Custom Tile Work

Tile is the whole job, not a finish step

Anybody can stick tile to a wall. What separates a real tile setter is everything that happens before that: checking that the substrate is flat, deciding where the pattern starts, and making sure the cuts land somewhere you will not stare at every morning.

A floor that is not flat before tile goes down will show every high corner as a lipped edge. Large-format tile is especially unforgiving, because the bigger the tile, the less the substrate can hide. Alec flattens first and tiles second.

What we tile

• Entryway inlays in herringbone, basketweave, or a border set into hardwood
• Kitchen and bath floors, including large-format porcelain
• Wood-look plank tile, laid with a proper offset so it does not lip
• Backsplashes and full-height range walls
• Fireplace surrounds and hearths
• Mudrooms, laundry rooms and basement floors
• Heated floor systems under tile
• Mosaic, herringbone, chevron and custom pattern layouts

Patterns and inlays

A herringbone entry set into a hardwood border is one of the highest-impact things you can do to a house for the money. It reads as custom the second somebody walks in the door. It is also unforgiving work: every piece has to be cut to a consistent angle, and the border has to close cleanly on all four sides.

Grout, sealing and the long game

Grout choice matters more than most people expect. The wrong grout in a wet area stains, cracks along movement joints, or turns a different color than the sample board. Alec specifies grout to the job, uses proper expansion joints where the tile meets a wall, and seals natural stone so it does not drink up everything that gets spilled on it.