It's True: You Do Need to Watch Out for the Slippery Slope

Today Troy installed a new blade on the tile saw. You know what that means? I did some cutting.

Things didn't start so well; I had another tile break, but I told myself I just have to keep going. I put painters tape around the tiles next to the cuts to try to stabilize the tile but I'm not sure it helped at all. The cracks didn't appear to follow the veins you could see on the front, but rather they followed cracks you could see from the back.

The last of the four tiles I cut had a corner break away when I peeled away the tape. When I realized it was going to be under the sink edge, I decided I was just going to use it. (First step down the slope.)

So you can see it now, but once the sink is in place, it should be completely covered. I figured I could live with that.

Then the third tile I laid cracked as I was putting it into place. I had had enough by then and decided I was going to put both pieces in the best I could and call it good.

I know, it looks pretty noticeable, but if I pull back a little bit and show the whole tile:

it's not nearly so obvious. (Right?) (Foot is sliding...can't keep from going down...)

The second last tile I put in--and my favourite--cracked as I was pressing it into place. I decided I couldn't live with that and replaced it with the last tile I had. It was my least favourite (naturally, that's why it wasn't being used). (Resisting the pull down that slope.)

Finally, the last tile I laid cracked as I was pushing it down. (You would think that I would learn, but I really didn't think I was pushing hard.) I didn't notice the crack at first, but knew something wasn't right when I noticed the tile was bowing up in the center of one edge. Tile normally doesn't bend.

This is a lot less noticeable as the tile was pretty much in place before it cracked. And I left it there. (The bump you just heard was me hitting the bottom of the slope.)

So, my apologies to all the members of the "perfection club"--I am not going to qualify. On the other hand if you apply the standard from the quilting community (that is, Can you see it from a galloping horse?), I think we're doing alright:

In any case, it is done. Next step is for Troy to apply the wood trim to the edge. I've noticed a chip on the one corner already:

so we have to get the edges protected pronto. He had trim pieces purchased already (a bit of a hassle since Menards only had warped ones left and wasn't going to order more until those had sold) but after I laid the initial tiles, he realized it wasn't going to be wide enough. Guess what? Tile on thinset is a lot taller than Formica! Who would have guessed.

Once that is done, I will grout and then the sink can go in. I can't wait.

P.S.: If you have a spouse and they are working on a project that is really not going that well, telling them that if things really don't work out you can always remove everything you've done and start over and that this is no great loss is not really a very helpful or comforting thing to say. Just in case you were wondering. (I will leave comments open in case one certain spouse is going to try to defend himself.)