Tile Installation

Lippage is when one tile edge sits higher than its neighbour. On small tile it is barely visible; on 24×48" porcelain it catches light across the whole floor and it catches your toes.

It comes from two places: a substrate that is not flat enough, and mortar coverage that is not full and even. We grind or self-level the slab to the tile manufacturer flatness spec and set large format with levelling clips. Reputable practice keeps the offset on large-format plank tile to one-third rather than a half-brick pattern, because the natural crown in a long tile guarantees lippage at a 50% offset.

On most North Texas slabs, yes — and it is the single cheapest insurance in the whole job. Our expansive clay soils move seasonally, and slabs develop hairline cracks. Tile bonded directly to a slab crack will telegraph that crack right through the tile and grout.

An uncoupling or crack-isolation membrane lets the slab move independently of the tile. It adds a modest amount to the job and removes the most common cause of cracked tile floors in North Texas.

For a main-level tile package of 800–1,500 sq ft, plan on 3–5 working days including tear-out, slab preparation, setting, grouting and cure. Pattern work, a lot of cuts or multiple bathrooms extend that.

The floor takes light traffic roughly 24 hours after grouting and full traffic and furniture after 72 hours. Showers need a flood test before tile, which adds a day but is not a step worth skipping.

It is technically possible over a sound, fully bonded substrate, but we rarely recommend it on a whole-home project. It adds height at every doorway, threshold and appliance opening, and you inherit whatever bond failure or crack is hiding underneath.

Tear-out is dusty and it is a real line item on the estimate, but on a floor that has to last twenty years it is the right call.

Porcelain, in most cases. Modern porcelain reproduces marble and travertine convincingly, it is harder, it does not etch when someone spills lemon juice, and it never needs resealing.

Natural stone is still worth it when you want genuine depth and variation and you accept the maintenance — periodic sealing, and a patina that develops whether you planned for it or not. We are happy to install either; we just want you to choose it knowingly.