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matty1098

Help with wall gap

3 years ago

I diy tiled a half wall that will mostly be hidden by a vanity. The top three rows will show. I didn’t realize the wall was so bowed inward on the left. The gap is a tiny bit larger then 1/4”. Any suggestions on how to make this look decent? A fat caulk fill will probably look way off from the perfect right side.


Thank you in advance.


Comments (18)

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    I'd tear it off, if only because there was no need for it. It looks too warm with your wall color as well.

    Show the vanity and the rest of your plan.

  • 3 years ago

    I think you could add thin tile “molding” strip. I’ve seen all sorts of choices in those.

  • 3 years ago

    A molding …on both sides if necessary … or molding strip out of the same tile .., the only solution ….

  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    You could pop out those tiles and reset them or use a tile trim or caulk. Walls are never perfect. I personally would use caulk or let the grout fill it. It is noticeable now because of the darker shadow-it will disappear once finished.

  • 3 years ago

    Over time caulk can split & crack therefore on larger spaces such as yours, if it were mine, I would go with a matching molding strip.

  • PRO
    3 years ago

    I'm guessing those are full tiles at the left side making new longer cuts impossible? If you have a good drywall guy or painter call him and they can float out the left wall a bit.

  • 3 years ago

    Matte: if you remove the top 4 tiles on the left and replace them with pieces that are just a bit longer, you’ll be fine; after grouting it won’t be obvious.

  • 3 years ago

    ^^^Float the bow in the wall with drywall mud and repaint.

  • 3 years ago

    In the 2 rows with whole tiles meeting the wall you might need to go back and adjust each space in between tiles a tiny bit, making your gap just a bit wider than the spacers, thus making up that little extra gap on the left. It’s not that hard to make adjustments prior to grouting. Overall I think it looks very nice and neat.

  • 3 years ago

    Thanks all for the replies. This is actually my second time tiling anything. So the answer to all the "why didn't I" statements is simply because I'm inexperienced and I'm trying to fix my screw up. I used type 1 adhesive for the tiles, so I'm curious, how would you take off tiles and reset them without major damage?


    The easiest idea would be to float the wall I think. Not that I'm the best at that either. But this is a basement bathroom and I'm not looking for perfection.


    I appreciate everyone's input.

  • 3 years ago

    Good job! Ok. So, if this were mine…I would simply grout it all with a matching white grout, install the vanity, connect everything, etc. And then, I would buy a counter top hand towel holder and place it in that corner and hang some pretty towels on it. The eye will go to the towels, not the wall behind it. Seriously. While you can do some minor adjustments to the gaps between tiles, those might show, too. You could also try your hand at bringing the wall out a bit with dry wall compound. Or make a mess of it. I would probably work at fooling the eye, knowing that everything BUT the darn walls, looks perfect! 😉

    matty1098 thanked ptreckel
  • 3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    This is excellent for your second time tiling! If it were me I'd just caulk it with color-matched caulk and once the bathroom's in use, you'll rarely think about it. But if you do want to fix it, Coray has the solution--you increase the space just a teeny smidge between each of the tiles in the affected rows, and the gap disappears. Once you grout, you'll never notice that they're spaced a little differently. We did a lot of that when we tiled our kitchen because none of the walls were plumb. Just measure twice (or more!) to be sure of the distance and use spacers so it stays consistent--your eye will assume if it's the same in row A and the same in row B, rows A and B must be the same. They make spacers in increments down to (at least) 1/32"--those were really helpful for us, and might be all the space you need to add here.

    matty1098 thanked artemis78
  • 3 years ago

    Pencil trim in the corner and be done with it. looks great for your second time tiling.

    matty1098 thanked millworkman
  • PRO
    3 years ago

    Backer rod for the backing for the caulk, then a paintable caulk. Paint it the wall color, and it will disappear.

  • 3 years ago

    You really did do an outstanding job for only being your second tiling job! You’re hired to do the tiling behind my vanity/mirrors that I need to have finished in one of my bathrooms!


    Actually, you’re making me feel like I should stop trying to find someone to do it and just tackle it myself!

    matty1098 thanked dani_m08
  • 3 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the ideas and compliments. It's not really hard for a small wall job like this, just time consuming and messy since I'm an amateur. YouTube is your friend. I may try to caulk it and if it looks awful move on to trim or float the wall. Being a secondary bathroom, caulk and tricking the eye might be just enough to help me get over my mistakes. Thanks again.