[kikkoman]

I'm nearly finished installing ceramic tile in my master bathroom but I've come to a road block. I left a small expansion space between the new tile and the vertical side of the tub. I have no idea what to cover this gap with. Any kind of molding is out due it getting wet. In my other bathroom there is an L shaped metal strip that fits in the corner formed by the floor and tub. I've been to the big box hardware stores and no one has it. What is this thing called and where do I get it?

[RAILhead]

A strip of marble.

If the joint isn't too big, why not fill it with grout or grout caulk? You shouldn't have had more than the width of a tile spacer turned sideways between the tub and tile, BTW.

[kikkoman]

The gap is about 1/4". I thought about filling it with caulk or grout but I don't think that would look very nice. I had to cut the tile so the edges are rough.

[kikkoman]

Here's a picture of what I'm looking for.

[Yose]

You should be able to find a 1/2" angle (looks like an "L") in the door section of homedepot.

Can get them as rough steel, aluminum, nickel plated, chrome, etc.

G'luck.

[centerchannel68]

I think the right color silicone caulking, if done well, would look fine.

[RAILhead]

Dude, I would MUCH rather have grout or grout caulk visible than a strip of metal. No pro installer nowadays would dream of doing anything like that, and a 1/4 inch won't be too much to fill. Worse case scenario, you can come back over with your idea -- but if you grout it, you won't need to.

[kikkoman]

Unfortunately, I'm not a professional . The grout would look nice but like I said before I had to cut the tile edges, so they are visibly uneven . I was hoping to cover it up with the metal strip

[design219]

You might consider doing a small row of contrasting tiles on top of the floor tiles. You could get some 1" mosaic tiles, fill the gap with thin set, let it hard set, then do a row of the mosaic tiles on top. Could be an interesting decorative effect.

Just a thought.

[RAILhead]

Originally Posted by kikkoman 

Unfortunately, I'm not a professional . The grout would look nice but like I said before I had to cut the tile edges, so they are visibly uneven . I was hoping to cover it up with the metal strip

Ahh, I didn't catch that -- sounds like you put everything in bassackwards.

I'd look into getting a strip of marble, if your tub is marble. If not, you'll have to do what you talked about -- but I don't where to get it.

[centerchannel68]

Just go to a plastics place, and buy some plastic scrap that will work. You can get all sorts of neat stuff from a plastics supply company, and they usually sell scraps for dirt cheap.

[ghporter]

The "professional installer" that put in both of my house's tubs installed a plastic strip like the one kikoman pictured. It matches the tub material. Unfortunately I can't find anything that matches it at either the Home Depot or Lowes pages.

The suggestion of using color-matched grout above has merit, as it's water proof and could look pretty nice, but if the space between the tile and the tub is not even, or it's noticeably wide it might not be terribly attractive.

[kikkoman]

Fortunately I have not laid the tile that goes along the tube. I can re-cut it again with straighter edges. I didn't use the flimsy plastic rip fence that came with the cheap tile saw I bought. I was hoping to cover the edges later when I cut the tile the first time. Now I think just having grout at the corners would look really nice. Do you think it would be worth renting a professional tile saw to re-cut the tile? In retrospect, I should have started laying full tiles against the tub but it's too late to change that.

[kikkoman]

I installed the cutting guide on my wet saw and I'm getting nice straight cuts. Now the problem is when I get to the end of the cut a bit of corner breaks off How can I avoid this?

[centerchannel68]

Cut from one end, don't cut all the way across. Flip the tile. Cut from that end, so you meet in the middle. Sheesh. Didn't you take shop class?

[kikkoman]

Originally Posted by centerchannel68 

Cut from one end, don't cut all the way across. Flip the tile. Cut from that end, so you meet in the middle. Sheesh. Didn't you take shop class?

I did try the flip trick but I just took a little off one end and it just broke off where the cuts meet. I'll try going half way.

[centerchannel68]

Good luck, and CUT SLOWLY. Cutting fast= chipping and breakage.

[RAILhead]

You shouldn't have to flip anything if you're using a wet saw with a good blade. You may be going too fast and/or applying too much pressure to get the tile through the blade. Rather, you should just go slow and let the saw guide you. You could also put a couple of layers of painter's tape and cut through it, depending upon how much you're breaking off.

Note, too, that breakage is normal, but chances are, you're using too much force and/or your blade isn't sharp enough and/or you aren't piping enough water to the blade.

Also, if a "pro installer" leaves tile rough at a solid surface like a tub (or a surface that can't accept shoe moulding), they don't know what they're doing.

[RAILhead]

D'oh! Rob beat me to the cut slow post.

[centerchannel68]

I've never cut tile, I just know it works that way on acrylic, wood and pretty much anything else.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by kikkoman 

I installed the cutting guide on my wet saw and I'm getting nice straight cuts. Now the problem is when I get to the end of the cut a bit of corner breaks off How can I avoid this?

Put another sacrificial piece of tile behind the piece you are cutting. This is a common practice in woodworking and I found it works well with tile cutting too.

[Gator Lager]

some good advice given, but don't forget to check here
diynetwork.com


also I didn't think of this one before. good to know

"Put another sacrificial piece of tile behind the piece you are cutting. This is a common practice in woodworking and I found it works well with tile cutting too."

[G4ME]

can you score before you cut?

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by kikkoman 

I installed the cutting guide on my wet saw and I'm getting nice straight cuts. Now the problem is when I get to the end of the cut a bit of corner breaks off How can I avoid this?

Depends on the kind of tile saw you have. If the blade is bottom mounted cut the tile upside down so the greater radius of the blade cuts completely through the finished side of the tile before the tile breaks. If the blade is top mounted, cut the tile finished side up (this accomplishes the same thing). Cut very slowly as well. Forcing the tile thru the saw too quickly will impart force upon the tile which will cause it to want to flex along the cut, which equals snappage at the end of the cut.
On a straight cut (cutting a tile in half), unless your tile is physically bigger than your saw can accommodate, don't cut halfway thru and then flip the tile and cut from the other side. Unnecessary and will create hillbilly looking cuts.
Too late now, but I recommend you use Densshield as an underlayment in your bathroom or some other form of moisture barrier. Helps keeps things a bit nicer and drier underneath. Not always an issue, but it can be years down the road.

[kikkoman]

Originally Posted by Rev-O 

Depends on the kind of tile saw you have. If the blade is bottom mounted cut the tile upside down so the greater radius of the blade cuts completely through the finished side of the tile before the tile breaks. If the blade is top mounted, cut the tile finished side up (this accomplishes the same thing). Cut very slowly as well. Forcing the tile thru the saw too quickly will impart force upon the tile which will cause it to want to flex along the cut, which equals snappage at the end of the cut.

Yes, great advice! I discovered after wasting a few tiles I should complete the cut with the finished side down since my saw is bottom mounted and the blade spins from the bottom up. I still got some breakage but it came off the unfinished side.