Tile Set Right The First Time

Depends on the tile, the size of the space and what is underneath. Across New Jersey most tile work runs somewhere around eight to ten dollars a square foot with mid-grade tile included, and a standard shower usually lands between $1,800 and $5,000. Large format, marble and herringbone cost more because they take longer. Those are ballpark figures for planning, not a quote. Your number comes from seeing the space. We quote flat, in writing, before we start.

Not honestly, no. We can look at a photo and tell you roughly what you are dealing with and whether we are the right fit, and that is worth doing before anyone drives anywhere. But the price of a tile job is decided by things a camera cannot show: whether the floor moves, whether the walls are square, what is under the old tile and what we find when it comes up. Anyone who gives you a firm number off a picture is either padding it heavily or planning to come back for more later. We come out, measure, and then quote. It is free.

A shower is not a one-day job, and anyone telling you it is should worry you. Demo and prep take a day. Waterproofing goes on and has to actually cure. Then tile, then grout, then grout cures. Most showers run three to five days start to finish. A floor or a backsplash is faster, usually two days.

Either way works. Most people pick their own, they have usually been looking at it for months. Send us what you picked and we will tell you how much you need including the extra for cuts and breakage, because people almost always order too little. If you would rather not deal with it, we will bring samples and handle the ordering.

Every one, properly. Cement board, then a full membrane bonded across it, sloped pan, sealed corners and drain. Then tile. Plenty of guys skip it or half-do it because you will never know until the ceiling downstairs gets a stain. We photograph every step so you can see exactly what went in behind your tile.

Yes. Removal runs roughly $1.50 to $4.50 a square foot depending on what is under it and how well it is stuck. Worth knowing: old tile sometimes hides rot or a bad subfloor. If we find it we stop and show you before doing anything else. You will never get a surprise line item.

Yes. A backsplash, one bathroom floor, a repair on somebody else's bad work. We would rather do a small job well and be the one you call next time.

Tile work makes dust, there is no way around it. What we control is where it goes. Floors covered on the path in and out, the work area sealed off, and cleanup at the end of every day rather than just at the end of the job.

Based in Kearny, working across New Jersey and New York. Hudson, Essex, Union, Middlesex, Morris and Somerset counties regularly, and we travel for the right job. Not sure if we come to you? Call and ask.