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Construction capability

Tile

Waterproofing assemblies, setting and grout for wet areas and floors.

In a shower, tile is the visible part of a waterproofing assembly. Substrate, waterproofing membrane and slope to drain do the actual work; tile and grout are not waterproof by themselves.

That assembly is specified during design — the membrane system, the pan construction, the niche and bench details, the slope. It is inspected and flood-tested before tile hides it, because the only cheap time to find a waterproofing problem is before a single tile is set over it.

Layout decisions — where a cut lands, how a pattern meets a corner, where a niche sits relative to the coursing — are set before the first tile, because they cannot be fixed afterwards. Large-format tile raises the stakes: bigger tiles demand flatter substrates and make every lippage error visible, so the substrate standard is part of the tile decision, not separate from it.

Grout and movement joints are engineering wearing a cosmetic costume. Grout color changes how busy a wall reads and how honestly a floor hides use; movement joints at plane changes and long runs are what keep a tiled surface from cracking as the building breathes. Both are decided deliberately, and the movement joints are non-negotiable.

The same discipline carries to tiled floors and backsplashes: substrate preparation to the flatness the format requires, layout that centres what the eye lands on, and edge details — trim profiles, mitres, exposed edges — chosen rather than defaulted.

What this covers

  • Substrate preparation and backer
  • Waterproofing assemblies for wet areas
  • Slope to drain
  • Layout, setting and cuts
  • Grout, sealant and trim details

Decided in design

Settled before anything is built.

These are the decisions the design and preconstruction stage resolves for this work — while changing the answer is a revision, not a demolition.

  1. Waterproofing system specified per wet area, with flood-testing before tile
  2. Layout drawn — cut locations, pattern starts, niche placement against coursing
  3. Substrate flatness standard set by the tile format, and the preparation to reach it
  4. Grout color and joint width sampled against the tile, movement joints located
  5. Edge and transition details chosen — trim profiles, mitres, thresholds

Questions

Answers we can give honestly.

Is grout waterproof?
No, and neither is tile. Cementitious grout absorbs water; the waterproofing is the membrane assembly behind and beneath the tile, sloped to the drain. That is why the assembly is flood-tested before tiling — once the tile is on, the membrane is unreachable.
Why does large-format tile cost more to install?
Flatness. A 600-millimetre tile bridges a dip that three small tiles would follow, so the substrate has to be prepared to a tighter standard, handling is slower, and lippage control takes real technique. The material can be cheap; the standard it demands is not.
Where do the niche and the accent band go?
Where the tile coursing says they can go cleanly — which is why they are drawn before setting, not decided from a bucket. A niche that lands mid-tile forces cuts that read as accidents. On the drawing it costs nothing to move.

Part of

Projects this work sits inside.

Bathroom Remodeling

Bathroom renovation with the waterproofing, ventilation and plumbing done properly.

Kitchen Remodeling

Full kitchen renovation — layout, cabinetry, surfaces, lighting and the trades behind them.

Interior Remodeling

Reworking interior space — walls, floors, lighting, built-ins and finishes.

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