Tiles by Design

Steve and his crew did all the tiling in our newly remodeled master bathroom. From start to finish Steve was a pleasure to work with. He assisted us in choosing all the tile. His design was spectacular. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful fully tiled shower and bathroom floor. Travertine is not the easiest tile to work with but Steve and his assistant did an exceptional job. We truly appreciated his knowledge, craftsmanship and professionalism. He promised us an extraordinary design we would love. He was right. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend him in a heartbeat. Wonderful job! Thanks Steve.

I called three local tile shops including Best Tile (the one we ultimately chose) and asked for the best natural stone flooring guy in the area and every single one said Steve and his crew. I have to say, the results lived up to the hype. More on that later... Quick background: Back in July of 2013, we had a dishwasher leak while on vacation. Ruined very expensive exotic wood flooring (Merbau) that ran wall to wall in the entire first floor. All the wood flooring in three rooms (kitchen, bathroom and office) was cupped and ruined. In addition, all the cabinets had to go. Since Merbau is now banned by the EPA in the US (thanks Obama), we knew we were not going to be able to match the existing flooring. So we made the tough decision to make the switch to Travertine in the kitchen and bath and we had the office flooring repaired with the dry boards we salvaged from the kitchen. Of the 4 natural stone flooring guys we interviewed (all the top rated ones on the List) Steve was the ONLY one willing to go with a 1/16th grout line and he is the only installer in the state to perform the and quot;Euro Finish.and quot; This is essentially a process for finely polishing the floor after grouting and then working the sealer into the floor with a big machine and pads to make sure it is protected and smooth for easy cleaning and so it is nice on bare feet. I was worried the the Euro Finish was going to be a quick way to hide defects in the craftsmanship or materials. BOY WAS I WRONG. Get this...after the floor was installed but BEFORE the grout even went in, I went to one side of the 23 ft long kitchen and slid a quarter across the floor to see if there was any lippage (I learned this was tile guy speak for uneven tiles). None. NO matter how many times or which direction I slid the quarter...it just slid across without skipping. The other installers I interviewed all said that there may be lippage with their install but the 1/8 grout lines they proposed would allow that to not be an issue. Anyway, after the floor was 100% done and grouted the quarter test worked just the same. Unbelievable job. The crew was top notch. There were plenty of days we just left the crew here and were gone. During the backsplash install, we were not going to be there...and we were 100% comfortable with having a neighbor meet them and let them in the house to do their thing. The backsplash is BEAutiful. These are SKILLED craftsman who have done this for 10-20 years as a trade, not some guy who who a tile install class and hung out a shingle. One of the most important things to research when deciding on an installer is how they prep the sub-floor. Steve uses Ditra. That is all you need to know. It is the best uncoupling layer on the market and a MUST when installing any natural stone floor. None of the other guys wanted to use Ditra because it it not cheap. I did not want to spend all this money on beautiful tile only to have crack develop because I skimped on the sub-floor. Steve has been quick to answer questions about care and products to use for cleaning and occasional sealing. He is a great guy to boot. He was good enough to refer me to several local companies he has relationships with for various remodel-related work. EVERY single person who has done work at my house as a referral from Steve has been top notch. I would not hesitate to refer Steve and his company to anyone. In hindsight...I wish I had just hired him to be the General Contractor on the whole project. I think the price was more than fair for the quality of the materials, workmanship and professionalism. I will post some pictures soon.

Tiles by Design is the best. The name says what Steve does. He's a designer in addition to providing professional installation. I'd made my tile selections before meeting him, but he made some suggestions about layout and some tile changes that made a big difference in the total look of the room. His ideas were dead on. His and quot;level entryand quot; system is the best on the market, and his installers, Sonny and Alfredo know what they are doing, and did a wonderful job. They both have been with Steve for over 10 years each and there is wonderful communication between them. If you want someone who knows tile, what works together and what doesn't and someone to do more than just install tile, Steve is your man.

It went well. At the risk of being fired by the general contractor, Steve insisted that it be done the right way. Period.

We met him at a tile store and brought different tile samples home. He seemed keen on what we really liked and brought different ones over as we weren’t pleased with the original. Designed a few things for us, including around the stove and sink area, backsplash. Listened to our ideas and knew what he was doing. Worked hard with us making sure we really liked his suggestions. He’s very creative and I highly recommend him.