CTEF has the information you need before hiring tiling professionals!

Time after time after time after time, I receive phone calls from people under stress because they hired the wrong people to complete their tile work.

"O stop, Ben you're just trying to scare me!"

"O Ben, you're just trying to up sell."

NO, NO, NO!

Let me scream it from a mountain top! Beware of who you hire. Tile is a skilled trade, not for the faint of heart.

The only way to "fix" bad tile work is to tear it all out! That's why I wrote a blog post called, "The top mistakes homeowners make when hiring a tile guy"   It explains the ins and outs of recruiting a professional grade tile person.

Another great resource and one that backs up EVERYTHING I say in my blog post is a post by the Ceramic Tile Education Foundation by the master himself, Scott Carothers. My only advice for you today is to not take a bathroom remodel lightly, or any other tile work. Follow the guidelines and take a principled approach to recruitment. PAY MORE, RESEARCH MORE, CARE MORE. If you value your time and your emotions, don't set yourself up for a construction nightmare!

Click here to learn more about hiring a qualified tile installer from Scott Carothers, at the Ceramic Education Foundation!

A gift from another content creator.

A thoroughly enjoyable video, with an excellent message.

Great YouTube channel repost.

I don't usually share YouTube channels I enjoy, but I thought I'd start doing it more often. I really enjoy this man's videos! I can really tell he speaks from a place of DEEP knowledge and passion.

Notice how he mentions that the walls lasted 800+ years and how he thinks that's how it should be. I would say him and I are kindred spirits! We want the same thing in our line of work, long lasting finished products! In a 'throw away' world, longevity is STILL king. Dismiss anyone who says otherwise.

Hope you enjoy the videos as much as I do.

Be sure to subscribe and tell him I sent you.

Discover how the details of your glass installation can make or break your shower!

This post is about the danger of putting glass door hardware (clips) on top of waterproof curbs and knee walls. It’s done constantly, and as a homeowner you need to watch out for this, because this has the potential to make your shower fail. Curbs and knee walls are a place that makes contact with an exorbitant amount of water during a shower. We spend so much time making our showers vapor and water proof. Unscrupulous glass companies will come in and put penetrations through the water proofing which will allow water to penetrate your home’s sub-structure.

We tell the glass guys all the time, “Don’t put screws into our curbs.” And what do we get but the kiss of death, “This is how we’ve always done it.”

Does it sound logical to you to drop a 2” screw into a FOAM curb? What kind of hold do you think that screw gets in foam? One response to our contention we got from a glass guy was, “What happens if there’s a slip and fall and the person hits the glass?” To which we rebutted, “Have you ever torn out one of these glass panels?”

When you tear out glass panels the professional grade 100% silicone caulking is SO tough you can NOT move the panel unless you cut the silicone 10x. Believe it or not a high-grade silicone is more than sufficient to hold the glass panel. A couple clips strategically placed on the wall(not on the curb) will more than hold a panel. It's about trusting your building material.

My question to these glass door people that want to build a glass bomb shelter, dropping screws everywhere with not a care in the world is this, Do you think people are playing football in these showers? Taking a shower is one of the most delicate, personal practices you perform in a day…. You’re not hitting these panels with cinder blocks!

Now if you look through my site at all our finish shower photos, you will see a large amount of them have clips on the shower curb. We are not proud of this. Any job you see with bad clip placement is a job we did working under a builder. When you hire us privately, your door will NOT have clips on the curb tops or knee walls. We use Chattahoochee Glass in Johns Creek, GA and yes, you pay more for their service, but they are true professionals who know and more importantly understand the dangers of penetrations through waterproofing.

We only have so much fight in us when dealing with a builder and their glass guy. We could raise a stink, but ultimately once the glass company decides to make those penetrations, it’s on them. Of course, they’re not the first one who gets the phone call, (It’s us) but the responsibility is quickly turned to the guilty parties. They should know better, but as Mark Twain said…”It’s not what we don’t know that gets us, It’s what we think we know that isn’t so.”

I’m more than happy to debate any glass guy on this topic, but I want to talk to one who has had to pay for a shower failure because of their mistake. That’s the guy who is going to be  conscientious when it comes to putting penetrations in waterproofing. Like Chattahoochee Glass Doors for example, they’ve had to pay for that mistake, so they don’t make it again. We asked our builder’s glass door guys, is there a chance you could be wrong seeing that a company with 10x your volume does it like this…? The response…” This is how my boss wants it done.”

I'll warn you, be aware of penetrations on curb tops and knee walls. Ask your glass guy, Do you make penetrations in the waterproofing on top of my curb or knee wall? Are you as conscious of waterproofing as my tile guy?

Please, don’t hold the photos on our website with curb top penetrations against us. Again, our private customers get a shower that will truly stand the test of time, that obeys national standards, and we are true sticklers for waterproofing. We supervise the glass installation ON SITE as well! But when we work for a builder, after we leave the job, things are out of our hands. We’ve expressed our opposition to curb top penetrations till we were blue in the face, what more can we do? Hopefully with time and the education of homeowners, things will indeed change for the better in this business. Remember, you have the ultimate power during your home's remodel...so say something to your glass installer...You write the check!

Unnecessary clips. Illogical explanation based on arbitrary opinion, Sad!

Chattahoochee glass, after being in business for a generation, does not penetrate shower curbs and knee walls, honoring your sacred water proofing.

The illogical opinion of glass guys based on anecdotal evidence is pointless! The most important aspect of a shower is to have it WATERPROOF! Please, glass guys....don't ruin it!

Brinno Time Lapse camera initial review.

I purchased a new time lapse camera today and I'm having a blast experimenting with it. Let me be up front with you, It's a ton of work to do content marketing! I'm talking about taking photos, making videos, how to's, doing commentary...Why do you think not many companies do it so well if at all? Imagine the effort involved in messing with cameras, getting the right shots, hours of editing and the struggle of making your content into something people want to read/watch. Now imagine doing that with water and thin set on your hands, focusing on your tile lay out and proper installation practices and interacting with clients... It's tough to work and create content at the same time!

This Brinno TLC200 Pro seems to be the solution to this problem. It's a set it and forget it type of tool. Say it with me, "Set it and forget it!" What's not to like? 

My inspiration for the purchase was a pole barn builder from the Midwest I follow on Instagram @RRbuildings. He builds these barns and uses this time lapse camera to catch all the action. He has a considerable following and his reviews are on point, so check him out! He's my hero because he's changing the game by providing tons of content of his work so there's no mysteries!

Another killer aspect of this tool is its simplicity of use. I took the footage today and made the video this evening. Not complicated at all! It runs about $128 too, so if it's destroyed or lost on the job site it's not a huge loss. Not to mention it's an improvement on just using your phone or GoPro for time lapse because the batteries last for weeks. I used it all day and I'm still at full power. I like it so far, but the real test is a year or two down the road. Let's see what kind of content I can produce with this thing!

Here's my first try...

Click the link below if you want to try one for yourself.

Our newest master bathroom--pre-grout-- Milton, GA

Best of Houzz 2018!

Very proud of out new badge on Houzz received due to positive customer service!

An awesome bathroom remodel in Cumming, GA.

Cumming, GA bathroom shower remodel.

This is a wonderful handmade tile shower located in Cumming, GA. It received the full wainscoting treatment. It is prepped with Schluter Systems.

See the Five Star Customer Review!!!

A few pictures of the process...

Jason Hamilton working away.

Curb Trimmed with Quadec Profiles.

A Kerdi drain makes for a sharp shower!

Shower Repair in Woodstock, GA: Is it worth it?

To get right to the point, No. Shower repair is not worth the money or the hassle. If you have the resources I whole heartedly recommend doing a full replacement of your leaky, toxic shower.

This week I fielded a call from a man that has a shower that is leaking into his house. The corner bench was allowing water to escape and penetrate the sub structure, the pan was also holding water making it into a veritable swamp inside his house. Corner benches are notorious for doing this, simply put, because of improper installation and unscrupulous installers. As always, I told him we only do full replacement because he would be throwing "good money after bad" or my favorite, putting "lipstick on a pig".

There isn't one homeowner out there that wants to hear this diagnosis! A person purchases a home expecting their shower to be functional for the life of the home, It looks good, why wouldn't it? Unfortunately, a shower isn't like a furnace where it has a defined life span. When purchasing a house, the shower can be a mystery, a ticking time bomb, a wallet drainer.

Here in Atlanta, If I see a shower built with a "water in, water out" system (I can tell generally,  by the drain used) I assume it's a potential swamp, ripe for bacteria growth and filth. (Be sure to watch the video at the link above for a full description of a "water in, water out" system.) I make this assumption because of a pattern I've recognized among builders here, especially new home builders, whatever is cheapest, fastest...they will do. Including hiring unskilled, corner cutting tile guys. Ultimately, what does a builder care about the shower? Ten years is all it needs to last! That check will be cashed and there will be nothing the homeowner can do except buy a whole new shower on their own dime, some homeowners aren't prepared for this so they turn to a "shower repair".

Now if I see a Schluter Sytems drain, or a comparable drain, I assume the shower will be functional for life. With a "water in, water out" system, if the tile guy skips or ignores one step it will fail over time. With a Schluter Systems shower, the moisture management technology has a standardized installation process that makes it a fool proof, lasting install. A "water in, water out" shower construction system has proven to have a problem with longevity due to human error, which has been solved by the German engineers at Schluter Systems.

This leads me to the reasons I do not recommend "Repairing" a shower.

1. When repairing a shower you will be taking off the glass structure, the first two rows of the wall tile, the shower base including the curb and in the case of the man that called me this week, the bench. So, that is about two-thirds of the shower or about two-thirds of the cost of a BRAND NEW, MODERN SHOWER with a technologically superior water management system that will last forever. Does it make sense to go back with the same old school, "water in, water out system" and the same old tile and drain you had before? Who's to say the tile guy you hired that still uses the old building methods is going to build the shower correctly, so you don't have the same problem in 10 years again?

2. Tying in the moisture management system with the old tile is always a problem. When you tear out the two bottom rows of wall tile, How do you tie in the water proofing from the "new" tile to the old tile? Ask the tile shower "repair" guy this question, That'll be an interesting answer, I'm sure.

3. Matching the old tile you have currently to the new tile is next to impossible. Yes, you will get the new tile close, but it will never be the same. Even if you do find the same tile, the dye lots will be different. A dye lot number indicates when tile was made, and tile with different dye lots, although they are the same model tile, will be different because they were made at different times. It will only be the SLIGHTEST difference, but they will be different. So, with an investment of time and money of this magnitude, Why not go all the way?

The number one reason Hamilton Tile does not do tile "repairs" is, where do we stop?  Say we agree to tear out your shower and "repair" it. We start the demolition and notice that the rot goes deeper and is more extensive than was originally thought, guess who now owns that shower and is responsible for putting it all back together. We are. So that brings up the question again, where do we stop?  You have a leaky, swamp in your house, we start tearing things out, there is evidence of rot above where we expected, do we keep going? Where do we stop?

It's illogical to build good work on top of bad. It's just a band aid. There are plenty of people who will gladly take your money for a "repair" but you mine as well set your money on fire because your house is not truly being fixed. You still have an antiquated shower but now it's with tile that doesn't exactly match, with water proofing that is incomplete, you've had a crew run rough shod through your life for a week, and your bank account is thousands lighter.

A lot of the issue is that people buy houses with features that they do not expect to fail, so a shower leak is a hugely unexpected bill for people on say, a fixed income. I realize people are inclined to fix a problem just well enough to get them through, but as I always say, If you think we are expensive...Try paying for it twice.

In this photo, the top couple feet have been removed...as well as the pan and the glass doors. This person can expect a hefty bill and the same old shower.

A tub to shower transfer for Dave in Woodstock, GA.

I was able to get some finished photos of a shower I completed in Woodstock, GA today. This was the second bathroom I did in this house and Dave and Mary were great customers! They did a lot of research before the project and invested a lot of time looking through my content, so the job sold itself. I love when people take advantage of my site to learn about me and our company because I put a lot of time into this platform and the whole idea of this site is to show and explain the difference between us and the next guy.

I often times get discouraged because I've been finding it hard lately to get people to CARE about any of...THIS (our online content) I suppose this business is a lot about social capital, who you know, if they "like" you, your charisma....We're a lot like Mike Holmes on HGTV, we come in assess the situation and tell people up front what they have to do. Not too much sugar coating. We're getting better at the sales side but it's not our strongest skill, so whenever someone calls me and says..."I've looked at your site/content and I like what I see", I feel like I have a better chance at booking the job and the introductory stuff is put on the back burner. But getting people to care and be interested in something other than price and who's going to come out and tell them what they want to hear and tap dance the best....It's tough!

With that being said, I will never give up trying to change the game here in the Atlanta area to better provide for my customers. People may not investigate online to find their tile guys at this point in time, but I'm going to stay persistent in hopes of changing the recruiting process for the better. I'm sick of seeing people being shafted by the smooth talker, the low price, the band aid, the minimum standard.

But as I said, Dave and Mary were very savvy and knew what they wanted and we got along great. They were awesome to work for. They cared about all the right things and as their reward they received an awesome finished bathroom that will last forever and looks great. Dave said to me today, "I'm going to live in this house for the rest of my life and I wanted something that would last. I never knew how much went into this until I watched you work and now I'm noticing shoddy tile work all over the place."

Tile house in Marietta provided all the tile and I thank them as well for taking care of my client so well. (Again and again and again and again)

Thanks for having me!

A full Schluter Systems shower with a standardized installation process and a 10 year warranty. The other guys are cheaper because they do not offer this level of moisture management. I'm Ben and I take immense pride in my work.

Had to use blue tape to cover these mosaic pieces because when grout gets into the crevices, it won't come out! I used Mapei's Flex color single component grout and it will look the same in 10 years as when I left. The other bid is cheaper because they are not using high end grout.

I used full silicone caulking (sealent) around all the plane changes (corners,etc) The other bid is cheaper because they are not using full silicone sealant according to ANSI standards.

An over size inset box and corner bench. Schluter Quadec brush nickle profile edging.

To top it all off, the best dog (and my favorite breed) DEUCE!!! Well behaved, friendly, great listener, loyal.

A great explanation of Traditional vs. Schluter.

This video best explains the difference between a traditional shower system and a Schluter System, officially known as a "water in- water out" system or a "sealed system."

This five minute video is a great educational opportunity before you make the large investment in a new shower.

Discover how to use Silicone caulking (sealant) like a true professional

Silicone caulking (sealant) is an excellent product and is required inside showers. Let us give you a lesson on how to silicone caulk (sealant) like a pro! Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy!

Discover an unfortunate and common mistake performed by cement board users...

Although we’ve retired the use of cement board underlayment (or CBU's - cementitious backer unit) long ago, while working in the field we see many tile guys still using this antiquated method to provide a bondable surface for their tile installation.

It still works. After all these years and many better products that do the same thing much better, guys still punish themselves using cement board. The dust, the grit, the weight…Forget about it! Ok, they use it, whatever…but do it correctly!

As a home owner or do it yourselfer…BE SURE YOUR CEMENT BOARD IS EMBEDDED IN A LAYER OF THIN SET WHEN USING IT ON A FLOORING APPLICATION!

It is shocking how many installers skip this step because it’s basic, beginner level competence. Let me tell you why it’s so important.

We put thin set under the cement board to support, or bed, the installation. It helps the installation to float on the structure and the thin set makes it so the CBU isn't bonded to the plywood. You need to make sure there is enough thin set to fill the voids in the sub floor. The thin set will allow the CBU to conform to the plywood and negates weak unsupported areas.

If you skip this step you will have air space underneath the tile installation. The air space will allow for vertical and lateral movement in the tile and the one thing you never want with tile is MOVEMENT! I can see the basic, builder grade tile installer saying “Just throw some more nails in it, It’ll be fine!” Wrong. This tile installer is breaking a cardinal rule of tile installation. The tile floor with cement board that was not bedded in thin set will creek and crack leaving cracked tile, missing grout, etc. A costly, failed floor.

People will skip this step to save a dollar and  save some time. You don’t have to mix up thin set or spread it, so this cut corner makes the installation ‘easier’. This cut corner is common on builder grade jobs because it’s very rare for the installer to be held accountable. This cut corner causes the future homeowner a ton of problems, and gives us job security.

Remember, if you’re going to use cement board….embed it in thin set and if you’re smart and want to improve…Switch to Ditra by Schluter Systems or a comparable product!

The video below shows an installer with a taste for cement board properly installing it.

An example of a white Schluter profile edging with white subway tile.

I've looked all over the internet for an example of a white Schluter Profile edging white subway tile to no avail. So, being the content creator that I am, I decided to make my own explanation/example video for any one wondering what the two put together will look like!

My weekly vlog entry:

How to water proof a barrel ceiling (or any curve) using Schluter Systems Kerdi Fabric

A quick vlog entry about how to water proof a barrel ceiling (or any curve) using Schluter Systems Kerdi Fabric.

A bit of a technical walk through.

This is a steam shower in Canton, GA. Particularly, with a steam shower,  having it water and vapor proof is of the utmost importance. This is how we do it! 

The top mistakes homeowners make when hiring a tile installer: How to not be a victim of construction malpractice.

This week I received two, count them TWO, stories of tile malpractice. Both stories pertaining to how they thought they were hiring the right person, only to find the work low quality, esthetically and mechanically, when it was completed. I hate to say that both callers were victims because they did not perform due diligence in the recruiting process, but it’s the truth.

I have so much sympathy for these people because we’ve all felt the pain involved in being ripped off. The worst part is that the person doing the ripping is usually protected and the consumers will never see their money again. Small claims, crying, hitting the wall…It’s over once the money hits the contractor’s bank account.

When you are searching for a tile contractor, all the hassle, the pain of losing and not being happy is avoidable if you follow these simple steps.  Be aware of these few key components while hiring a contractor:

1.       Never make the decision based on price alone.

This is a hard one because prices in the tile industry vary, but a good rule of thumb is, if one bid is double the other bids, wouldn’t it be smart to ask, why? Tile is ultimately a luxury and not everyone can afford to have it. Many companies will cut corners to get their pricing to a point where people who shouldn’t have tile can afford it.  That is the company you do not want to hire. With tile there are MANY corners that can be cut to reduce the overall cost… but cutting those corners will also decrease the overall QUALITY. Continue to save your money and pay to have it done correctly. There’s no honor in buying a tile floor or shower that will fail in 5 years because it wasn’t installed correctly. My favorite saying is, ‘if you think we’re expensive, try paying twice.’ You are sitting there reading this and thinking, “Gosh, this guy is just trying to scare me, that never happens.” In Atlanta, GA I get multiple calls a month from people seeking to fix shoddy work. There is no repairing horrible tile work, I always tell them, it must be completely redone. Again, high-end tile work is expensive, there is no way around it. Another favorite line of mine, by John Ruskin the prominent English social thinker and philanthropist:

"There's hardly anything in this world that a man can't make a little worse and sell a little cheaper & the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey"

 2.       Not performing due diligence in researching the potential hire.

This is the number one reason people get had. It is very common for people to hire a contractor based on recommendations alone. This has been a traditional method and often it’s a great way to find someone to do work in your home. But people, IT’S 2017! If the contractor you’re hiring doesn’t have an extensive UP TO DATE portfolio of his work, multiple great reviews, if he doesn’t provide references…you’re taking a risk going from anecdotal evidence from one friend. Look at my site…I have videos, blog posts, pictures, descriptions, I offer do it yourself content and reviews. If the person you’re hiring doesn’t have that, keep it moving! Not to mention, is the person a certified tile installer? Are they a member of the NTCA? Their local chamber of commerce? We are, and that is all to instill confidence in our customers. How many jobs have  I booked where the homeowner never asks for my Insurance or workman’s comp information? My licensing? If you don’t cover those bases, you’re in trouble!

            3.       Hiring a “handyman” a general contractor or a non-specialist.

Oh, this is a great one! Jason recently went to see a steam shower that was hacked so badly and of course it was beyond repair. When asking where the man found his tile guy, he told Jason that it was his plumber who did the tile work! O yeah, the plumber said he could handle tiling a steam shower, maybe the most technical application in the tile business. This is where the old saying, “Jack of all trades-Master of none” comes into play. I have never met a person who was GREAT at everything, especially a highly specialized trade like tile. We do this trade day in and day out and we’re STILL learning! If you’re hiring a non- specialist to install a shower or a technical tile project…you are in for a rude awakening. 

4.       Putting your trust in a general contractor.

Ok, time to beat up on the “builder guy” who can handle every aspect of building a house and knows someone who can competently perform every trade…YEAH, RIGHT! Those people are out there, I’d say one out of every 25 builders are great. That’s low. The guy you’re talking to right now probably talks a big talk, but once he books your job he’ll be calling around asking me, without meeting me, if I’ll come to your house and tile your bathroom on a weeks’ notice. You think I’m messing with you? No, not at all. Builders regularly call me to complete tile work on short notice. You think they’ve had time to vet me? On top of that, builders are always trying to increase their profit, so they’ll charge you $10 dollars a square foot for the tile work, and give the tile guy $2 and make him provide the thin set. What kind of quality do you think said tile guy is going to produce? He doesn’t know you, He doesn’t care…He’s pushing for volume. How many jobs can I pound out in a week to feed my family? You can have volume or quality, you can’t have both! So you potentially found a good general contractor…. ask to meet his crews (the guys who will be doing the work) and see their credentials… …don’t just take his word for it. How long has he been working with his crews? Ask the contractor how much time he will spend on your job site making sure things turn out the way they should…the “brief case builder” type is RAMPANT in this business. BEWARE!

5.       Hiring based on “cult of personality” instead of credentials and certifications.

Another no-no. You call up your list of tile guys and you meet with 4 of them and end up hiring the one with the quarter back good looks, the bright smile, the lifted truck. He says all the right things and gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. He hunts, he loves the same football team as you, he goes to your church…and you trust him based on emotions. I get it, it’s easy to work with someone you like personally…but the big question is, does this person know ANYTHING about tile!? I call this mistake hiring based on ‘cult of personality’ I think I originated the term…I see it all the time and it’s a mistake. You should hire based on credentials, certifications, portfolios and if you like the guy, all the better. With that being said, some of the best builders I’ve known are curmudgeons, yeah they’re a bit salty at times, but that is because they spent their time mastering their trade instead of developing a ‘golden tongue’ with no substance to back it up.

6.       The assumption that all trades are the same and tile installation is simply ‘labor’.

The tile guy is king. Tile is an extremely specialized trade and the amount of knowledge and experience involved is palpable. It’s not a trade that anyone with shoulders and feet can perform. You must be an artist and a worker combined to produce high end work. It’s not like digging a ditch or cleaning a stall, you must know what you are doing. The more credentials you can see from your potential tile installer, the better. If you can go on his Instagram account or Twitter and see that he is constantly training and learning, even better. If the person takes pictures of his work, that means he takes pride in what he does. Limit your assumptions. Great, your dad was an electrician…you have a basic knowledge of construction, awesome. That doesn’t mean you know the first thing about setting tile. Your house will be bought or sold based upon the tile work…So look at the person you’re thinking of hiring and ask yourself, “Will this person go the extra mile for me?”

Lot of tough love in this post, but it pays to be cautious about who you hire to come into your home and perform the work that amounts to a major investment. These six items are a warning seen through the eyes of this tile installer…I’m sure there’s more, but these are the common ones that run through my head when I field the call from a frustrated homeowner. I hope they’re helpful and don’t forget…Tile is permanent! 

“You think tile is expensive? Try paying for it TWICE!”

Add another positive review of our tile work from Alpharetta, GA!

Here's another 5 star REVIEW! Thank you Paul in Alpharetta, GA!

Everything you read on this website is an accurate representation of who we are and what we do...

What's not to love?

Beautiful, High End!

A good tile installer is KING...& other revelations you've never thought about.

“I had no idea tile work was so technical and such a process” my recent client said to me.

“It’s fine everyone says that!” I said, shaking my head.

It’s true, most people have no idea about the thought, the labor, the planning, that goes into high end tile work. Often times, I feel people will compare the tile guy to the framer, the sheet rocker, the electrician, the plumber… It’s all the same, right?

WRONG.

Tile installation is leaps and bounds different than any of the other trades that are involved in building houses for MANY reasons, and in today’s blog post I’m going to attempt to differentiate my trade from all the rest and explain why the tile guy, at one time, (and maybe this is even making a comeback) was the KING of the jobsite.

1.       There are so many different applications for tile it is nauseating. Most of the time I tell people that I’m a tile guy, they automatically come back with, “Oh, I have a floor at home that’s awful” or some other flooring related tile comment. Flooring is one small portion of what you can put tile on. Walls, showers, fire places, outside, inside, back splashes, kitchens, bathrooms and they all have different installation practices that we must be knowledgeable about. Look through this site...No two jobs are the same!  A 400-page TCNA manual is our bible for installation and a frame of reference for you on the amount of knowledge necessary to get a lifetime install. Now compare this to a sheet rocker…Not downplaying what they do, but hey, put this sheet rock up and finish it. Pretty straight forward in comparison. When you have a customer, who wants a custom shower, not only do we have to build a custom plumbing fixture that takes 1100 inches of water per person, per year, from the shower head and directs it to the drain…without a leak inside the finished home…but we also must be experts at adapting different material to the space. Which leads me into my next point…

2.       The plethora of different materials, all with different expectations. Ok, framer, take this WOOD and frame this WOODEN house. Again, not downplaying the other trades but wood basically costs what it costs. Whereas every tile is different. They have Porcelain, Natural stone, glass…all different sizes and prices which take different levels of preparation and oh, you want that glass in your shower, you’ll have to buy an extremely expensive thin set! Oh, you bought a cheap porcelain, well now your tile installer gets to wrestle with getting it to set flat. The WORLD of different patterns as well that all take a different amount of effort and time. A 1” hexagon set to a pattern inside a shower pan is a whole different ball game than a 12”x12” porcelain straight set on a floor. It’s ALL DIFFERENT so pricing varies from one job to the next and justifying the added cost to your customer can be a nightmare. Whereas a sheet rocker, painter or framer can make up a square foot price and go from there. Any tile guy who works by the square foot is crazy because of the variety of different tile and what it takes to put it in. One quote can vary so much from the other because of things like, is the other guy using the hand book method or is he a fly by night type, a basic, builder grade, ‘looks good from my house’, type…Yes, your friends project cost X to tile with Y tile, which is completely different from the tile you chose and where you want to put it! Not to mention the possibility that your friend’s installer was of the unscrupulous brand mentioned earlier…

3.       The number of different tools and set up time it takes to build with tile. Setting a floor with 12”x12” tile is the baseline, easiest thing for a tile guy…takes basic tools and you can do high volume in a day, BUT NO ONE CHOSES SMALL TILE! We recently installed a 3’x2’ tile…enormous tile. Let’s bust out the $3000 dollar saw! Not to mention you can’t efficiently go to two different jobs in a day like say, the electrician can. The electrician grabs his tool belt and different tools and can move from job to job without any issue in one day. Every job the tile guy goes to there is at least a one hour of set up time. Four buckets of water to fill up, saw set up, lay out…It’s not even worth it because by the time you move from one job to the next, you chew up half the day. So generally, when you set up a job…. you stay till that job is done! We bill mostly by the day even if we only work 5 hours, because we are generally stuck at that job. You’re not going to pick up and move to another job because the actual act of setting up again is daunting and you don’t get anything done. Not to mention separating your brain from one technical project, to a totally different complicated project.

All this for a small one day job!

4.       We depend on the conscientiousness and competence of the other trades. All the guys at the beginning of a project have it easy! Anything that doesn’t turn out right, ah, let the next guy fix it. Hopefully, a good builder/general contractor will catch them slipping and require them to make it right…but more times than not they don’t catch it and keep the project moving to meet a deadline!  The tile guy is always the last guy in when not only most of the money has been spent on other things, but also, we must fix all the work other less fastidious/aware/critical/discriminating trades have done. The framer leaves a stud that’s proud or not plumb, the tile guy will fix it. The sheet rocker doesn’t finish the walls correctly or leaves a bump or finishes the corners leaving a bunch of buildup…. The tile guy fixes it. The plumber puts the drain in the wrong place, can’t the tile guy fix it? The painter gets paint all over the floor where tile is going…. Don’t worry the tile guy will use a day, rent a machine, and grind it all off! The tile supplier cheapens out their process and makes a warped tile, guess what, the tile guy will make it right! The concrete crew leaves a wavy floor with dips and dives and the customer wants tile on the surface, well the tile guy will have to spend time flattening the floor and break the news of the unexpected expense to the homeowner! Every trade that kicks the can down the road or doesn't do their work to a high level...the tile guy takes care of it. It’s a harsh existence so with our system we use our plumber who we know is competent, we do our own framing because tile guy flat/plumb/square is different than framer flat/plumb/square. It really speaks to the degradation of the trades in the USA that “every man for himself” attitude. Of course, homeowners have no conceptualization of how each trade working together is so vital to a beautiful, high end finished product. So, ultimately having a tile guy that is well rounded in ALL trades is what differentiates us from the electrician who only must worry about one aspect of the building process.

Just a bit thinner than the other one! Don't worry we'll make it right!!!

Just a little bit different sizing! Don't worry we'll make it look right!

"We want this deck tiled and my builder told me it was ready!" Sorry, but basic codes (if they were read) would say that 2"x8" aren't rated for this span and we need to re-enforce them...just an extra $5k. Thanks framer!

Every. Single. Time. What, the other trades don't clean up after themselves? Don't worry, we'll get it!

We'll just shim these walls for a day and make it right! Don't worry about crowning your studs boys or making the walls plumb, We'll spend the day fixing it!

In closing I hope you can think of your local tile guy as the special entity that he really is. (if you have a good one) Not only is he a finish guy, who must have that eye for the details, but he also has to be a rock hard, strong minded worker who produces. Not every trade has to combine those traits…

I’m so hard on builders, general contractors and the like because they are ultimately the end all be all. The buck stops with them. If they don’t pay attention to the framer and hold them to a high standard, it trickles down to us. If they don’t hire competent sheet rockers and painters, it trickles down to us. Oops, the trim guy dropped his hammer on your tile floor, we must replace it, for example.

This post leaves me feeling vented and feeling good because I know my own importance on a job site. Everyone else can kick the can down the road, but the buck always stops with the tile guy. Our work sells houses and draws the eye. We really are the king of the job site. As I mentioned earlier, we’re part builder, part artist.

So, when you’re hiring your next tile guy… understand he or she is not like all the rest of the trades. We are the ultimate producers and you aren’t paying for the persons’ labor, but you are paying for their eye, their painstaking, scrupulous finishing touch. Tile is permanent, it’s not fixable, replaceable, paintable…It’s meant to last forever…You don’t like a paint color, change it…you don’t like a fixture…take it out put a new one in…. you don’t like a light switch, change it! You don’t like your shower…. have fun living with it or paying an exorbitant cost to take it out and replace it. So, spend the extra money, spend time planning and plotting…and make sure you buy something you can see yourself living with for an extended period. Also, make sure you hire someone you trust, with credentials an extensive portfolio, and someone who stays on top of current trends and installation practices. You’ll be glad you did.

At Hamilton Tile, we are

CTI CERTIFIED TILE INSTALLERS

WE USE THE HAND BOOK METHOD

WE HAVE 20+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

JASON IS A TRADE SCHOOL GRADUATE

WE HAVE AN EXTENSIVE PORTFOLIO

WE GIVE DETAILED PROPOSALS EXPLANING THE SCOPE OF THE WORK

WE GIVE SECOND TO NONE CONSULATION SESSIONS

WE THINK 10 STEPS AHEAD AND 20 YEARS IN THE FUTURE.

A great PH NEUTRAL cleaner recommended by a tile guy.

You just bought yourself a new tile shower, don't ruin it by cleaning it with an acidic cleaner!

Acidic cleaner will eat your grout and etch your tile. Using a regular cleaning product (Clorox, bleach, vinegar, etc.) will ultimately DESTROY your shower!

This PH neutral product will keep your shower from getting damaged by acidic cleaners.

This is a Laticrete product and this tile guy highly recommends it. M

Can't go wrong. Give it a try and be sure to give it to the cleaning lady too, if you have one!

 Click the photo below to be re-directed to the supllier.

How an installer can extend his life and have more longevity (& why consumers should care)

On September 23, 2017 the United States Government levied a new set of rules on the construction industry. The rules state that individuals cannot be exposed to silica dust in the air over 250 micrograms per cubic meters per eight hour day. That is reduced from 50 micrograms issued in 1971.

What is silica dust? Silica dust is in most of the products we use in the tile business. Thin set, cement board, cement (in general) natural stone…It all emits silica dust during the cutting or grinding process. If a person breathes in silica dust it can lead to lung cancer, kidney disease and pulmonary disease. ‘Black lung’ is a condition that coal miners get and is similar to silicosis.

So this is some pretty serious stuff. Have you ever thought Tile work could kill a person? We at Hamilton Tile have been aware that this is coming down the pike for some time and we’ve been preparing. No one here wants to get sick from doing our trade but that is the deathly reality of working in construction today.

Not too long ago we were working in a showroom doing tile work with a few other crews and it really was a microcosm of what makes us different from them. While we were cutting dust free on our ‘score and snap’ cutters, another crew of guys (with complete contempt for themselves and everyone else’s health) were cutting tile inside with dry hand grinders throwing dust into the air. I was so frustrated I had to tell them to stop and they looked at me with a blank stare. A fine example of conscientious professional tile installers and the basic builder grade laborers.

Now today if they were to do that, and an inspector or OSHA rep were to walk on the site that company would be looking at a $12,675 fine for the first offense as a punishment for endangering everyone’s health. Repeated violations would be $127,000!

To me this is also a sign that cement board will be leaving the market very soon. There is no possible way you can cut cement board without some amount of dust coming off of it and 250 micrograms of dust is NOTHING! Most companies will be in violation if they are cement board users.

A tile guy who cares about his health and hopes to live a long life and be in the business for an extended period will be like us and move to foam boards and membranes. We have also taken other steps:

This vacuum is $300 on Amazon and it is an OSHA compliant Hepa vacuum. That Rigid vacuum that we once utilized and that EVERYONE seems to be using, is NOT compliant with the new rules and does not collect small micro particles of dangerous, deadly dust. This vacuum has dual, self cleaning filters and is EPA certified. Yes, it is more of an investment but our customers deserve to have people who care working for them and this Is a start. It's not only our health, it's your health TOO! 

That blue piece that is on the edge of our mixing bucket is what they call a "whales tail" It sucks the dust plume out of the bucket and into the vac when you're mixing mortar. I watch many mix mortar and when they put the thin set in the bucket they get an immediate blast of deadly silica dust to the face. Using the 'whales tail' in combination with the HEPA vacuum collects most of the dust.

This is a dust deputy which adds another layer to the dust collection process. Before the dust goes into the vacuum it is collected by the dust deputy and helps the filters see less dust which in turns lengthens the life of the filter.

Here I am, clean shaven, with an OSHA compliant respirator that I wear regularly. It makes a TIGHT bond around my face and cartridges are changed regularly. I see a lot of paper masks in the field, you know the ones, they sit loosely on the face and do not make a tight bond. THESE DO NOT WORK! They add very little protection and are one SMALL step above the old bandanna technique!

Then we add DUST SHROUDS for our grinders as another layer of protection.

Now, the federal government has really added another cost to doing business but ultimately it will drive people to protect themselves. When you get a bid for a job be sure you're comparing apples to apples. We are not perfect but we attempt to comply with federal law and protect ourselves at the same time. We're in this for the long haul.

When our bid is much higher then the other outfit, our company being in compliance with OSHA's silica dust standards is one reason why.

Imagine the added cost of all the extra tools, whenever someone is working with dust having someone else collect the dust in a vacuum, the discomfort of masks, and the skill involved in dust remediation.

I'll dare to say if the company you chose over us is throwing dust into the air and OSHA or an inspector comes to the site and levies a fine, it will be unlikely they will finish the job. Not to mention it is not only unhealthy for them, It is unhealthy for you and your family, neighbors and pets.

I will continue to state that our mission statement is to put a new face on the construction industry through conscientious attitudes, long term, lasting quality projects and direct communication with highly skilled, intelligent workers. Following basic federal guidelines is part of the mission statement because it proves we are in it for more than the now and that we really are striving to separate ourselves from the pack!