Request a quote in South Bend

Call us or send a note with a couple of photos. We answer through the day, and if our hands are full of mortar we call you back the same afternoon.

What happens when you reach us

The first call is short and practical. We ask what room we are talking about, roughly how big it is, and what is going on with it right now. Is the grout crumbling, is a tile cracked, is there a stain on the ceiling under the bathroom, or are you simply tired of looking at a floor from 1994. We ask when the house was built, because a bath in a home off Portage Avenue and a bath in a Granger subdivision are two different jobs. We ask what you have in mind for tile, even if the answer is that you have no idea yet. And we ask about timing, since a family with one bathroom needs a different plan than a family with two. By the end of that call you should know whether we are a fit and what the next step looks like.

A few things on your end make the whole process faster. Photos help more than anything. Take one from the doorway so we see the whole room, then close shots of whatever is failing, like the corner where the grout is gone or the tile that moves when you press it. A rough measurement of the floor and the shower walls gets us in the right range for material. If water has shown up somewhere it should not, tell us where and when you first saw it, since a stain on a first floor ceiling changes what we look for under a second floor shower. Save any pictures of tile you like, even ones that seem out of reach. It is easier to find something similar than to guess at a style from words alone.

After that we come out and measure. That visit takes half an hour to an hour depending on the room, and we check the things you cannot see from the doorway, like whether the subfloor flexes and whether the walls are anywhere near square. You get a written quote within a couple of days, laid out by scope rather than as one lump. It names the prep, the setting and waterproofing method, the tile size we planned around, and the days we expect to be in the house. If you want to compare it against another bid, ask both of us the same questions about what goes under the tile. Once you approve the scope we put you on the calendar, and you get a start date with a realistic finish window rather than a vague promise about next month.

Scheduling and access are worth sorting out early. We need a place to park close to the door, which in some older South Bend neighborhoods means arranging where a trailer can sit for a few days without blocking a driveway. Tell us about pets, since doors open and close a lot on demolition day and a nervous dog needs a plan. If nobody is home during the day, a lockbox or a spare key works fine, and we lock up every time we leave. Normal hours run through the morning and afternoon on weekdays, and we let you know the night before any day the water needs to be off. In winter we plan around lake effect snow, since a heavy day can slow a material delivery even when our crew is already parked out front.

Aftercare is where we would rather be honest than cheerful. New tile is not maintenance free. Cement grout in a shower needs sealing once it cures and a refresh every couple of years, and the silicone in the corners is a wear item that gets replaced when it starts to pull away. Wipe a shower down after use and it stays looking new far longer. On floors, sweep the grit out of an entry in winter, because salt and sand are what dull a finish, not the traffic itself. Small cracks in a corner joint are usually normal seasonal movement in an old house, while a cracked tile in the middle of a floor is worth a call. We tell you which is which before we leave.

One more thing about how we answer. If your job is genuinely urgent, like a shower leaking into the room below, say that on the first call and we will get to you sooner. If it is a repair too small for a full crew day, we will tell you that honestly and give you a sense of when it fits our schedule instead of stringing you along. And if what you need is really a plumber, an electrician, or a framer, we will tell you that on the phone rather than sending somebody out to bill you for a look. The fastest way to start is still the simplest one. Call, send the photos, and we will take it from there.