How are we?

The construction industry has always had plenty of ups and downs, and we’re pretty used to seasonal and economic fluctuations. But 2020 has been well beyond the “normal” roller coaster. A global pandemic, mandated closures and quarantines, and then riots – these have tested the mettle of everyone, including small businesses like ours.

We were very fortunate to be considered an “essential business” from the beginning, so our work to create safe and hygienic bathrooms and living spaces has continued in most instances. Obviously, homeowners were hesitant at first to have people in their homes, but Phase 2 in NC relaxed much of that fear, and we’re helping renew spaces that people got really tired of seeing while they were quarantined.

Our cleaning regimens have been intense, our search for protective equipment exhaustive, and our desire to persevere unmatched. Like you, we’ve worried and waited to see what will happen next, but we’ve continued to be true to our business heritage. We work hard; we do quality installations; and we care for our people and our customers. Even in these turbulent times, it’s as simple as that.

We’ve actually seen an uptick in new residential construction as people see even more need to have their own safe spaces and as mortgage rates sit at historic lows. Commercial renovations have slowed down some as many office spaces sit idle while some people work from home. Architects and designers are re-thinking future buildings and renovations in regard to how space is used and what will be new “social distancing” norms.

So, it’s really a great time to get going on that project that you’ve been contemplating. As we’ve all seen in these past few months, our homes really can be our sanctuaries. Let us help you create that long-lasting and beautiful space to call home. We’re here for the long haul, and we’ll get through this together!

Long-lasting, beautiful investment in tile

Many of us are seeing more than usual of the inside of our homes lately, and we’re coming to really appreciate surfaces that are easy to clean, durable, and nice to look at.  When your home includes properly installed tile you know you’ve provided your family a hygienic space that will hold up well over time.

As described in a recent piece on WhyTile.com, long-lasting installations are a direct correlation to the skill of the installer, the use of the right components in the assembly,  and the integrity of the company behind the work. If any of those pieces are missing, problems may result. With tile, issues of technique (like uneven grout joints) may be immediately apparent; concerns with product might show up with use (like a base-level grout put in a commercial kitchen or interior tiles used outdoors); but the biggest worries are the ones that take time to present themselves (like deterioration of a structure from water that works its way under the surface tile and through a gap in poorly done waterproofing).

In order to ensure your investment in tile is a good one, look for a company that provides all three components — skilled installers (check their certifications), knowledgeable estimators who specify quality products (do they participate in industry training & associations), and proven business credentials.

Carefully choosing your contractor on the front-end of your investment can save you a lot of headache, time, and money on the back-end.

#QualifiedLabor #NTCAFiveStar #NeuseTile

Do-it-yourself ‘damage’?

There was an interesting article in a recent industry publication that detailed the results of an ImproveNet survey of homeowners who had chosen to do home improvement projects on their own –without initially hiring professionals. A surprising 63 percent of the 2000 people surveyed regretted taking on the project without the help of a professional, and 33 percent had to hire a contractor to either finish the job or re-do it completely.

It was particularly interesting to us that “installing tile tops the list of most regretted jobs.” The 30-second clips on home improvement television shows have done a great job of expanding the idea of using tile, but they’ve also made it look incredibly easy. And it just isn’t. Sure, it can be done with a strong investment of time learning techniques, acquiring special tools, and garnering lots of patience, but the time it would take a professional pales in comparison to the time and effort that a novice has to extend.

Almost half of the respondents in the survey said their projects took longer than expected or were more physically difficult than they anticipated. Almost that many also said it was more technically difficult than they imagined, and nearly a quarter said it was more expensive than they had calculated. Interestingly, almost 10 percent said they did actual damage to their homes in the process, and nearly that many said they damaged themselves in some way!

Sadly, more than half of respondents said they were disappointed in how their project turned out – some saying it just didn’t look good, didn’t function as intended, or just didn’t hold up well over time.

We absolutely love that home improvement television has made it more popular to make changes in our homes, and we are thrilled that tile is showing up in all kinds of unexpected places. We also hope that with the continuing popularity of remodeling will come great respect for the professionals who have the craftsmanship, knowledge, and expertise to do home improvement projects well. #QualifiedLabor

Resource: Qualified Remodeler, May 2019, by Lew Sichelman

Will big tile make a room look small?

The variety of tile and stone available today provide an opportunity to express your style in a long-lasting and durable finish. While there are certainly some tile trends that will date an installation, the movement toward larger format tiles (greater than 15”) is one that is here to stay.

Sometimes, though, consumers are hesitant to use larger tiles in a smaller space because they think it will make the room seem smaller. In fact, the opposite is often true. Fewer grout lines with larger tiles can give the illusion of a more spacious room. You do want to keep in mind the proportion of the space to be tiled, and make sure your tile doesn’t overwhelm other prominent features of the room.

To help with the perfect proportion, it’s best to work with a professional designer at a tile showroom. Bring a photo of your current space and photos or patterns that you particularly like. A designer can help visualize your finished space and guide you to the perfect tile (and price point) to suit your personality.

The key to successful use of larger tiles is proper installation, since larger tiles require flatter surfaces in order to prevent lippage (one edge of a tile higher than an edge of an adjacent tile). Larger tiles are also less forgiving for do-it-yourself projects because the prep work and mortar used under larger tile is quite different than with a standard 12”x12” tile.

Tile is as varied as the imaginations of designers and end users, and the technical challenge of making sure it’s installed correctly, with the right mortar and system warranty, may make it worth hiring a professional to ensure a long-lasting installation.

Removing barriers in good design

As part of ongoing community education efforts by the Home Builders Association, our own Nyle Wadford participated in a local radio program on a recent Saturday morning. WPTF 680’s Eye on Health program featured several members of the Raleigh-Wake County HBA’s C.A.R.E. Council explaining how their companies work together to help make homes accessible for everyone.

Nyle talked about the increased requests we’ve had for curbless or stepless showers. Innovations in tile technology have made it possible to keep water inside a shower without the traditional ‘curb’ or step at the doorway (if you have a knowledgeable installer). He explained that the traditional curb is also a point of failure for many improperly installed showers. “To avoid future problems, it’s essential to hire professional trade contractors with credentials that demonstrate knowledge and commitment to their industry,” he explained.

Lewis Sadler of Sadler Construction explained that the HBA’s Council for Ageless Residential Environments (C.A.R.E.) Council was started with a desire to educate the construction community and the general public about all the options available in barrier-free living. By designing to reduce entry steps, widen doorways, incorporate technology, open up bathroom spaces, and think about future use, any home can be built to accommodate future mobility challenges. The intuitive design of this type of ageless home or remodel is a beautiful alternative to the institutional look of historically ‘accessible’ homes.

More Americans are living multi-generationally and our population is aging, so the need for more functional spaces is gaining increased attention, said Nancy Caggia, a Berkshire Hathaway Home Services York Simpson Underwood Realtor and Senior Real Estate Specialist.

Sadler detailed the cost savings achieved by building accessible features into a home during initial construction versus the need to retrofit a space if a family member becomes mobility challenged. As he explained, a person coming home from a rehab center must have a way to enter and exit the home safely as well as have access to a bathroom where they can maneuver. The increased grading costs and upgrades that would make a home fully accessible may cost 2-5% more during the original construction of a new home, but there is a huge savings when compared to going back and remodeling after-the-fact.

Other members of the C.A.R.E. Council specialize in the fields of home technology, cabinets, countertops, flooring, elevators, design, real estate, as well as new construction and remodeling. A full list of members can be found at www.HBAcare.com.

Eye on Health airs on 680 WPTF on Saturday’s at 7 am to help listeners navigate the many choices and issues we face as we age or care for an aging loved one.  You can listen to the show at  http://wptfeyeonhealth.blogspot.com/2016/02/eye-on-health-02-13-2016.html

Determining the value of your bath remodel

When weighing the decision to remodel your bathroom or kitchen, it helps to know what your return on investment might be. Bathrooms and kitchens are still high on the list according to the annual Cost Vs. Value report in Hanley Wood’s January issue of Remodeling Magazine.

The report is broken down by region of the country, average project cost, and return on investment recouped at sale of the home. While we always think the best reason to remodel your space is so that you can enjoy it, we do think this year’s numbers show some interesting upticks in the market.

For instance, in the category of bathroom remodel between $5000 and $25,000, the average renovation in the South Atlantic region costs $16,534. Of that, $11,639 is recouped at sale of the home, showing a strong 70.4% return.

A minor kitchen remodel costing between $5000 and $25,000 recoups a whopping 86% at sale. (The average South Atlantic cost is $18,907, with $16,425 recouped in value at sale.)

For a bathroom addition or higher-end bathroom remodel in the $25-100,000 range, the average cost runs around $46,000 with $28,000 (or 60%) recouped at sale of the home. For a major kitchen remodel costing between $25-100,000, the average cost is $56,901 with $36,438 recouped at sale (64%).

As you think about updating your tile or hiring a remodeling contractor, the trends in this report are a good indicator of the long-term value of your investment. The report also gives you a good idea of the average cost of a project in our area of the country. As Remodeling Magazine says, it helps potential clients see the reality of pricing from local professionals rather than “the oft exaggerated world of TV repair shows.”

[Just FYI – many of those shows get to their total project cost numbers by convincing local home improvement professionals to deeply discount or contribute their services and materials in exchange for the advertising benefit of a few seconds of national TV exposure.]

Data for the Hanley Wood report was collected from professional remodelers and builders and encompasses all project costs (permits, sweat equity, etc. that might be excluded from other reports that roll-in DIY numbers).

Heat up those toes with a tile floor

Maybe it’s because the ground is covered in snow and ice, but the idea of a heated tile floor is sounding extra wonderful today! Stepping out of the shower onto those warm tiles started my day off in the best way possible.

Many forward-thinking builders are adding heated floors to their projects these days, but the idea of under-floor radiant heating actually dates back to prehistoric times. TILE magazine reports that archeologists digging in the Aleutian Islands have solid evidence of inhabitants channeling smoke from fires through stone-covered trenches dug under the floors of their dwellings. “The hot smoke heated up the floor stones, which then radiated into the living spaces. The principle behind this process was – and still remains—quite simple, the floor radiates heat to a person’s feet, warming that person all over,” Arthur Mintie reports.

Today’s electric radiant floor heating uses that same concept, and is an affordable addition to any tile installation. An electric heating element is incorporated into the materials laid beneath the tiles and can be directed to specific areas in the room. With their high thermal mass, tile and stone retain the heat (controlled by a wall thermostat), and the warmth radiates from your feet throughout your body. Several of our customers say they’ve actually lowered their room thermostats because their floor heat made them feel so much warmer. One customer even said her favorite spot to watch it snow is on her all-season porch because her warm floor keeps her so cozy.

So, instead of starting a fire on these next cold nights, how about turning up the floor? Ask us about it for your next project.

What do you need to know about tile?

This is the 2nd blog from our magazine interview installment:

What do you wish people knew about tile?

   Television shows might make you think that installing tile is an easy weekend project, but we see first-hand the failures that result from using less-than-qualified tile people.

Tile doesn’t bend, adjust or flex to mask a corner that’s out of line or a slight bump in the underlayment. Therefore, tile installers have to be exacting and precise. Obvious poor cuts and bad layouts aside, what’s under the tile is even more important. If the wrong product is used to “flatten” a floor, it will show up eventually as the tile begins to crack or crunch as you walk on it. And, when you add water to the equation in a bathroom, the need to choose a qualified installer is even more essential.

In a year’s time, far more water runs across the tile in your shower than over the roof of your home, so the people you hire to do your tile (and your roof 😉 should really know what they’re doing. Proper tile installation is actually pretty complicated (with its precision layout, intricate cuts, specialized tools, variety of setting materials, water management issues, and the hundreds of methods), so we make sure our folks are up-to-date and well-trained. {And, as an aside, we don’t believe that our tile training makes someone good at carpet or vinyl installation. We just don’t understand why general ‘flooring’ contractors would say the same crews could install all kinds of materials…}

Look for a certified TILE contractor next time you’re considering a tile installation. The money you invest in getting it done right will be money you don’t have to spend getting it re-done later.

Why use a general contractor?

Just to be clear from the start: we love working with homeowners! Information sharing is one of our very favorite things, so the education process of helping someone prepare for a tile installation is usually great fun for us. When your project is mostly cosmetic, and you have the patience to coordinate (or do) some or all the trades involved, then serving as your own contractor can be a great option.

However, when your project involves moving multiple plumbing fixtures, re-routing water, or relocating walls, you’re absolutely going to get the best result when you hire a licensed, professional general contractor.

No matter how easy they make it look on television, construction (when it is done well) is a very specialized and knowledge-based profession. The parts and pieces that go into a project are innumerable, and the details needed to get a project finished on-time (or even close) are voluminous.

When chatting with one of our contractor friends recently, we came up with the following list of why we think using a general contractor is a good thing:

• Their industry knowledge (licensing, testing, and continuing education)
• Up-to-date on codes/ materials/ techniques
• Established trade accounts for materials sourcing & contractor discounts (their established relationships)
• Technical adaptability to unforeseen issues (what’s going on behind that wall?)
• Design assistance (what has worked before as well as outside-the-box ideas)
• Appraisal requirement (if you change the square footage of your house, you must get it permitted, or you will not be able to count that addition when you sell)
• Connections with vendors and priority scheduling of work & deliveries
• One point of contact and responsibility
• They know the requirements for permitting, fees, restrictions, insurance, etc.
• Warranty
• Fewer headaches and less stress for you
• The time and capacity to live your life during the remodel

Your home is your largest investment, so you want work done on it to last for a long time. Often that means hiring an industry specialist to get the job done right. We’d be glad to recommend some great, local general contractors to help with your next project!

Tile upside down, but not backwards

Neuse Tile is all about customer satisfaction, and we’ve often laughingly said, “we’ll install tile upside down and backwards” if that’s what the customer wants,” but, with this story, we’ll have to modify that when it comes to glass tile.

An out-of-state relative hired a local contractor to renovate their master bathroom. They went to their home show, interviewed prospective contractors, reviewed their references, and selected one that gave them great confidence. We went up to visit, gave them some tips on selecting the tile and some things to look for as the process moved along.

The first text message asking about the adhesive being used in the shower was a little concerning, but not all that unusual. We gave some online references and told him to hold firm with his general contractor that he expected the tile subcontractor to adhere to industry standards.

However, the text which said “we were awakened at 2 a.m. by the sound of falling tiles” was startling. When we got on the phone and he began to describe the issues with his glass accent liner, we realized the tile setter who had been subcontracted to do the work had installed the glass backwards. Sometimes glass tiles are what we call ‘paper-faced’ meaning the factory rolls an adhesive paper over the front of the tile sheets (usually mosaics) before boxing and shipping. This keeps the individual pieces aligned (for the most part). The intent is for the exposed glass tiles (which sometimes have small holes in them to absorb some of the setting material) to be laid into the troweled mortar and then the adhesive paper peeled off before grouting. However, this tile guy had laid the paper-side of the sheet into the mortar and gone home for the day. As the mortar dried and the tiles broke free from the adhesive paper, the small glass mosaics dropped off one-by-one. Thus, glass tiles hitting a newly tiled shower floor at 2 a.m.

This was the last straw for our relative, and he insisted the contractor hire a different tile installer and re-do the job. When the new – and more qualified- tile installer came, he determined that the whole shower had to come out and be started over. The accent tiles were obviously an issue, but the shower pan had been sloped by doubling up sheets of backerboard- clearly not an industry-approved method!

After 9 weeks, our relatives now have a great, new master bath and further appreciation for all the technical know-how that goes into our everyday work. And, we’ve contacted our national association to see if they can do something about getting more certified tile contractors in that part of his state.

In the Triangle area, you are fortunate to have some well-qualified tile contractors to choose from. Know what’s under your tile – hire a professional and make sure your tile is installed right side out!