That time a customer told me my grout lines looked like railroad tracks

I was putting in a backsplash for a lady in Oak Park a few years back. She looked at my work and said the spacing was too inconsistent, called it 'wobbly' right to my face. I was using those cheap plastic spacers from the big box store and just eyeballing it. Now I buy the tile leveling system with the wedges and it costs me about $15 more per job but I haven't had a single complaint since. Has anyone else had to switch up their tools because of one critical customer?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix1471mo ago

Honestly, you calling them "cheap plastic spacers" made me wince a little. Those things are fine for basic floor tile but for a kitchen backsplash where everything is in your face, they're basically asking for trouble. The issue isn't just the spacers though, it's that you need consistent joints and the old cross style lets tiles drift sideways if you bump them while setting. The wedge system locks everything in place and forces the lippage down at the same time which is huge. I've been using the spin style leveling system with the little rubber caps and it's the same idea, just faster to pop off after it sets. Tbh I think most tile guys who have been at it for a while eventually ditch the free spacers for something better once they get a real complaint like that.

holly_sanchez751mo ago

Is it just me or is this the same pattern with everything nowadays? You start out with the basic cheap tool and then one job goes sideways and suddenly you're paying triple for something that does the same thing but better.

parker_thomas1mo ago

@felix147 you're mostly right but the spin style levelers are actually slower to take off if you don't have the right tool for them. With the wedge system you can just kick them with your foot and they snap off clean. Those little rubber caps need to be twisted off one by one and they leave a ring sometimes if you don't get them at the right angle. Not a huge deal but worth mentioning. The cross spacers can definitely drift though, I'll give you that. Once you use a leveling system it's hard to go back to just relying on spacers alone.