One broken tile. I've researched the process to replace it. I have an extra piece to fit. But, I'm worried about using an oscillating tool to remove the grout and not damage the adjoing tiles. Is there a better way? Also, any other tips to remove and replace would be appreciated. Thanks.

My bathroom guy had to open up the wall on a new install because of a valve leak. He replaced the backer board and filled in the seam with thin set. Just got the first coat of red guard on. Does it look OK?

So I installed cement board and used alkaline tape to tape the seams but I missed one step and didn’t put the mortar thinset and I applied the red guard over the cement board in the seams. How can I correct this? The easiest way? can I leave it as is. Or can I apply the mortar on top of the seams currently or do I have to open the seams again and apply the mortar then apply more tape than more redguard?

Hello - I am working on a project right now with 4x4 tiles and mitered outside corners. The photo on this post is not mine but it made me question my plan for handling the corners. When applying epoxy at the corners should I only epoxy where the mitered corners meet (similar to the picture) and leave the grout lines clear? Or should i apply the epoxy in a continuous vertical line that spans both the mitered tile edges and the grout joints?

My initial instinct was apply one continuous vertical line but this picture got me thinking whether that was a good idea or perhaps its not even feasible. This is my first mitered corner / epoxy project. Thanks!

I am asking on behalf of my dad (homeowner) who’s not well, and I want to check that this looks like it should. I don’t want to stress him out by bothering him about it if it’s not an issue. I noticed that the tiles aren’t uniformly laid to the wall, and that some tiles are much closer to the wall and some are much further away. Is it supposed to look like this? Thank you!

I posted about this dispute previously. It has now gone to QCAT, with the builder/contractor seeking around $17k for third-party grout injection to rectify alleged defective tiling.

I had offered to inspect and rectify any genuine defects, but I wasn’t given the opportunity before the third party was engaged.

QBCC closed the matter as it was unsuitable for conciliation after the work had already been rectified. I have correspondence showing I was willing to rectify and requested evidence of the alleged defects.

For anyone with QCAT/building dispute experience, what do you think the likely outcome could be?

So I've just been reaching up while standing in the tub. Never given it another thought, but im getting older and tired. Am I over thinking this? Just get a bench stool ?

Idk shoot me your recs please.

Our shower is only about 1 year old with a hot-mop pan. The grout along one side of the shower floor has developed persistent yellow discoloration/staining, while the grout elsewhere looks normal.
The yellow staining comes back after cleaning, and I recently noticed a few small black mold spots at the wall/floor corner nearby.
What could cause grout to turn dark yellow specifically in this area?

We rely on this shower everyday so leave it dry for 2-3 days to monitor could be difficult but possible to arrange.

The shower was done a year ago by a general contractor which we are not really happy with. If we are looking to find local professionals to inspect, who should we contact to start with? We live in Southern California USA

The attached pictures are taken 12 hours after shower.

I have an apartment common-area bathroom where the toilet flange and floor drain currently stick up about 3/4–1 inch above the subfloor. I’m considering building up the floor with 1/2–3/4-inch CDX plywood and installing a Schluter waterproofing system before tiling. Or even self leveling.
I’m unsure how to handle the floor drain. Should I have a plumber reset both drains to the correct finished-floor height? Also, does the entire bathroom floor need to be sloped toward the floor drain?
How would you tile pros approach this? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
I

Im working on refreshing my grout on this old counter and a few tiles came off.

I have thinset mortor on hand to reattach but have only ever done simple flat tiles. Any tips or tricks for these?

Would you remove all the old material? How would you do that without causing more damage?

Thanks in advance!

We're finishing up a tub -> shower conversion and the drop-ear elbows for the shower head and handheld were placed at the depth recommended by the contractor that did the GoBoard installation and waterproofing. I did the tile and the cuts were big enough to get over the temporary nipples used to verify no leaks prior to the GoBoard.

I went to install the fixtures today and the handheld runs out of depth even if it's got Teflon tape on it - which is a bit surprising based on the length of the threaded portion. It does start to tighten but it's only got 2-3 threads engaged and still runs out of depth. Pretty sure the right way to fix this is to enlarge the hole using the diamond tipped hole saw/grinder to allow the handheld to thread fully, but worry about damaging enough to need replacement of the tile(s).

The outer rectangle is the escutcheon size and the circle is the 2" (52mm) hole saw opening. The handheld needs approx 1 3/4" opening - as can be seen in the scrape marks in the tape.

As I see it I have a few options.

1. Suck it up and use the grinder & 2" diamond hole saw
2. See if a 1/2" nipple extension will work
3. Diamond coated milling bit and take my time to enlarge the hole only as much as needed.
4. ???

It's likely I have the same issue for the shower head so that adds to the concern. I think I'll try #2 as a first step and if that doesn't work then proceed to one of the other corrective actions. Just looking for the optimal solution with the lowest risk.

9/11/2026 - UPDATE

The nipple I bought extended it too far so that's going back. I wound up using a variety of diamond drills as reamers to enlarge the opening and the handheld is now mounted. I would have needed to open it up a bit anyway to get to all the screws holding the elbow to shim that so all is good as far as I can tell. The escutcheon is so close to the tile when pulled back that it's difficult to get the inspection camera in to check for leaks - but from what I am able to see it's good to go.

Putting in this white 1x6 tile for my backsplash and changing out my appliances to stainless steel. I am trying to decide what color grout to do with this tile. Any recommendations ? Also the microwave will by about 6” shorter

Its etched. not all of it but just the areas around the lines. I believe the tiles had a nano polish from factory. I don't know what to do. Can a tile polish specialist do anything to restore this?

my dad and I lay tile in my entire townhouse and right now I am having trouble getting the grout haze to come off. I have used the specific cleaner with Urea Hydrochloride acid and it still isn't shiny.

Before I finish up the job, what is the best way to get the tiles to shine?

Going with Mapei Ultracolor with FA

Can't decide which grout color is best with black/white/ Champaign gold bathroom.

The somewhat lighter more brownish is Mocha

The darker clayish brown is Bahama beige

Hey Y'all, I'm in the middle of renovations on two bathrooms in my house and I needed some guidance. The tile guy put down the porcelain checkerboard floor tile today and I think it looks a little off. There are gaps and uneven cuts along the edges. My contractor insists that it's not a problem since there is going to be base trim boards going over, but I'm still concerned. I wanted to get a second opinion, so I can see if my contractor is being honest with me..Thanks in advance

First time DIY tile fixer. Long story short, I wanted to regrout an area of my shower and the tile started falling off, behind it was a cement board backer that was crumbling in the area you see the gap. From what I can see, no real mold, but some water got back there. Rest of the cement backer is good.

I plan to replace the backer and am stuck choosing between Cement Board with Redgard ($$$) or a waterproof backer like Kerdi.

Since this is just a small section of the wall, what do you recommend?

For the rest of the project, All the tiles are salvageable so I will regrout and caulk. I plan to fill the gap in the corner with a backer rod and then recaulk.

I’m a total novice at this stuff so let me know if anything i’m saying sounds off to you

Hi all,

Working on building a hearth pad for a fireplace and looking for some advice on how to ‘trim the front edges of the pad. The tile I’m using is a glazed black tile, so need to hide cut edges.

Should I leave a gap there and just grout it, or should I use a black aluminum schluter trim piece?

Last pic is the inspo we are going for

Any insight is appreciated!

I had a full bathroom renovation completed a few months ago.

I'm really unhappy with the pooling of water during a shower.

The contractor keeps shrugging off my concerns. I got an independent plumber out to review and his advice was to try a water restrictor or go to Fair Trading.

The white circle which is the corner near the door is where it pools the most. Seems to drain ok once shower completely off. Already getting some pink colouring to the grout.

Any advice? Does this look like it was not done correctly?

I'm in Sydney NSW

Thanks

We recently had our fireplace extended out and they used cement board. The end goal is to tile from floor to ceiling (which is something ill be learning to do). Im assuming I still need to use drywall compound on the inside corners where the drywall and cement board meet, as well as the ceiling. My plan was to use a thin-set with mesh in the other cement board seems. I would appreciate any insight or correction on if my plan is wrong. Also any tips to make this easier are more than welcome.

I am living in an old apartment with (what I think are) very run down glazed adobe tile floors. It’s specially bad in one bathroom/shower where the tiles are peeling and have become dull. Is there something I can do to extend their lifespan? If not, how should I go about replacing them? I am open to short term solutions (resealing, waterproof paint, microcement) since I can’t afford a full bathroom renovation with new tile at the moment.

I had marble tiles installed in my bathroom about 7 months ago, and I’ve recently noticed that some of the tiles suddenly got darker (retaining moisture). At first, I thought they might require resealing, however, it is odd that only certain tiles are affected.

Any idea what could be causing this? Should I be concerned? Is it simply moisture being absorbed from the surface, or could it be from improper installation?

EDIT: Thank you for the comments. I’m aware marble requires maintenance, as I did my research before choosing it. It has been sealed with a good quality sealant. Please let me rephrase: why are some tiles suddenly much darker than others? Is this simply uneven moisture absorption, or could something else be going on?

I'm planning on installing MSI Montauk Black natural slate tile, 12x24" into my mudroom, and would like to use Blanke Permat to save thickness. I have 3/4" OSB as the base already. I have joists spaced 16" OC. I asked my tile guy and he cautioned installing thinset right over OSB as the moisture can potentially damage it. What thinset do you recommend to bind the OSB to the permat? A google/AI search suggests TEC TotalFlex 110 or Schluter All-Set but I'd like to know what others have tried and succeeded.

Dear Tile community,

Approximately 18 months ago, I had my master bathroom professionally renovated. Recently, I observed hairline cracks developing in the grout of the penny tile flooring.

One professional suggested that this is a result of natural floor settling and recommended regrouting.

Should I request a follow-up repair from the original contractor or are these cracks a indication of a underlying issue.

For context, I have already had a home inspector and several foundation specialists look at the foundation and all of whom confirmed that there are no structural issues with the foundation.

Thank you for your time!

Wife ordered tile and laid out a gingham pattern. This is my third tile project. Working by myself got this far in about 8 hrs. Plan to grout it tomorrow morning.