Category: Tile & Shower Enclosures

The substrate secret that stops gravity Installing large format tiles on a shower wall requires a substrate with less than 1/8 inch variation over 10 feet. Because these tiles are heavy and inflexible, the wall must be perfectly flat to ensure 95 percent mortar coverage and prevent lippage. Professionals use high-bond polymer-modified thin-set to combat…

The mechanics of the monolithic tile surface Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. When you are dealing with large format tile, you are essentially trying…

The geometry of visual expansion in compact rooms To make a small room look large, you must implement large-format tiles with rectified edges installed in a diagonal or offset pattern. Minimizing the visual break caused by grout lines and using a color that matches the tile creates a continuous surface. This reduces the cognitive load…

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That job taught me that the details you cannot see are the ones that save your reputation. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. This same…

Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. When you are dealing with penny tiles, that subfloor needs to be flatter than a sheet of glass. If…

I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That same week, I walked into a master suite where a two year old shower was already weeping through the drywall in the hallway. The culprit was not a massive plumbing failure. It was a…

Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That is the reality of professional flooring. If your subfloor has a 1/8 inch dip over ten feet, your…

I once walked into a luxury bathroom where a two-thousand-dollar shower renovation was falling apart after just six months. The homeowner was furious because the grout at the very top, where the tile met the ceiling, was cracking and falling out in chunks. They thought the installer was lazy. The truth was worse. The installer…

Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. That is the reality of a master install. You do not just slap tile down. You build a foundation.…

Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. When you are dealing with a large master bathroom floor, you are fighting physics. The minute you decide to…