u/Sytzy

And if they’re doing any type of solid surface, they can go To a countertop store and order solid surfaces off of scrap slabs and have them custom milled or cut to size for shower thresholds, vanity tops, niche inserts (sills, sides and top) and any other surface where it could make sense to use solid surfaces such as the window return jambs, tops of knee walls and floating shelves around the bathroom.

I’ve saved a ton of money by doing it this way. Go to stone slab manufacturers (like countertop business) and ask to look through their scrap or off-fall slabs and get a heavily discounted, high end product

Think about all the minerals that’s in our drinking water. I’ll let you figure that one out. Google is your friend.

Also, the stone usually comes in on pallets wrapped in shrink wrap and plastic.

That’s the only location it’ll ever stay looking nice.. and in the White House or unused portions of a home where people take month-long summer vacations to another home elsewhere

Iron in the stone will rust. That’s part of it.

Why people still choose a high maintenance material inside one of the messiest spaces in a home is beyond me

If you have extra scrap sheets, go ahead and install it on a piece of backerboard using the same thinset/mastic you used for this project. Give it some similar slippage that you see on the photos, and maybe even something more extreme. Grout it and Allow everything to cure for 7 days before doing anything to it (by then it’ll reach at least 90% of its cure strength) I would then try multiple methods to sand it down.

It’s marble, so it’s fairly soft. But keep in mind, you really need to work through the different grits of sanding material. Don’t jump ahead. For example with wood, you don’t want to use 40 grit sand paper and thin skip ahead to 120 grit. The 40 grit leaves some aggressive scratches that the 120 grit will never be able to remove.

For stone, you’ll need to finish close to around a 3000 grit. And it’s very easy to sand a groove or “bowl” into a spot if you’re really trying to work a high spot down. So 1 spot may need to be worked into a 12” circle just to avoid creating a sudden groove.

Making a scrap/test sheet will help you understand this and find the best methods to attack this. Orbital sander’s are your friend. Unlike belt sander’s that remove material in one direction, orbital sander’s spin and move in an “orbital pattern”.

You may try a belt sander to help with 80% of the work but then an orbital sander to finish the rest. A cup disk on a grinder works well also.

Talk to a stone fabrication shop or a sub here on Reddit for recommendations for best tools and processes

Yeah. But typical practice is to overhang the countertops over the cabinets about 1.5” or so. Which always throws that line off… the proactive planning would be to hold other lines off away from that cabinet side profile (line subdividing doors, outside corners or other profiles) to where a full install of backsplash would make since. This is incredibly hard to plan for. Therefore do what makes the most sense and stop it in line with the upper cabinets.

Agreed, any other variation creates more than solving. As in should they tile a whole wall? Keep it simple, just install along the back walls and lineup with the uppers.

Please reference my comment about them installing along the sides and creating more problems than solving

So stopping the backsplash 1/2” short of the countertop is where all hell breaks loose and all the mess is going to occur at that spot?

They could install it along the sides, but they need to be proactive in where All their lines are going to meet up and what profiles they should use to hide the edges of the tile (whether it’s metal trim or matching tile bullnoses, etc)

But in solving one problem, it’ll create new ones. So pick your poison

Just got to talking to an architect over this thing Keep lines clean, don’t run your backsplash beyond your cabinets because that creates too many lines and edges and profiles that installers are going to try to make look right. Without more consideration of uppers lining up with cabinets, corners and other lines, this is the only way. Stop it in line with the upper cabinets creates less busy lines than the alternative.

Use clear or sanded grout caulk color match

Siliconized grout, sanded color match

By the time it reach the surface, it would have lost both evidence a d audience.

Looking for something smaller and easier to pack around. I’ve already got a 36” Rubi break now, but that thing is a beast to carry in and out of the truck

What’s the model number? We are the largest tile contractor in Evansville, so our company may be interested in purchasing a couple to help us out on some big projects that involve a lot of subway

Long story short, know your material and use the most efficient tool to cut it that doesn’t create more work. We’ve install hospitals all the way to college universities, residential million dollar homes and so on. Time and place for everything

Yup, time and a place

Which Rubi do you use?

The goal on every project is to achieve a consistent, full grout joint that finishes flush with the top of the tile. However, achieving that result across a large installation involves several variables, including jobsite conditions, the amount of square footage being grouted, crew size, and the experience and efficiency of the installers.

I’ll give you a window into the process through the eyes of an installer:

-On large projects, especially when there are substantial amounts of square footage to grout, timing becomes a critical part of the process. Once grout is floated into the joints, there is a limited window in which it needs to be cleaned. That window varies depending on the grout product and the conditions on site.

-For example, in a large room, it may take 20–30 minutes to float the entire area. By the time the installer finishes spreading the grout, the area where they started may already be ready for its initial cleaning. At that point, someone has to begin wiping, even if it means getting onto the grout sooner than would be ideal under more controlled conditions.

-If the crew waits too long to begin cleaning, the grout in the areas completed first may become extremely difficult to work with by the time they reach the end of the room. On the other hand, beginning cleanup at different stages of the grout’s setting process can affect how the joints finish from one area to another.

-Several factors influence this timing, including room temperature, floor temperature, humidity, tile porosity, and the temperature of the water used to mix the grout. The number of installers available, the size of the area, and the experience of the crew also affect how efficiently the work can be completed within the product’s working window.

Long story short: The expectation is always to achieve the most consistent finish possible, and that standard should never be disregarded. However, large-scale grouting is a time-sensitive process, and real-world jobsite conditions can affect the degree of consistency that is achievable from one area to the next.

The goal is to minimize those variations through proper planning, experienced installers, adequate manpower, and consistent technique. Understanding the process helps explain why minor differences can occur, even when the crew is working toward the same finished result throughout the installation.

Hospital. But yeah. Honestly though, snapper is perfect and I bitch all the time when I see jobs where guys don’t polish their edges… so if it’s cutting well enough, most my cuts are hidden by the next wall of tile or a caulk joint on an inside corner

Trust me. My quality isn’t lacking lol

But on these big jobsites I get, 36 bathrooms in a commercial building, if you know what you’re doing, and you have a good break, it goes fast.

You have to balance speed, quality, and safety on a big job like this.

https://preview.redd.it/6tfrblrqugvh1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a81ff0b3605557e483039e2ebc8e31b8b1eff6a6

Good nuff

https://preview.redd.it/6pncuiciugvh1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=64e29c7c1ba23396720cbd710a6da799c254d5a6

You’re telling me that this tile cut on a tile break isn’t cleaner than your wet saw???

So you like having to dry off the backs of your tile every time you have to set subway tile?

Same. Hardly ever break out the wet saw anymore. The time it takes to unload it, set it up, fill it with water, and then when you’re done, drain the water, scrape and clean the saw tray and the water tray, Load it back up and clean your water mess up off the floor, I’d gladly break your my grinder and polishing pad to make touch ups. My back and body are thankful.

Right?