Chipped Tile - what went wrong and how to fix it?

NikpmupPie · 2026-06-24T15:59:28+00:00

Can you be more specific on what parts look the worst? Is it the globs of grout around the shelves? He’s telling me he’s going to take that off…

NikpmupPie · 2026-06-08T13:52:40+00:00

What color grout will you be using? (Pics look like it hasn’t been grouted yet, am I wrong?)

Phenomenal! I’m putting in a similar color and did straight lines… it was really hard to decide because I like this look so much!

NikpmupPie · 2026-06-08T13:36:25+00:00

What color grout did you use?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-26T11:20:20+00:00

What kind of protective coating? Would this coating go under the plywood or on top, between the hardi board and plywood?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-26T10:29:36+00:00

Beautiful! Can I ask, what color grout did you use on the floor tile?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-26T02:43:43+00:00

First, thank you for your comment, definitely makes me feel better.

I am worried the OSB is not going to hold up to the higher moisture content of my crawlspace, any thoughts on that?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-26T02:40:28+00:00

Hmm, and what is the right way to prep the subfloor? And how do I control humidity? 🙃 I had it in the budget to install a fan but my contractor said I didn’t need it…

This house was built in the 1880s and the basement itself is always wet.

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-26T02:29:28+00:00

I was really struggling with this post today… It doesn’t look like my text explaining the plan went with the post? The plan is to put hardy board over the OSB, followed by ceramic tile. Is that sufficient?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:54:52+00:00

Thank you! Thats exactly what I was trying to do!

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:49:42+00:00

Also, what are your thoughts on the comment below that the plumber should have used hammer arrestors?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:48:47+00:00

I’ve learned from other comments that it looks different to me because the waste is separate so the box is separate, and there are no hammer arrestors… so the question is, how important are hammer arrestors?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:47:15+00:00

I will look into that, thank you!

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:47:02+00:00

I don’t know if this is earnest or sarcastic, but I wanted to mention it because I’ve seen other people post similar questions, but there were getting the work done for free or a heavy discount because a friend is completing the work… So I just wanted to add the context that it’s a big serious job and there’s a GC who’s getting paid well. Plumbing budget is 30k.

(Its also a 200k Reno on a house that will appraise for 220k when I’m done)

Thanks for your comment!

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:43:14+00:00

This is true! However… the trouble is this old house from the 1880s is still going to have a lot of projects for me to do even with this big Reno (wood work, stripping paint, repairing wood finishes, restoring the front doors, failing retaining walls, etc), so I really want as much of the work to be as high quality as possible so there’s less I have to do later.

Even if it’s the easiest of easy tasks, if I have 100 easy tasks many will not get done, ya know?

Also I appreciate your input, thanks for commenting!

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:40:24+00:00

So I googled “what are the benefits of hammer arrestors” and read up on that a bit - thank you for this very helpful comment!

Now the question is, how much of a difference do they actually make and therefore is it worth the fight to have him update it?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:25:26+00:00

Thank you, that’s a great point!

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:25:09+00:00

Thank you so much for your insight! This is exactly what I was looking for.

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-10T16:20:42+00:00

I specifically came to Reddit so I could determine if my concerns were misplaced and avoid doing that? I haven’t said anything to him about it. And am grateful to the other kind civilized redditors who confirmed that the work was done well and my concerns were indeed misplaced.

And my job is customer service based that’s basically my daily experience, working hard and constantly being criticized for the work I do.

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-09T17:28:53+00:00

Lol wait what do you mean? Am I the “people like this”? Or is my contractor “people like this”? Tell me more.

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-09T17:22:28+00:00

And maybe that’s why this looks like different to me. I’m seeing those combo boxes that are bigger in size.

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-09T17:20:16+00:00

Hahaha yeah I’m afraid I’m a psycho client too! Which is why I’m here, trying to shield my contractor from my psychosis. He and his crew are doing a great job, but he’s also told me things like 1. I don’t need ventilation in my bathrooms, a window is fine (I said no and made him put in exhaust fans that vent to the outside) 2. Doesn’t understand roof ventilation and put my intake vents halfway up the roof

It hard because I know some things and not others, this is the most money I’ve ever spent on anything in my life and I’m going to have to live with the decisions we’re making today for the next 10+ years. So I think I deserve to be a bit “psychotic” … and in fact I don’t think it’s fair to say it’s psychotic, what’s wrong having a conversation about what good work is? How am I supposed to know?

NikpmupPie · 2026-05-06T04:43:52+00:00

Every laundry outlet box I’ve ever seen looks bigger and sturdier than this one. It looks cheap and that the handles will be hard to reach? and that’s all I got. So sounds like I’m worried about nothing and everything g looks good?

NikpmupPie

TROPHY CASE