Should I hire a Tile Guy, or a Tile Company, or is it a DIY Tile Job?

Maybe you're reading this because you have a couple of options and you're trying to figure out why there's such a difference in price. Maybe you have a friend who "does tile" and you're wondering if you can be confident in hiring him. Tile is commonly advertised as an easy DIY Tile Job, so why not hire the Tile Guy and save thousands? The problem with tile is, you don't know until it's too late.

Set in a special type of cement product, tile becomes very difficult to remove as quickly as 4 hours after installation. To replace a single tile often requires creating large holes in the wall or floor, compromising waterproofing, damaging other areas, and skyrocketing your costs. In short, of course a handyman can install tile with expertise, but what if he doesn't? It could take twice as long to fix an issue as it took to set the entire job, and if they gave you a low price, they probably give everybody a low price, and may not be able to afford to fix the problem for free. If they're not licensed, bonded and insured, then you're on your own. Of course there's no guarantee that a handyman or your brother's friend will do a bad job, but the point is that there's no guarantee they will do a good job. If you think the Tile Company is expensive, wait until you get an estimate to rip out a floor or a shower that was installed poorly, and just like many people that have filed lawsuits, sat in court but ultimately receive nothing, you might find the Tile Guy is twice as expensive as the Tile Company

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Why do Tile companies charge so much?

When you decide you want a tile shower, you probably didn't expect to have to give up your bathroom for two weeks. Most people don't want a messy, loud and inconvenient ruckus in their home for that long. Now 2-3 days, that's not so bad. In order to be able to do that though, it takes a team. A tile company will usually send 3-4 installers to get the job done as quickly as possible, and a good tile installer, rightfully, would like to earn a decent living wage.

A Tile company also has about $2,000/year of costs, just to be licensed and insured, for your protection, and the tools and equipment easily pass $10,000. I personally know a lot of Tile guys that get by, job after job, with the bare minimum in tools and technology, and the results often show. There are some really incredible tile artists out there, and you could get lucky with one of the good ones. A Tile company will remove the variables and invest in the best tools, the most up to date technology and systems to be able to safely and confidently offer you a workmanship guarantee on the installation.

Suppose you find some one that offers to install the tile for 1/2 the price of ABC Tile Company LLC. Will you know if he is planning for the appropriate membranes and adhesives, will you be able to tell if they waterproofed under the tile, will you be able to confidently attest that they achieved full coverage on the tile? A good Tile Company isn't going to take any chances at risking their license, or worse, their insurance premiums. As it's said, and proven, and said again "You get what you pay for"