…and my husband doesn’t mind. Tile installation can make or break a project. Inexpensive tile painstakingly installed will look elegant, and a sloppy job will make the most expensive tile look cheap cheap cheap. Not the look you’re going for.
When you combine lovely tile with expert installation, this is what can happen:
When I stopped by this job site recently, I literally gasped. I don’t think I’ve ever – EVER – seen such a beautiful job. Everything is aligned perfectly, and although you can’t see it in the picture below, details such as the mitered corner on top of the half wall (where glass will sit) are marks of a true professional.
You know what really won me over with this particular tile guy? He realized that the grout we were using for the field tile wasn’t going to be appropriate for the blue glass accent tile. So he got two dark grey-blue grouts and had a sample board made up for my review. Without me asking. It was just sitting there, waiting for me to stop by and take a look. I could have kissed him. (That would have been inappropriate.)
I’m always trying to help clients decide how to trim project budgets, but nickel and diming the contractor on labor costs can backfire in a big way. If you’re undertaking a tile-intensive job, ask the contractor for specific references for the installer. The contractor may grumble about that extra step, but if it saves him the trouble of ripping out a sub-par job, it’s worth it.