Tile & Wall Cladding Installation
Set off a laser line, over a substrate that will hold it
Tile fails for three reasons, and none of them is the tile. The substrate moves, so the grout cracks. The thinset was spot-bonded instead of combed flat, so there are voids under the tile and it sounds hollow before it breaks. Or the first course was set by eye off a floor that was not level, and by the top of the wall the joints have wandered somewhere obvious. We fix all three the same way: the right board for the location, thinset combed in one direction and back-buttered on anything large, and every layout struck off a laser line rather than off the fixture next to it. Subway, large-format porcelain, hexagon, penny round, mosaic, natural stone and shiplap or panel cladding — walls, floors, backsplashes, niches, curbs and fireplace surrounds.
Our Process
Free Estimate
We look at the substrate, the flatness, and what the wall has to do — a splashback and a shower wall are not the same job.
Prepare the Substrate
Board, membrane and flattening as the location needs. Tile does not fix a wall that is out; it advertises it.
Set the Layout
Centre lines and a laser line first, so cuts fall where they are least visible and the last course is not a sliver.
Set, Grout & Seal
Combed and back-buttered, spaced, cleaned as we go, then grouted, sealed and the movement joints filled properly.