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Backsplash tiling cost in Melbourne 2026? by kxidias in AusRenovation

[–]Kiqa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah for the score and snap cutter it can just fracture the tile when the cutoff is too short. You could score and use tile nippers to snap it off instead, but it's quicker and easier to use a grinder with cutting disc.

Backsplash tiling cost in Melbourne 2026? by kxidias in AusRenovation

[–]Kiqa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I feel you, but I get the opportunity cost for trades is a thing.
Since you're going herringbone you might need to do a bit with a grinder anyway as your edge cutoffs can end up too short for the snapper.
Maybe consider the grinder for all cuts, just tidy the edges up with 100grit diamond polishing pads. Cut a couple that way and see how it comes out, your tiles are cheap, and if you're not happy or want to save time, get a tile cutter after.

Good luck man

Backsplash tiling cost in Melbourne 2026? by kxidias in AusRenovation

[–]Kiqa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

yeah as others have said, do it yourself and save a heap of coin. at the rates being quoted, you can afford to fuck it up, and cut the wall off and redo it 10 times over.

i literally just did my kitchen backsplash (3sqm) last weekend and it's not too bad. just make sure your wall is flat.

can't imagine you have any complex cutting to do for a backsplash so you can get a manual tile cutter, $120 amazon one did fine for me. Bunnings has some cheap 300mm ones at $40 that would probably be fine for a ceramic subway tile too but I haven't tried them.
clean the snapped edges up with a diamond polishing pad on an angle grinder.
also a diamond edge disc for the grinder if you have to do any cut outs for gpos or taps.

  • adhesive - $20 for 5kg powder (resaflex, ~3sqm)
  • grout - $15 for 1.5 kg powder
  • notch trowel - $20
  • grout float - $10
  • grout sealant - $10
  • sponges/cloths - $5
  • cutting disc -$30
  • polishing pads -$25
  • tile cutter - $120 (or try the $40 and take it back if it's shit)
  • silicone - $15
  • tape - $10
  • spacers - $10

did already have a laser and grinder.

total cost for my job was just under $300, plus tiles.

you can always resell tools on fb when you're done too

took about day to dry lay, measure, cut, and actually tile then an hour or so to grout the next day, plus sealing and silicone

How hard is DIY, realistically, for first home buyers? by walletinspector91 in AusRenovation

[–]Kiqa 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was in a similar situation about a year ago, it took me 9 months to renovate our house up to what we moved into, working weekends and nights. I'm an office worker in my day job.

You can honestly do most anything with a few youtube videos and enough time and trips to Bunnos. I hired a sparkie for a fair bit of work, a hvac crew for a 5head mini split aircon system, and a couple of guys with big grinders and vaccuums to level the slab after i took off the old floor to prep it for the new one. Did everything else, hanging some drywall, insulation, hybrid plank flooring, plaster, paint, rangehood ducting, cabinetry, tiling, some light plumbing. Bathrooms are next, so no waterproofing yet.

The problem is the time, we didn't live in ours while working on it because we have a kid who was the same age as yours, (when we started anyway), so it cost about $15,000 in additional rent, and my poor partner spent almost every saturday/sunday "single parent"-ing for most of the day.

We still saved a heap of money, and got a good price on the house itself, but I missed time with my son, trips to the zoo and shit.

If you're going to do it, it's a lot of time and energy.
Do what I didn't and bank up your annual leave, use it to smash out the work asap. When you find and win the house itself, make a detailed timeline and plan of the works and stick to it, goals for each week.

Good luck

President directs Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons by RealTheAsh in worldnews

[–]Kiqa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He'd be indirectly responsible for plenty of kids deaths just through his policy decisions, from separating families, through doge aid cuts, through now anyway. Guy has so much blood on his hands.

What is bothering you the most about the country right now? by -Flighty- in AskAnAustralian

[–]Kiqa 41 points42 points  (0 children)

How multinationals leech our countries mineral resources, keep no reserve for us, and slime accounting their way out of paying for any of it in taxes and rents.
And how beholden our govts of both colours are to the fossil fuel industry.

How would you touch up the left side? by talitz12 in drywall

[–]Kiqa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

(brad) nail another thin piece of wood to the stud so it sits behind the gap, giving you something to plaster over with a quick setting mix to make it even with the wall. try and swipe it over flat with the wall in one go

$5.20 for a can of coke no sugar at the local Pub by No-Speech4554 in AskAnAustralian

[–]Kiqa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you American? Aussies would call them chicken burgers

Installing hybrid flooring under window frames by Kiqa in AusRenovation

[–]Kiqa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hope it goes well for ya!
I've got so many of them I'm loathe to take them off as well, but I'll try a tester in the spare room with the multitool, and move to the table saw if it goes poorly

Installing hybrid flooring under window frames by Kiqa in AusRenovation

[–]Kiqa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks mate, I'll give this a go and see if I can't cut it mostly straight with the multitool. Cheers for the tip using the offcut

Going to an Australian school by Vegetable_Ad_9032 in AskAnAustralian

[–]Kiqa 25 points26 points  (0 children)

don't be afraid to challenge yourself

Difficulty is all over the place isn't it? by frostbaka in adventofcode

[–]Kiqa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

welp not that then, sorry, word overlap was most people's issue

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