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IrelandJohn Dolechek's mudroom tiles looked straight. Then came the crack
A renovation setback brings an unusually busy comment section, with viewers focusing on what goes underneath large tiles.
John Dolechek
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 153,708 views a day, 22 times a normal first day on this channel (6,860).
our biggest mistake when installing large tile in our mudroom #Tile #MudroomMakeover #DIYMistakes
Gabby spreads mortar across the mudroom floor while John Dolechek cuts the edge pieces outside. They have spacers, leveling wedges and a carefully squared reference line. What they don't have, John begins to suspect, is enough thinset beneath the tiles.
His Short about the job reached an estimated 150,000 views in its first day, far beyond his usual start. The comments were even more unusual for the channel, arriving roughly fifty times faster than on a typical first day.
The project begins with John using a triangle to establish a square line from the laundry room. "So initially, I thought the most important part of this project was making sure the tile was perfectly straight..." he explains.
As the couple work, Gabby tries to keep mortar from squeezing into the grout lines, while leveling wedges help keep neighboring tile edges flush. They finish the room. But when John walks across it later that night, he hears a crack. His opening narration says they ended up having to redo almost everything.
Viewers concentrate on the less visible part of the installation: the mortar bed. Several recommend spreading mortar on the backs of the tiles, a technique called back-buttering, while others discuss trowel size and cleaning excess mortar from the joints. Those are viewers' diagnoses, rather than a confirmed explanation of the failure.
The floor follows John's videos about adding a wood shiplap ceiling and finishing the mudroom walls with drywall and paneling. This installment records the part of the makeover that needs doing again.
Published on Trari
Where next?
What viewers say
Back butter the tile to prevent hollow spots
@anewman72002See it on YouTubeYou need to mortar the entire back of the tile itself, and lay it down with the tile mortar and floor mortar grooves parallel so they collapse together better.
Better adhesion and no weak/hollow spots under the tile. Keep it up.@KnockingNeoSee it on YouTubeTake a old toothbrush and clean the thinset out of the grout lines before it dries
@NickGerv1See it on YouTube
1 more comment
its okay, it is how we learn. I appreciate anyone taking the time to try
@smileybagelsSee it on YouTube
Public comments from the video's page on YouTube
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- Channel
- John Dolechek
- Subscribers
- 165,000 ▲ 1,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 1,385,025
- Channel views, pace per day
- 393,643 (on a normal day: 157,963)
- Video published
- November 8, 2026
- Video views so far
- 212,355 (2 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 201,063
The numbers
The tile-installation Short drew an unusually large first-day audience for John Dolechek, with an even sharper increase in comments.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which tool does John use to cut the mudroom tiles?
John cuts the edge pieces outside using a wet tile saw, whose water basin helps keep the blade cool.