LAYOUT

Assuming one has the tools and the knowledge about how to use them correctly, and is aware of the various products for installation, the next most important thing is layout! A proper layout of a job can often be the difference of an attractive job or one that is weak or downright awful. It can also, amazingly, be the factor in making a job run quicker and easier as well as more pleasing in appearance.

Whether the job is a floor or a backsplash, a tub, a shower, or a countertop - whatever the installation - they all begin with that FIRST TILE! That's the one that dictates where the entire rest of the installation will follow.

Since beginning in this trade, I have performed probably no less than 4000 installations in almost as many residences or places of business. I have had to determine where to lay that first tile in each one. And have done so successfully over and again.

It occurred to me that such knowledge and experience can be a financially useful commodity.

For those of you adventuresome enough to do your own installation, but have some misgivings about where to begin that first tile, I would be happy to come out to the job and share where I would begin any particular installation - for $100 - if the job is local. And explain why. As long as the job is in the Phoenix/Scottsdale general area. Hopefully the information will either inform or validate your instincts, or prove useful in the hiring of another installer. It can possibly be your most important investment.

Balance

Years ago people asked me for a "per square foot" and it was easy to give an answer based on a few parameters.
For floors I would inquire about the approximate total size of the job, whether it was to be laid straight or diagonal, what material was to be used, location of the job.

Now so much more dictates the cost, because there is so much variety even from tile to tile. The bottom line is to be able to make the job bid inexpensive enough to be chosen and still produce enough income to be able to support yourself and your family.

40 years ago a very good and caring tile setter told me, "Anything that can be done, can be done better." He was right. Today the craftsman, setter, artisan has to achieve a balance of workmanship that equals or exceeds the expectations of the owner/buyer - while still producing it at a pace that assures an adequate income. At times it is a difficult situation. I will expand on this thought in another blog.

Commercial License

In Arizona, work that is not done in a residence but rather in a place of business is considered to be Commercial. In order to perform any type of service requiring a license - such as tile - where a price is negotiated beforehand, the party doing the service MUST BE LICENSED! Regardless of the price!

What this suggests is that the repair of merely a few tiles, unless performed by a salaried employee, where the owner or Contractor arrives at an agreed upon price for the service with the person doing the work, that party - the installer - MUST have a Commercial License to do so! A $10 repair or a $100 installation, both require a License if the price is agreed upon before the service. There is NO "Handyman Clause" in Commercial work!

Furthermore, BOTH parties - if caught - are criminally liable. The party doing the hiring as well as the party doing the work. In order to do Commercial work in the state of Arizona, for an agreed upon price, the person doing the service MUST be licensed. No matter the cost.

And unless the installer or repairman is a salaried employee, or the hired person is working hourly with all the withholding monies being withdrawn as prescribed by law, then BOTH parties are considered acting outside the law and subject to fines and criminal penalties.

Insured

It should come as no surprise that Licensed Contractors are required to carry insurance. As such, the insurance is intended to offset any accidents that may occur while performing work on the job. Should the lamp be broken by the installer while working on the residence, or the wall be damaged, or the table be marred - all of these misfortunes can be rectified by the insurance the Contractor is required to possess.

Of course, deductibles often have to be met and should there be claims against the policy, a strong likelihood is that the premiums will increase as in any other policy. However it ought to be reassuring to know that the damage can be restored by the Contractor even if the cost may offset the cost of the job.

Early in my days in tile, I became aware of a tile helper who inadvertently dropped a commode while doing a "favor" for the homeowner rather than causing the owner an additional expense of hiring a plumber. That commode cost the helper $500 which was more than the helper earned in 2 weeks at that time. Had a contractor been doing the job, such damage would have been covered by the Contractor's insurance less any deductible.