Service · Atlanta
Tile fails from underneath, not from the surface.
Floors, showers, walls and detail work, set over the right substrate with the waterproofing done properly behind it. The part you never see is the part that decides how long the part you do see lasts.
What We Do
Tile is a system, not a finish.
Most people choose tile by looking at a sample board. That part matters, and we will happily talk through it with you. But whether that tile is still tight and dry in ten years has almost nothing to do with which one you picked.
It depends on what is behind it, what it is bonded to, how the movement in the building is accommodated, and whether water has a path out. Those are decisions made before a single tile goes up, and they are invisible the moment the job is finished.
We do shower and tub surrounds, bathroom and kitchen floors, backsplashes, patterned and large-format porcelain, and the detail work that makes a room look considered: niches that line up with the grout joints, borders that land where they should, transitions that do not trip you.
Why It Fails
The four ways a tile job goes wrong.
Wrong substrate in a wet area
Ordinary drywall belongs nowhere inside a shower. Tile set directly on it will hold for a while, then the drywall behind it turns soft and the whole assembly lets go. Wet areas need cement board, a foam board system, or a proper waterproof membrane, depending on how the shower is built.
Waterproofing treated as optional
Tile and grout are not waterproof. Water passes through grout. What stops it reaching your framing is the membrane or pan underneath, and that is the step that gets skipped when someone is working to a number. It is also the single most expensive failure to correct, because by the time you can see it the damage is in the structure.
No movement accommodation
Buildings move with temperature and humidity, and tile does not. Without a soft joint where tile meets a wall, a change of plane or a large run, the tile has nowhere to go and relieves the stress by cracking or tenting. A cracked grout line in a straight run across a floor is usually this, not a bad installer.
Poor coverage behind the tile
Mortar needs to make real contact across the back of the tile, not sit in five dots at the corners. Dots are faster. They also leave voids, and voids are where tile cracks when something heavy lands on it and where water collects in a shower. On large-format tile this matters more, not less.
Questions
Custom tile FAQs
Can you tile over drywall in a shower?
No. Standard drywall is not an appropriate backing for tile inside a shower or tub surround. It absorbs water, loses strength, and eventually releases the tile bonded to it. Wet areas need cement backer board, a foam backer system, or a bonded waterproof membrane. Outside the wet area, on a dry wall or a backsplash, tiling over drywall is normal and fine.
Why is my shower tile cracking or coming loose?
Usually one of four causes. The tile was set on an unsuitable substrate for a wet area. The waterproofing underneath failed or was never installed. There was no soft joint to absorb building movement, so the stress released through the tile. Or the mortar coverage behind the tile was poor, leaving voids. Which one it is determines whether the fix is cosmetic or whether the assembly has to come out.
How much does custom tile work cost in Atlanta?
Tile is priced by area, by how complicated the layout is, and by how much preparation the surface needs underneath. A straightforward floor in a square room is at one end. A curbless shower with a linear drain, a patterned floor and a tiled niche is at the other, because it carries far more labor and far more waterproofing. We itemize tile separately from the prep beneath it on every estimate, so you can see both numbers rather than one blended figure.
Is large-format tile harder to install?
Yes, and it is less forgiving. Large tile needs a flatter surface than small tile, because any dip in the floor or wall shows up as a lipped edge between tiles. It also needs better mortar coverage across the back. Often the honest answer is that the floor has to be flattened first, which is real work and belongs in the estimate rather than discovered on installation day.
Can you match or repair existing tile?
Sometimes. If the tile is still manufactured, a repair is realistic. Older or discontinued tile is harder, and a patched area rarely disappears completely because grout and tile both change color with age. We will tell you honestly whether a repair will read as a repair before you pay for one.
Related
Where tile usually comes up.
Got tile that is failing, or a project that needs it done right?
Tell us about your space and we'll come take a look. Free, itemized quotes across East Atlanta and Inside the Perimeter.