Ceramic Tile Contractors Can Make Or Break Your Tile Job?

Answer 1

If you are building a new home or remodeling an existing one and want to have ceramic tile floors, choose your tile contractors carefully. A good tile contractor can make the difference between a disappointing tile job and a truly beautiful and inspired work of art on your floor. When you are contracting to get ceramic tile floors installed there are some questions you should ask prospective contractors.

Before you get to the point of interviewing contractors, look in the correct places for your candidates. Local ceramic tile and flooring distributors may have lists or business cards of tile contractors they have had good luck with. Your friends and neighbors who have had tile floors laid recently can give you good and bad information on the contractor they used. Your builder or remodeling contractor may have information on good tile layers. Getting a good tile contractor is not as easy as picking up the yellow pages. You need contractors that are referred by people you trust.

Once you have a list of possible contractors, talk to all of them and get written quotes for the same work. For this you will need to decide what areas you want tiled and what tiles you want to use. How complicated do you want the tile designs? How many square feet are involved? Do the measuring before calling the contractors. What set up work is involved? Do you need the floors strengthened first? Do your floors require cement board installed before the tile? Will there be walls as well as floors? Will you need trim along the walls? Ask each contractor for references and really check them. Ask each contractor for years of experience, jobs close by you could look at and licensing information. You should expect to get a warranty on the labor and information on liability insurance.

When each tile contractor comes to your home to bid on your tile work compare these things. Is the contractor on time and well prepared to bid on your job? Is the contractor dressed neatly and well groomed? Sloppy dress and poor hygiene may translate into sloppy work. If you don't feel comfortable with a contractor, do you really want him in your home? If a contractor doesn't show up as scheduled to do your bid, he may not show up regularly to do your work. Get a signed contact before any work is done.