Straight answers
Have questions? We’ve got answers.
General
What areas do you serve?
Port St. Lucie and the Treasure Coast: Tradition, St. Lucie West, Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, Stuart, Palm City, Hobe Sound and up to Vero Beach. Not sure you're in range? Call and ask.
Is the estimate really free?
Yes, and so is the in-home design consultation. We come out, walk the room with you, measure and talk through what you want. You get a written price before anything is ordered or torn out.
Do you do the design, or do I need a designer?
Design is part of the job. Layout, tile, fixtures and finishes get chosen with you at the design stage, and you're welcome to bring a Pinterest board or a designer's plan.
Can I see tile before I choose?
Yes. Start with the Tile & Stone Library on this site to see what works where. At the design stage, real samples go up in your room so you see them in your own light.
Bathroom Remodeling
Bathroom RemodelingHow long does a bathroom remodel take?
It depends on the scope. Retiling a floor is a small job; a full gut with a new shower layout is a bigger one. You get the schedule and the order of work at the design stage, before anything is torn out.
Is the design consultation really free?
Yes. We come to the house, walk the room with you, measure, and talk through layout, tile and fixtures. You get a written estimate before anything is ordered.
Can I keep using the house while you work?
Yes. If it's your only shower, tell us at the consultation and the order of work gets planned around it.
What drives the cost of a bathroom remodel?
Moving plumbing, the size of the shower, the tile you choose and how much of it goes on the walls. Keeping the drain and the toilet where they are costs far less than moving them across a slab.
Do you remodel condo bathrooms?
Yes. Condo boards usually want the scope, insurance paperwork and work hours before a job begins, so we start that conversation at the estimate.
Kitchen Remodeling
Kitchen RemodelingWhat does a kitchen remodel include?
Whatever the room needs from us: counters and islands, backsplash, tile floors and the finish work around them. It all gets scoped at the free design consultation, so you see one plan and one price.
Quartz or granite?
Quartz is consistent and doesn't need sealing. Granite is natural stone, every slab is different, and it gets resealed now and then. Granite shrugs off a hot pan better; quartz wants a trivet. Past that, it comes down to the look you want.
What drives the cost of a kitchen remodel?
The size of the counters and the stone you choose, an island with a sink, moving plumbing, and how much backsplash and floor tile goes in.
Should I do the floors at the same time?
It's the best time to. Running new tile through the kitchen and into the rooms next door is far easier before the counters go back in.
Walk-In Showers
Walk-In ShowersCurbless or a low curb?
Curbless needs the floor recessed so the shower can slope to the drain, and that isn't possible on every slab or in every condo. A low curb works everywhere and is still an easy step.
What's a linear drain, and do I need one?
A long, narrow drain along one edge of the shower instead of a round one in the middle. The floor slopes one way, so it can be large tile instead of mosaic. It's a design choice, not a must.
Why tile instead of an acrylic shower?
Acrylic liners are fast and come in a handful of sizes and patterns. Tile is built to your room, in any material, with benches and niches where you want them, and it matches the rest of the house.
Will the glass be frameless?
It can be. Frameless, framed and fixed panels all work, and the choice gets made with the tile so the hardware matches the fixtures.
Tile Installation
Tile InstallationPorcelain or natural stone?
Porcelain is dense, needs no sealing and comes in convincing marble and stone looks. Natural stone, like marble or travertine, is one of a kind and needs sealing and gentler cleaners. Pick porcelain for easy upkeep, stone if you want the real thing.
Can you tile over my existing tile?
Sometimes, on a sound floor with no hollow spots, but it raises the floor height at every doorway. In showers it comes down to the studs so the waterproofing is new.
Why does large-format tile cost more to install?
Big tiles show every dip in the floor, so the substrate has to be flattened first, and each piece is heavier and harder to set. That prep is most of the job.
Do you supply the tile or do I?
Either works. We source it as part of the job or install tile you've bought, and quantities and lot numbers get checked before anything is set.
Countertops
CountertopsWhen do you measure for counters?
Once the base underneath is installed and level. Measuring before that is how overhangs end up uneven.
Does quartz stain?
It resists stains well and doesn't need sealing. Very hot pans can mark it, so trivets are still a good habit.
Can you match a new counter to my existing backsplash?
Often, yes. Matching the white point and the veining direction is what makes it work, so we look at it in person.
Custom Backsplash
Custom BacksplashCan a new backsplash go in without replacing the counters?
Yes, as long as the counters are staying. The old backsplash comes off, the wall gets repaired and flattened, and the new tile goes up.
How high should a backsplash go?
Up to the upper cabinets is standard. Taking it to the ceiling, or behind open shelving, turns the wall into the feature, and it's worth it behind the range.
Which backsplash is easiest to clean?
Larger tiles and slab-look porcelain mean less grout. Mosaics have more grout lines, so a stain-resistant grout helps.
Tile Flooring
Tile FlooringCan you tile the whole house at once?
Yes. Whole-house floors are usually done in sections so you can keep living in part of the home, with furniture moved room by room.
Is polished tile too slippery?
Polished porcelain is fine in dry living areas and slick when wet. A honed or textured tile in the same look goes in bathrooms and entries.
What happens to my baseboards?
They usually come off for the new floor. At the estimate you'll hear whether yours can be reused or should be replaced.
Wood Floor Installation
Wood Floor InstallationCan wood floors go on a concrete slab?
Yes. Engineered hardwood is built for it: a real wood top layer on a stable core that handles humidity far better than solid boards. The slab gets a moisture test and a barrier first.
Wood or wood-look tile?
Real wood feels warmer and quieter underfoot, and many engineered floors can be refinished. Wood-look porcelain shrugs off water, so it's the call for bathrooms, laundry rooms and homes with big dogs. We install both and will tell you which fits each room.
Do you remove the old floor?
Tell us what's down now. Removing the old floor and prepping the slab get scoped at the estimate and written into the price, so you see the whole job up front.
Can I live in the house during the install?
Usually. Whole-house floors go in by sections, with furniture moved room by room, so part of the home stays usable.
Still deciding?
The free design consultation is where the real questions get answered.

Get your free in-home estimate.
A free in-home estimate, a design you can see, and a price in writing before anything starts.