Frequently Asked Questions (Tile and Stone)
From the pictures, it looks like you do a lot of detailed, complicated tile work. Is that all you do?
No! If you can’t tell already, we’re trying to impress you with our show-off stuff. Every day, we do a lot of stone tile, ceramic tile, mosaic tile, waterjet-cut tile, shower tile, countertop tile, backsplash tile…We thought of naming the company Bubba Gump Tile, but it didn’t have a good ring to it. We are hoping that if you see our pictures, you will see that we will have no problems in setting tile floors flat and square, and that we will do a great job at anything else related to tile and stone. We can also give some design options that others are not able to provide.
Are you competitively priced?
Yes. Our pricing generally is lower than the high volume, high overhead flooring stores, but higher than the “tailgate-warranty” tile guys found at labor camps and parole offices. If your first question is “are you cheaper than $x.xx per foot,” then I likely won’t be…if an up-front bid for labor and materials on a beautiful, long-lasting tile job done on time with no problems is first on your list and a value price is a close second, then I’m your man. We offer “nightmare-free” tile & stone installation at a fair price. We currently average around $500,000 per year in total revenue with our pricing structure, and it works for everyone involved, including our customers, suppliers, workers, banks, accountant, bookkeeper, and even Uncle Sam. Customers are happy and jobs go smoothly, and we are still in business if there is ever a problem.
If someone else charges a lower price, there is likely not enough money in the budget for quality setting materials or enough time to spend on doing the job correctly (or they aren’t paying someone down the line)…we know what is required to do a great job and provide long-lasting results, and we do it.
Some flooring stores charge a higher price than what we charge, but most do not have the quality built in that we do. You can definitely pay more, but you won’t get more for the money.
Do you provide turn-key estimates with tile labor and tile materials for new homes?
We actually prefer to provide a turn-key estimate for labor and tile materials. We handle all of the paperwork, keep track of all of the little details with arrival dates, and provide a finished product with a warranty on both labor and materials. When we handle the materials, we know that there is enough tile material ordered (with a correct waste factor), when it is coming, if alternate vendors are available, box quantities required, freight charges, et cetera. There are no extra trip charges for labor if there are insufficient materials on site, no charges for pick-up or delivery to the job, and we keep track of material selections (for years) if there ever is a warranty item. It's like an insurance policy built in the bid---you only pay for tile that is installed, not tile that is stolen from the jobsite, broken in transit, or anything else that could happen along the way.
Do you install carpet, wood, vinyl, or laminate?
No. Tile and stone is all we do, and we are the best in town at it. Did I mention we're humble?
How far do you travel to install tile & stone?
We install tile in and around the Austin area and generally stay within a 50 mile radius of Austin.
What size jobs do you do?
We have multiple tile installation crews (that work only for our company) that can install thousands of square feet per week. We specialize in working for builders in custom homes that are anywhere from 2,500 to 10,000 square feet per home...each job is different. We are set up to handle large jobs and get them done quickly with a high level of quality, but we aren't really set up to do small jobs that a one-man operation would specialize in. We generally have a minimum tile labor cost of $1000, but it depends on the situation.
Do you do remodeling work and/or deal directly with homeowners?
Yes. We work directly with homeowners on smaller remodeling projects when there is no builder. However, if you met us through one of our regular builder customers, we would prefer to have their prior permission to work with us directly as we are committed to maintaining our long-standing relationships with them.
What if I already bought my tile?
We will still offer a bid on the labor and setting materials, but we have a long list of disclaimers and potential issues that we have to bring up before the job starts when customers provide their own tile.
Are polymer-modified setting materials a big deal?
Absolutely! We only use polymer-modified setting materials at floors (currently Mapei UltraFlex II or equivalent). The polymers dramatically enhance the bonding strength and flexibility of the thin-set mortar and help to eliminate any future delamination or cracking. Some builders and homeowners are surprised to find out that the use of polymer-modified thinset is required when setting porcelain tiles, as the tiles are too dense to accept regular thinset mortar.
We also use crack suppression membranes around 12” wide at existing surface cracks in slabs in order to help eliminate tile cracks from occurring years down the road.
Since using only polymer-modified thinset, we have had no callbacks on millions of dollars worth of tile that we installed in the last several years---we have discovered that spending a little now prevents any potential nightmares later.
How does stone tile differ in price with ceramic or porcelain tile?
Generally, the cost of installing stone tile is around $2 more per square foot (including sealer) than ceramic or porcelain (both set on a straight/ square grid pattern). Extra patterns, borders, stone bullnosing and accent dots add complexity (and time), so they are priced as add-ons over and above the regular labor prices. It takes a long time for us to produce our detailed estimates, but it is the best way to show where every penny is going, as well as show opportunities to save money if you need to scale back.
Sometimes tumbled stone tile installations get really close to the budget numbers as they do not require bullnosing or any other edge treatments, so that may be an alternate course of action to save money if desired. A lot of convincing stone-look rectified (cut-to-size) porcelain tiles are now on the market, so that may be another way to get a similar look, have no maintenance, and come in under budget.
Do you install glass tile?
We install mosaic glass tile at accents or borders, but tend to shy away from any glass tile installation larger than 3 square feet.
Do you do stained concrete?
We currently only do flooring design and decorative scoring only on select jobs. We no longer stain and seal concrete floors at this time. Please see the Decorative Concrete FAQ page. We will be putting together a catalog of designs soon.
Are you affiliated with Rob Case or Rock Solid Studio or Rock Solid USA?
No, not at all. His website is www.rocksolidstudio.com and the only phone numbers I have for him are 512-268-7000 and 1-800-856-3526. Good luck to you.