While installing a backsplash with diagonal 12-in. tile recently, my crew and I had nerve-wracking problems with the grout spacers. They aren’t made for diagonal tiles with accents at the corners and have to be inserted on edge to get the right spacing. They were unstable on a 45° slope and kept falling out. We were spending more time replacing grout spacers than anything else.
To remedy the situation, we stretched out a length of 2-in. general-use masking tape on a piece of thin plywood. About every 2 in. we punched a 1/4-in. hole with a handheld paper punch, and we cut the tape in 2-in. lengths. Inserting a spacer through the hole ensured that it was held securely, and tiling became a smooth process again.
—Don Mathis, Macomb, IL
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #252
