Tile & Stone · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to tile and stone
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any tile contractor in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Estimate request
Tell us about the floor, shower or wall
Straight to us, and a reply the same day.
By Michael Blair, owner, Nashville's Tile and Stone · who we are
Warning signs
How to know you need us
Recognize one? Have it looked at before it grows.
- Grout cracking along the same joint
- Tiles that sound hollow when tapped
- A shower leaking into the ceiling below
- Edges you catch with a bare foot
- Stone that has stained and was never sealed
- A layout that ends in a sliver at the wall
- Movement or flex underfoot
Your options
More than one right answer.
Porcelain, ceramic and natural stone each have a place, and the priciest tile is not always the one that lasts. We show the trade-offs plainly.
Repair and regrout
Where the installation is sound and only the grout has failed. Cheapest by a wide margin and often all that is needed.
Tile over
Occasionally possible on a sound, flat floor. Raises the height, so doors and thresholds have to be considered.
Full replacement
Up to the substrate, made flat, and reset. The right answer when tiles are hollow or the floor moves.
Natural stone
Beautiful and unforgiving. Needs sealing, needs the right cleaners for life, and needs the veining laid out before it is fixed.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
Tile jobs are priced on the square footage, the tile size and material, the prep the floor or wall needs, and the waterproofing in wet areas. We look at the substrate before we name a figure.
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Tile size and material
Large-format tile needs a flatter substrate and more labor to set without lippage. Natural stone adds sealing and far more care in handling.
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Condition of the substrate
Most of the cost people do not expect is flattening the floor or building the shower correctly. Tile is only as good as what it is stuck to.
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Pattern
Straight lay is quickest. Herringbone, diagonal and mixed-format patterns take longer and waste more material in cuts.
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Waterproofing
A shower needs a tested waterproofing system, and the system is not optional. It is the difference between a shower and a slow leak.
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Demolition and disposal
Taking up an existing floor, especially one bedded in mortar, is a real part of the job rather than a rounding error.
Estimates are free, written and without obligation. Anything found only after starting is priced up front.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
Layout first
Where the full tiles land and where the cuts go, agreed before anything is bonded. This is what separates a good tile job from an expensive one.
Prepare the substrate
Flattened, reinforced or rebuilt as needed. Large-format tile is unforgiving of a floor that is out by even a little.
Waterproof
In wet areas, to a single tested system rather than a mixture of products that were never designed to work together.
Set
Back-buttered where the tile needs it, leveling system used on large format, and spacing kept consistent throughout.
Grout and seal
Grouted after the setting material has cured properly, then sealed where the material requires it.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
Shortcuts that cheapen the quote and cost you later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Starting without a layout
Setting from a corner and working out is how you end up with a half-inch sliver at the most visible wall.
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Skipping the uncoupling membrane
On a floor that moves, the membrane is what stops the movement reaching the tile. Without it the crack telegraphs straight through.
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Mixing waterproofing systems
Products from different systems are not tested together, and the manufacturer warranty for both is void the moment they are combined.
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Grouting too early
Grouting before the setting material has cured traps moisture underneath and discolors the grout permanently.
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Leaving stone unsealed
Marble and travertine stain from almost anything. Sealing is a maintenance item, not a one-off at installation.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any tile contractor.
Including us. If a tile contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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How will you waterproof the shower, and is it on the quote?
A named method — a proper pan or a sheet membrane — with the parts you will never see on the estimate. The pan is the job.
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Will you check the subfloor for deflection before setting tile?
Yes — tile set on a bouncing floor cracks at the grout lines. A setter who does not ask what is under the floor has not thought about it.
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Is large-format tile going on a flattened slab?
It has to be; big tile on an unflattened slab lips at every edge. Flattening is a line on the quote, not a surprise.
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What thinset, what grout, what sealer?
Products named for the tile and the location. Mastic in a shower is a failure with a timeline.
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Are you licensed at this job’s value, and insured?
A Tennessee contractor’s license where the value requires it, and liability insurance. Ask for the certificate.
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What is warranted, and what does a failed grout line mean?
A workmanship term in writing; grout cracks at movement joints that were not honored, and a good setter explains where those go.
FAQ
Choosing a tile contractor in Nashville
How do I choose a tile contractor in Nashville?
Every tile setter on our crews carries liability insurance on file with us, and the setters doing showers follow the industry’s waterproofing standard on jobs we know. Ask the six questions below of anyone, including us.
Should I get more than one quote for tile and stone?
Yes — and compare the scope, not the total. Tile in Nashville is priced by the square foot for the setting, with the substrate preparation, the waterproofing and the tear-out as their own lines; a shower is priced as a system — pan, waterproofing, tile, glass — and the material is separate.
Is the cheapest tile and stone quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically; a low number is information. A subfloor that flexes cracks the grout in a year; it is stiffened first.
Do I need a permit for tile and stone in Nashville?
Tile needs no permit from Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties; a shower rebuild where the plumbing moves does, and the plumber pulls it.
How far in advance should I book tile and stone?
A tile estimate in Nashville is usually within a week; a floor is a few days, a shower a week including the cure times the waterproofing needs, and the schedule is in the quote.
Free estimate
Planning a tile floor, shower or backsplash?
Send Nashville's Tile and Stone the room, the tile you have in mind and the square footage; the written estimate spells out the substrate and the waterproofing along with the tile.