rivera.hannah•17d agoProlific Poster

Hot take: I think back buttering tile is a waste of time for wall jobs

I did bathroom walls for 3 years without ever back buttering a single tile. Just troweled the wall and set them. Figured hollow spots were normal. Then I had a 200 square foot shower job in Austin where half the tiles sounded loose after a day. The homeowner called me back and I had to pull 30 tiles off. That was the moment I realized I was doing it wrong the whole time. An old timer at the supply house told me you need that full coverage on walls because gravity works against you. Some guys swear by just troweling the wall and say back buttering slows them down. Has anyone else had to redo a job because they skipped this step?

3 comments

3 Comments

henry_anderson5417d ago

Yeah shortcut now costs later" is how everything works in my life too.

taylor.brooke17d ago

Learning the hard way is the only way some lessons stick. I tried cheaping out on transmission fluid once and it cost me a whole rebuild down the road. Slowing down and doing the maintenance right the first time saved me from way bigger headaches later. It's like paying yourself back with interest when you do things properly. Sometimes you just have to trust that the extra work now will pay off big later.

emma_jones17d ago

Yeah I learned that lesson too right after I had to explain to a client why their shower sounded like a maraca.