Bathroom & Shower Tile

What the Work Actually Involves

A bathroom tile job is mostly invisible labor. The tile is the last thing that goes on, but everything underneath it determines whether it holds up. We start with the substrate — removing old tile and damaged cement board, patching voids, and checking that the framing behind the walls is solid. In older homes along the Pico corridor, this step frequently reveals moisture damage that would have caused new tile to fail within a few years.

Wet areas — showers, tub surrounds, and floors that see standing water — get a waterproofing membrane before any tile is set. We use sheet-applied or liquid-applied membranes depending on the surface geometry. The membrane laps over curbs and up corners. This is not optional; it is what separates a tile job that lasts from one that leaks.

Layout planning comes before the first tile goes up. For a shower surround, we dry-lay the field tile to center the pattern and avoid small slivers at corners. For floor tile, we find the visual center of the room and work outward. These decisions are made with you before work begins.

What's Included

• Existing tile and substrate demo (when needed)
• Cement board installation on walls and floors
• Waterproof membrane in wet zones
• Layout planning and dry-lay before setting
• Field tile setting with thinset mortar
• Grouting with your choice of grout color and type
• Silicone caulk at all change-of-plane joints (corners, floor-wall transitions)
• Cleanup before we leave each day

Materials We Work With

Porcelain, ceramic, natural stone (marble, travertine, slate), zellige, cement tile, and glass mosaic. Large-format tiles (24x48 and up) require a flatter substrate and a back-buttering technique to achieve full coverage — we handle this as standard practice. Handmade tiles like zellige have natural variation in thickness, which requires more adjustment during setting but produces a result that machine-made tile cannot replicate.