Tile is permanent. Get it right the first time.

Bad tile work announces itself — lippage, uneven grout lines, cracked grout, water behind the wall. Good tile work disappears into the room.

Tile is one of the most durable surfaces in any bathroom. Installed correctly, it lasts decades. Installed incorrectly, it fails slowly and visibly — and the only fix is to take it out and start over.

We install bathroom tile for floors, walls, and shower surrounds. Every job starts with a layout plan and ends with lines that are straight, grout that’s consistent, and surfaces that are watertight.

Tile surfaces we handle

**Bathroom Floors**

Floor tile is a structural choice as much as a visual one. It has to be set flat — no lippage between tiles — and the substrate beneath it has to be solid enough to support it without flex. Flex cracks grout. We address the substrate before the first tile goes down.

**Shower Walls**

Shower wall tile has to be set over a waterproofed substrate. The grout joints need to be consistent and fully packed. The caulk at every change of plane — corners, floor-wall joints — has to be right. We don’t skip steps here.

**Shower Floors**

The most technically demanding tile surface in the bathroom. The floor has to slope toward the drain, the tile has to be set without voids beneath it, and the drain connection has to be watertight. A shower floor installed incorrectly holds water. We do it correctly.

**Tub Surrounds**

Tile around a bathtub is its own set of considerations — the surface has to accommodate the movement of the tub below it, and the grout and caulk joints have to be placed to handle that movement. We know where those joints go.

**Wall Accents and Backsplashes**

A tile accent wall behind a vanity or a backsplash above a sink. Smaller scope, same standard.

The decisions made before the first tile is set

**Layout planning.** A tile layout that wasn’t planned produces cuts that fall in awkward places — slivers at the door, half tiles at the focal wall. We plan the layout first so cuts land where they’re least visible and the pattern is centered on what matters.

**Substrate preparation.** Tile set over a compromised substrate — thin, flex, damaged — fails. We check and address the substrate before installation begins.

**Flat installation.** Lippage — one tile sitting higher than the next — is both a trip hazard and a visual problem. We use leveling systems and check our work as we go.

**Full back-buttering.** Voids beneath a tile — spots where the thinset didn’t fully contact the back of the tile — cause cracking under load. We back-butter every tile.

**Consistent joints.** Grout joints set with spacers, consistent through every row.

**Proper grout.** Grout type and color matched to the application. Sanded grout for wider joints, unsanded for narrow ones. Applied fully into every joint, not just skimmed across the surface.

**Sealing.** Grout sealed after it cures. In a shower or on a floor, unsealed grout absorbs water and stains.

None of this is extraordinary. It’s the job done the way it should be done. Not every contractor does it this way.

We help you choose what works

The tile selection available today is overwhelming. Porcelain, ceramic, natural stone, glass, cement. Large format, subway, mosaic, hexagon. Matte, polished, textured.

Some of it is right for your bathroom. Some of it isn’t — too slippery for a shower floor, too porous for grout maintenance, too large for the space.

We’ll help you narrow the choices to what makes sense for your specific application, then let you pick what you like from what makes sense.

Part of a renovation?

Tile work is frequently part of a larger bathroom project — a full renovation or a cosmetic refresh. When it is, we sequence it correctly: substrate work and waterproofing first, tile second, fixtures and finishing after the tile is done and cured.

If tile is a standalone project — replacing cracked floor tile, retiling a shower that’s failed — we handle it the same way.

Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook

We do bathroom tile work throughout our service area. If you’re nearby and unsure, call us.

Ready to talk about your tile project?

Let us know what you’re working with. We’ll tell you what’s involved and what it costs.

Or fill out the short form and we’ll reach out within one business day.