How we price Affordable tile installer: why competing on just price is a mistake Every bid is a price for tile on a floor or a wall. What it doesn’t show is how the job will feel while it’s happening, and how the result will feel for years after. That’s most of what you’re paying

Hiring a contractor “Tile installer near me” is a search, not a hiring strategy. It’s a perfectly reasonable place to start. But the contractor who’s easiest to find isn’t always the one best suited to your project, and knowing the difference can save you a lot of money. What the search actually shows you tile

This cracked kitchen floor in the Oakland Hills was trickier than it looked. The cause showed itself as soon as the cracked tiles came up. It looked like mastic, or some kind of unusual mortar, had been used to set them. When tile goes down properly, the mortar is spread with a notched trowel. Here

This hexagonal mosaic bath floor in the Oakland Hills was pretty straightforward as tile work goes. As on the shower surround nearby, we used Polyblend charcoal unsanded grout for a very dark look. Against the hexagons, the dark joints give the floor a pattern that almost looks like snakeskin. What made this job less straightforward

This shower in the Oakland Hills got a hexagonal mosaic surround running from the pan to the ceiling. The base was a standard black fiberglass shower pan that was already well mounted, so the work started at the walls. They were DensShield, which still needs a waterproofing layer before tile, so I sealed the backer

This bar niche in the Oakland Hills is a recessed alcove about three and a half feet wide and six feet high, finished in a porcelain mosaic with a copper face. The pattern was unusual and striking, and the copper catches the light differently from every angle. It was clearly going to be the focal