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brendaivan

How do you think my subway tile backsplash turned out?

8 years ago

I wanted to hire a professional to install my backsplash, but my husband convinced me to allow him to do it so we can save the money on labor. While I appreciate his effort, I'm not completely happy with the results. I wanted thin grout lines, but they turned out much thicker than I expected. Also, he used a pre-mixed grout that was supposed to be bright white, but it turned out to be grey.


What do you think of the photos? I'm tempted to hire someone to tear out all the tile and start all over.





Comments (24)

  • 8 years ago
    Not my house, but I think it looks good!
    brendaivan thanked sharayak
  • 8 years ago
    I like it.
    brendaivan thanked ilesliemy
  • 8 years ago

    love that tile color too!

    brendaivan thanked New house
  • 8 years ago

    Looks nice!


    brendaivan thanked m_gabriel
  • 8 years ago
    Looks ok to me...I like the grout and the tile color is really pretty.
    brendaivan thanked Melissa Gallagher
  • 8 years ago
    I think it looks great. The grout colour is good too - bright white can scream "look at me". Big hug to hubby!
    brendaivan thanked Islandgirl
  • 8 years ago
    Looks great. Don't rip it out.
    brendaivan thanked Laurie Hutch
  • 8 years ago
    Your hubby did fine with what he had to work with. But the tile choice reminds me of a depressing winter day. I think the issue is you are seeing this is a bad color choice not that his installation was inferior.
    brendaivan thanked gtcircus
  • 8 years ago

    Some subway tiles need spacers and are not designed to be butted up against each other. I learned that when I ordered a random subway tile and told the contractor to make the grout lines as small as possible. The smallest he could do with that tile was not what I pictured in my head. I think it looks good. For me, I compare things to how I envisioned them in my head, and that is the standard of if it's good vs bad. When really, how I pictured it may not necessarily mean something is better or even possible. Also, I would have chosen light grey grout over white, personally. Agree that white is too shocking.

    brendaivan thanked devin_crowdr
  • 8 years ago
    I love the color. I don't find it depressing at all. I think that it looks like a job well done. Kudos to your husband.
    brendaivan thanked cramps36
  • 8 years ago
    It looks good! I think he did a great job. The grout is fine. Sometimes bright white is not the way to go.
    brendaivan thanked mstlh
  • 8 years ago

    Keep it, it looks great!!!

    brendaivan thanked luvcolor10b
  • 8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I think it looks fine, and I'd live with it but I'm with you, white grout would look better. The greys kind of clash to my eyes. If you hate the grout that much, hubby could grind it out and replace with bright white. Or you could experiment with bleaching the grout first. Cheaper than hiring someone to destroy and redo beautiful work, and probably easier on the marriage too! :-D

    brendaivan thanked miss lindsey (She/Her)
  • 8 years ago
    Looks nice. I'm curious about the range. Do you see drywall once the range is in place? And are you supposed to put a little piece of quartz there or another course of tile?
    brendaivan thanked simstress
  • 8 years ago

    Looks good to me. You are lucky to have a handy and ambitious hubby.

    brendaivan thanked yvonnecmartin
  • PRO
    8 years ago

    Hello. In my opinion everything perfectly looks.

    brendaivan thanked Milano Doors
  • 8 years ago
    I can't make out the colors at all - I thought they were black and white photos. But the installation looks perfect, to this non-expert. He did a very good job.
    brendaivan thanked janedoe2012
  • 8 years ago
    It looks fantastic. Great job! Now you have a bit extra to spend on something else.
    brendaivan thanked charaj00
  • 8 years ago
    I really like it!! I have a very similar kitchen but my subway tiles are more of a sea glass, almost wish I chose your color. Oh and I wish ky husband could tile like that. Your husband did a great job. The grout looks white to me but because of the grey in your kitchen and the tile it just looks that way to you??
    brendaivan thanked Luana C
  • 8 years ago

    Overall the size of grout looks ok, but does it look pinkish in real life? It looks that way on my screen.

  • 8 years ago

    Simstress, the drywall should be completely covered once the range is pushed back, but if it is not, we will install another row of tiles to hide the drywall.

  • 8 years ago

    Campcamp, the grout looks light to medium grey in person depending on the light.

  • 8 years ago

    Luana C, the tile is grey, but it can look blueish during the day depending on the lighting. This is the tile that I got as a special order from Home Depot, check it out: http://www.homedepot.com/p/MS-International-Morning-Fog-3-in-x-6-in-Handcrafted-Glazed-Ceramic-Wall-Tile-1-sq-ft-case-PT-MOFOG36/206551710