Tile Installation

Tile is unforgiving in two ways. In a shower, water finds any gap in the layers behind it; on a floor, the eye catches every crooked grout line and every edge that sits proud of its neighbour. So we treat tile as a small construction job rather than a finish that simply gets stuck to a wall. Homeowners, landlords and business owners throughout Toronto and the GTA hire us for tile alone, or for tile as part of a bigger bathroom, kitchen or basement project.

Before the tile goes down

Tile and grout are hard but brittle, so they crack when the surface beneath them bends or shifts. Before setting anything, we make sure the base is:

• Stiff. A bouncy floor will crack tile and grout over time, so we check the framing and subfloor and add support or an uncoupling membrane where the floor needs it. Natural stone asks for an even stiffer floor than porcelain does.
• Flat. Large tiles show every dip. We level floors with self-levelling compound and straighten walls before tiling, rather than trying to make up the difference with thick adhesive.
• Right for the room. Ordinary drywall has no place inside a shower, so wet walls get cement board or foam backer board as the base for the waterproofing membrane.

What keeps water inside a tiled shower

Grout is not waterproof, and water works its way through it every time the shower runs. The real protection is the membrane behind the tile. We build the shower floor with a steady slope to the drain, carry the membrane up the walls, around niches and over benches, and seal every seam and pipe opening before tiling begins. Valves, drains and supply lines are installed by a licensed plumber; we plan the layout around their positions so the valve trim, niche and grout lines sit where they should.

Setting out the layout before the first cut

Before any thinset is mixed, we lay the room out on the floor and walls. We find the centre lines, decide where full tiles belong (usually at the doorway and on the most visible wall), and shift the grid so the edge cuts are balanced instead of leaving a thin sliver along one side. Backsplashes are centred on the range or sink, and herringbone, offset plank and mosaic patterns are planned so they turn corners cleanly.

Large-format tile needs extra care. Big porcelain panels leave little room for error, so we use a levelling system to keep neighbouring edges flush. With long rectangular tiles we keep the offset between rows well short of half a tile, because a half-brick pattern exaggerates the slight bow many long tiles have.

Choosing tile, grout and edge trim

Porcelain is dense and absorbs very little water, which makes it the usual pick for floors, front entries that see salt and slush, and shower walls. Glazed ceramic is lighter and easier to cut, which makes it a good match for backsplashes and walls, shower walls included. Natural stone is generally more porous and usually needs sealing, and marble, limestone and travertine can etch where acidic cleaners touch them. On a shower floor, small mosaics follow the pitch toward the drain more easily than large tiles and give better grip underfoot.

Grout colour changes the whole look: a close match makes the tile read as one surface, while a contrasting colour shows off the pattern along with any small irregularities. We also go over edge trims for outside corners and the transition where tile meets wood or vinyl flooring in the next room.

What adds time and cost to a tile job

With tile, labour drives the price as much as the material does. Small mosaics, herringbone, diagonal layouts and very large panels all take longer to set. Removing old tile, repairing the wall or floor behind it, levelling, waterproofing a shower, and extras such as niches, benches and metal edge trims each add to the scope, and so does every cut around a toilet flange, floor register or window return. A shower is built in stages, because levelling compound, membrane seams, thinset and grout each have to set before the next layer goes on, so it takes more visits than its square footage suggests. If you are adding electric in-floor heating, a licensed electrician makes the connection, and we plan the floor build-up and sequence around it from the start.

Planning a bathroom update, a new backsplash or a hard-wearing entry floor? Use our contact form to describe the room, its rough size and any tile you have already picked. We check the floor or walls in person before writing up your free estimate, because the substrate decides much of the scope.