[CraigHarimon]

ok here is my nightmare. I was a subcontractor for this install. This was the second batch of tile. It was supposed to be "Noice" but the secoond batch came blond the Got ok from the higher ups to start the install. Owner came home 50+sf into it. wanted the material free because it was wrong, company said pull it up and reorder while I was at lunch.

So I went back to jobsite, no one was home, so i pulled it , scraped the backer and back of stone. We were almost loaded up when the owner came home and flipped out and demanded that the floor be set today (yesterday). She had me call up the company and demanded it be set even if she had to pay for it. So they authorized me to lay it, getting paid for what i had set paid for tearing it out, and paid again for resetting it.

needless to say this is how my shop looks (sorry about the motorboat nose)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki2fM7-vaPs

 

[srwcontracting]

Confirms my feeling about subbing.....sure that was fun to deal with!

 

[overanalyze]

Ha..I expected at least a few empties laying around!

 

[CraigHarimon]

Ha..I expected at least a few empties laying around!

There was a bottle of Jose Q later that day.

 

[TileWizard]

Tile shop tile and plastic niches 4x16. Bowed real bad so I had to offset them like so. I like the step pattern tho. I'm not a fan of picture framing niches, but it turned out really nice.

Also new tools!

 

[jb4211]

I could never cut and handle slivers that tiny without breaking.

I never used the DeWalt but I love my Fein and used it way more than I ever thought I would.

 

[srwcontracting]

Tile shop tile and plastic niches 4x16. Bowed real bad so I had to offset them like so. I like the step pattern tho. I'm not a fan of picture framing niches, but it turned out really nice.



Also new tools!

Tile shop is always good at selling the pencil trim to go with an accent!
Costs people a lot more money

Why wasn't the pencil an option for the niches....would have eliminated those slivers

 

[Keeyter]

I could never cut and handle slivers that tiny without breaking.

I never used the DeWalt but I love my Fein and used it way more than I ever thought I would.

Me neither, thats why I tile the wall faces first and adjust the final height and size of the boxes after the wall tile is on. Its easy (and better IMO) to adjust the box size rather than have tiny pieces

 

[angus242]

Build your own niche. Perfect fit to your grout joints every time!

 

[Xtrememtnbiker]

Did you use Ditra to space the mosaics out flush with the rest of the tile?

I use your method for niches btw. Found it in posts from a while back. I really like it.

 

[TileWizard]

I build my own niches 99% of the time. I do what you do and fit them in the grout joints so everything doesnt end up all cut up, makes it look nice and clean. However everything for this job was planned, purchased, and built before i had anything to do with it. yeah the slivers suck but it is what it is for this one

 

[angus242]

Did you use Ditra to space the mosaics out flush with the rest of the tile?

Yep. Field tile was 3/8". The glass was maybe 3/32" thick. Used 2 rows of standard Ditra.

 

[angus242]

I build my own niches 99% of the time.

Gotcha. I hate it when the client purchases all the materials thinking they are helping themselves only to make your job harder

 

[TileWizard]

Gotcha. I hate it when the client purchases all the materials thinking they are helping themselves only to make your job harder

Its a little more work in the beginning, but in the end its just so much cleaner looking.

yeah my heart sank when i saw those two niches in there(especialy tile shop ones). I dont like the schluter ones either because they are a strange size. when the prefab niches havent been already installed like this job was, i tell the people to just return them and i will take care of it

 

[TNTRenovate]

I build my own niches 99% of the time. I do what you do and fit them in the grout joints so everything doesnt end up all cut up, makes it look nice and clean. However everything for this job was planned, purchased, and built before i had anything to do with it. yeah the slivers suck but it is what it is for this one

Why not move the niches down? That would get rid of the slivers.

 

[CraigHarimon]

I like it I think the only thing I would have done was cut down the outer bullnose picture frame t match the inner ones then you would have broke the frame at roughly 1/2 tiles. From a tecnical side you did great but I think this may have cleaned it up just a bit.

 

[CraigHarimon]

What are the niches trimmed with, Schluters? I use them quite a bit too. How did you miter them?

They are schluter I miter them with a miter saw, then I make the frame a single unit. I bend wire corners and glue them solid with Pamtite then I will tack the frame into place with PamTite.

If I can remember the next time I do one I will make a quick vid.

 

[HS345]

They are schluter I miter them with a miter saw, then I make the frame a single unit. I bend wire corners and glue them solid with Pamtite then I will tack the frame into place with PamTite.

If I can remember the next time I do one I will make a quick vid.

I cut my Schluters often with the miter saw, but when I actually try to "miter" them, they always seem to get caught up in the blade and it seems quite dangerous. What am I doing wrong? Special blade? Technique?

Looks sweet, hope you get a chance to make that vid.

 

[jb4211]

Greg how many teeth on your saw?

 

[HS345]

Greg how many teeth on your saw?

2, the same number what's in my mouf. :jester:

To be honest, often times if I am roughing a shower in, I will have a 32 tooth blade on the saw. Not sure if I've ever tried a finish blade to cut the Schluters. I think I have tried an 80 tooth, but not absolutely sure. I assumed the "secret" was a sharp finish blade, but wanted to ask charimon anyways. Maybe he uses a 7" sliding miter saw. I only have the Dewalt 12" double bevel miter saw.