My second learning project post reflects my shortsightedness…

I mixed up a small batch of mortar, added water to the tile saw, made a line on the wall with laser level to keep things straight, and started with placing tiles…

…Until I got to my first cut….

I went through at least ten tiles, chipping and breaking each one. If you are following along, you will know this is basically unacceptable considering the tiles are white and grout is black. They look like this once installed (note the tiny chips are super accentuated once grout gets in there).

Pickard, Jared. (Nov 6, 2021). Any idea what’s going on here with this subway tile?. Home Improvement.

I am thankful I learned enough while watching the main-floor bathroom installation to know to take them down, not grout, and try again. So it is clear I missed a learning step. Back at the old drawing board, and this is what I watched: 5 Ways to Cut Tiles

In short, the creator suggests a manual tile saw sucks, I have that and tried it too; a wet saw works best for things like subways tiles…apparently; a hand tile cutter (I have this too, but it sucks–tried it); and finally, a grinder (have many, but haven’t resorted to it yet).

Either my cheap wet tile saw is beat–it does look rough and the tile guider thinger looks wobbly–or there is some other kind of troubleshooting I need to do. I opened Google and did what any amateur does and searched “why does my wet tile saw chip my tiles?”

I am a forum person, and that is my primary learn-how-to-fix-shit way: cars, computers, life, etc. Luckily for me, the first result on Google was an archived forum!: https://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/archive

I have no idea who John Bridge is or what this forum was started for, but note the 2007 questions and responses and just how dang timeless certain problem-solving techniques are. In case you can’t read screenshot, click on link above.

The just of it:

Forcing the cuts too quickly.
Worn blade or blade needs dressing.
Blade not running true (square) to the cut.
Wobbly blade arbor.
Not enough water directed to the blade and tile during cut.
Tile not solid (flat) and tight to saw bed during cut.
Turn tile over and cut from other side.
Don’t cut through from end to end…. reverse tile when close to end of cut.
Tile’s nature to chip no matter what is done. 

Can’t help but wonder if it is just the nature of things… I am hoping a blade change will do it! I went and got a 3 pack so we will see. I figure I can adjust my cutting technique and water amount easily enough too. Beyond that, I might be manually cutting tiles.

This weekend, I will unpack my doom piles of supplies again and try this troubleshooting out.

I am learning that I tend to use YouTube and TikTok for a general project overview or for inspiration/motivation. Despite feeling rather confident after outlining the project in my first learning post, I still watched a myriad of videos and clips almost to reassure me I get what I am doing. However, when I ran into a problem, like these chipping tiles that look bloody awful, I return to the forum and often search for what sounds like my exact problem posted by someone else and then try that out. I am wanting to expand the tools I use to learn, and perhaps I can find someone else for the next post. Still, there is something really nice about being able to read steps/instructions in one sitting and return to it as I am attempting the feat. It is like a security blanket haha.

I am surprised by how simple (as in straightforward) a job this seems according to videos online, but once I got started and needed really specific advice, I saw how useful forums, where other lost people are gripping about those very specific issues, are. My next learning step might entail actually posting my own question or concern instead of spending hours looking for one that resembles the issue I am having! That might be a little more proactive. I also looked for apps and that hasn’t been as useful yet, but who knows what problem I run into this weekend! I will take all the help I can get.

Oh, I forgot to add, that even trying to start a straight line is harder than it looks! If anyone is curious, this is where I started with marking my lines: BTC.BlaineTileCreations on TikTok is micro-adjusting for literal perfection with his laser level, but I am just trying to make one straight line to start! This was super helpful in outlining where and how to map out wall: RockSteadyTileCo. I combined the two strategies by marking out center line to keep weird cuts to a minimum and keeping laser on as I moved up my row to ensure I was not veering down or up too much. I could not pre-cut all my tiles like RockSteadyTileCo. suggests because of the 120-year-old walls. All was going so well until we got to the cuts! Once that is sorted, I am back at it!

PS. This is such a good “how to” for black grout and subway tile and I wanted my learning project to look like this, but unfortunately, we are not off to that strong of a start.