have a better overview of your work. First mark the bottomside of the cabinet ofcourse

@nachtdiertje1972

3 жыл бұрын

@@tombarnes4163 Nope, I always take them down. 15 minutes work, but much more comfort and overview during tiling.

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

We just had our cabinets painted so no way I was taking them down 😀

@marcopoulin1897

2 жыл бұрын

Stupide idea i do 100 splash year never remove

Can you repair the wall without a sheetrock plate just use, wall mud to fix it?

do you not have to collapse the compound ridges with subway tile?

nice job! safety tip: put your safety glasses when cutting those tiles.

Great job, my attempt at a back splash had a lot more swearing

How did you reposition the outlets? They have to be moved outward.

@unsubtlesilk7081

3 жыл бұрын

It looked like they had tile on the wall previously, so the boxes were probably pretty close to the correct space

@Fixthisbuildthat

3 жыл бұрын

Since my install was on tile before they already had long screws, but that's all you need. Long screws and possible spacers if the outlet doesn't hit the tile on the top and bottom "ears"