Fine-Tuning Home Improvements A Pro's Guide to Material Handling and Tile Perfection - Episode 60

Discover the secret sauce to flourishing in the home building and remodeling industry with our latest episode, where we delve into the pivotal relationships that contractors and DIY enthusiasts must cultivate for success. From negotiating the best deals with suppliers to the nuanced dance with client expectations, I walk you through the essentials. You'll learn how to leverage the collective wisdom of interior designers, navigate the ever-evolving project visions of homeowners, and why keeping a surplus of materials might just be your project-saving grace.

Ever wondered how the pros achieve that impeccable tile installation? I've got you covered with a treasure trove of tips and techniques that will elevate your craftsmanship to a whole new level. From using a Sharpie on polished tiles to mastering the art of grouting, this episode is brimming with little-known tricks of the trade that ensure a stunning finish every time. You’ll get an insider's peek at the artistry involved in making aesthetic decisions, and why a well-executed grout job is more than just filler – it's the final, crucial touch to a flawless tile set.

Join us as we step into the shoes of interior design connoisseurs and discuss the exciting resurgence of terrazzo. It's not just about the beauty – we celebrate its eco-friendly virtues and delve into the practicality of over-ordering for those eye-catching yet elusive special tiles. This episode also highlights a cautionary tale of color discrepancies due to inconsistent material ordering, serving as a reminder for the meticulous attention to detail required in our craft. So tune in, engage with our community, and arm yourself with the knowledge to navigate your next home improvement venture with confidence.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The Home Building and Remodeling Show. Let's go. Welcome everybody to the Home Building and Remodeling Show. My name is Chris Kirby and I'll be your host. I am the owner of three construction companies on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The show is about residential construction. We're going to cover topics of home building and remodeling. Are you thinking of doing a remodel or building a home? Are you a contractor looking to improve your knowledge base or grow your business? Have you ever done a remodel project or built a home? There were so many things you wish you knew or that you could have done differently during the process. Then this show is for you. We break down the process of building and remodeling and how to have the best results during your project. Whether you're a DIYer looking for tips, someone looking to hire a contractor to do a project, or a contractor looking to expand your knowledge base or your business, welcome aboard. Glad to have you. Stay tuned. We kick off the show with my thoughts on home building and remodeling. I'll share best practices and talk about some of our experiences in business and out in the field. These shared thoughts and lessons learned are meant to help you on your very own journey. Let's go so make friends with other developers, builders, contractors. They can be your go-to. And then that's so.

Speaker 1: 1:38

Number four home improvement stores. So, knowing people, the flooring department at Home Depot those people are going to refer business to you or recommend business to you, or that's another. They have an affiliate program where you can become an installer for a big box stores Lowe's, home Depot's. Apply for those, try it. You may not get hired if you don't have all your ducks in a row, but you should always try if you're looking for work or just starting out or that's something that you're comfortable with. Go to the big box, go to Lowe's, go to Home Depot and apply to be one of their installers. They sell the product and they have installers. A lot of the big box stores now are all in one where they're going to set you up with the product. They're going to sell you the product and then they're going to set up an installer. But the installers are usually subcontractors that they hire. They're going to screen you. You put in an application. That's a great way to get steady work.

Speaker 1: 2:37

If that's something that you want to do and you know, just having a relationship otherwise with the different departments in the home improvement stores, even your local A's. It's beneficial to know those sales reps, to talk with the customer service people, because they have clients coming in all the time to buy product and recommending installers Some of your local home goods stores as well and recommending installers Some of your local home goods stores as well. They may even let you put your business cards in there, and it's a great way to gain some traction, especially if you're buying product and you already have an established relationship with them. It's huge to know who's who in the home improvement stores. Okay, and obviously the last person is your client. So doing a good job for them, being trustworthy, showing up on time all of the basic things it takes to make your client happy and have a satisfied client. Word of mouth referrals are huge. So maintaining those relationships with your past clients, calling and checking on them to see how things were Make it more than just a transaction where you go in, you do the work and you get out of there and get paid for the job, but follow up, have genuine conversations and get to know the people that you're going to work for.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Those are the five key relationships that you need to have as a tile installer. So let's kind of repeat here. Number one is the supplier and manufacturers, because you want to have the access to product, the best prices for product, so you can give the best prices to your clients. Number two is interior designers, because you do not want to be an interior designer, trust me. You may not want to help out with the vision piece, you may just want to install the stuff. Leave it up to the experts. Have that relationship with interior designers. They are going to bring you plenty of clients for install work. Other contractors, home builders, anybody that you can get in front of. That's in our industry. They are not the competition, they are absolutely your friend and you are going to get other referrals from contractors for installation works. And it's important.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Number four home improvement stores. Hey, talking to the sales reps up there, talking to the front desk, talking to those people making friends with them, let them know what you do so they can recommend clients to you when the clients are coming in buying products from them. And then number five, the biggest one, is having satisfied clients. They are going to be the biggest relationship that you can have. It doesn't matter if the first four, if you have relationships with the first four people but your clients are never satisfied or the work is subpar, it's only gonna last. The other four relationships are only gonna last so long before they figure out that you don't know what you're doing. And now we move into Shop Talk. It's the portion of the show where I bring in a co-host and we cover trending topics in home building and remodeling. Hope you enjoy. Let's go.

Speaker 2: 5:51

Right, so I try to make that. You know, get that info out of the customer. But you run into a lot of customers where they want one thing, but by the time you get to the job they've been on Pinterest so long. They're like, hey, I want it done like this, yeah.

Speaker 1: 6:09

And that changes it up. So always get extra, always get at least 20% is what we've been talking about, if not more extra. A lot of times you can return like if you've got a full box, let you're. You lay all the tile and there's a box and a half left. Keep, keep that half box.

Speaker 2: 6:27

But sometimes you can return full boxes yeah, most everybody we deal deal with like msi, they'll return yeah delta will return unless it's a real specialty item. Yep, yep, but uh, we got a good relationship with them, so so they usually I'll take it even. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 6:46

So it's always better to have more, right? Yeah, so, okay. So multiple reasons to have more tile, all right, when you're estimating tile as well, do you? Does the cost of the job depend on the style of tile? Does that matter, or do you? You know, for us we kind of got away from a price per square foot or anything like that. We really do what works for our company, which is our labor and things, and we've got a, we've got a formula that we use that works for us. But like does it matter?

Speaker 2: 7:17

type or style Right. So when you get into like hair and bone Chevron it does, it takes longer to do. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:25

So you got to be a little more sensitive too.

Speaker 2: 7:27

Right, take your time so there is a cost difference on the install. Yeah, portion of that yeah, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1: 7:34

And then, when it comes to, let's see, we've talked about some of the the tools, basic tools, right, no one basic math. I, in that one video we did, you pointed out that you would need a sharpie, not just a pencil.

Speaker 2: 7:46

Right. Why is that? Because not a lot of tile you can mark with a pencil on, especially if it's got a polished machine Right.

Speaker 1: 7:53

You won't see it.

Speaker 2: 7:54

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:55

Or you'll rub it right off. It won't mark, won't do it. No, okay, so have a sharpie on you so you can mark your measurements. Is there any measuring rules when it comes to tile? That would be different than carpentry or anything like that.

Speaker 2: 8:07

Really. I mean, you just got to be able to do math, you got to take in effect for grout lines and you know blade sizes and all that stuff.

Speaker 1: 8:16

So when you're doing your layout for tile, you know and independent on the size of the grout line that the client wants and a lot of people are wanting these super thin grout lines. How do you factor?

Speaker 2: 8:29

So you take your spacer because you're going to use a spacer. Yep, you know I mean a lot of tiles. They'll have a pre-beveled edge so it creates its arms with its own 16th inch, but you want to lay it out on the floor really.

Speaker 1: 8:46

Yeah, because you can always assume. Let's just say, like on a tub hop-up, it's five foot wide. Why do you need to lay it out? It's five foot Right. Like on a tub hop up, it's five foot wide. Why do you need to lay it out? It's five foot right. But depending on thicker, thin grout lines, depending on a multitude of factors where the niche is going to lay out, you you want to lay out now, do you lay out the kind of the whole thing or do you try to do the best you can? How do you do that part from top to bottom, the way?

Speaker 2: 9:09

I like to do it from is where my first line is going to be, like the bottom of the niche or the bottom of a window.

Speaker 1: 9:18

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 9:18

And I like to have my grout line break right there. That way you don't have a funny notch right at your eye level.

Speaker 1: 9:27

I see what you're saying Yep, Yep, and that's I mean. Yeah, anything at eye level is immediately noticeable. Okay, what about backsplashes? So you've got flooring, you've got a lot of showers that we do. What about backsplash? So let's talk about how important it is. So, on backsplash you are. How do you calculate your backsplash versus how do you calculate what you need for a shower?

Speaker 2: 9:53

It's about the same. Your typical tile run is going to be about 18 inches, okay, but that's. You know what I mean. That's just standard. Yeah, some people have smaller, some there might be variation, right, but assume 18.

Speaker 1: 10:08

Okay, and let's just say they've got a let's keep it simple. They've got a, let's keep it simple. They've got a 10, 10 foot back wall, and you know you're usually you might have a window or something, right, how do you talk to the client about? Or you may have a hood vent or something like that, right? How do you establish those boundaries? When it comes to tile, as far as here's, what I recommend is you know, do they want it to just be 18 inches all the way around, right?

Speaker 2: 10:37

Do they want to go up If they have a window or, like you said, a hood vent?

Speaker 1: 10:43

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 10:44

Just kind of talk it over with them and, you know, give them your perspective on what would look the cleanest.

Speaker 1: 10:50

Yeah, yeah, and that's really what it's about too is because sometimes when they go, some people want to go all the way up the back wall, now where that hood vent is, and some people just want to kind of stop it at the bottom of the hood vent. If there's a window, you got to kind of pick and choose where to stop it on each side of the window to make it look right. What other things are you talking about on a backsplash, kind of how you're going to trim it out, right Schluter?

Speaker 2: 11:19

Or like a pencil trim. It just depends on really your finishings in your kitchen yeah, I mean your colors of your hardware and stuff. Or sometimes they don't look good with some of the tile they'll pick out. So in that case you'll run some kind of pencil trim that matches the tile, got it, you kill it off into okay, all right.

Speaker 1: 11:44

What else for tile? What else do we need to know about tile route?

Speaker 2: 11:48

yeah, let's talk about that. So it's not always best to let your helper do all the grout work.

Speaker 1: 11:54

Ha, why not? So sometimes that's the stuff I'll tell you. If there's anything that some of our more senior installers don't like to do, it's grout.

Speaker 2: 12:04

But honestly, sometimes grout can make all the difference, man All the difference in the world, somebody that doesn't know how to properly install, grout or clean it yeah, let's say clean it yeah you'll have your grout lines be doing this the whole time. Yeah, you'll have fan packed because you're not cleaning it.

Speaker 1: 12:24

That's another one where it bugs me, but I can look at the straight lines.

Speaker 2: 12:29

Yeah, so none of your lines are straight from that point. Well, it's a pain to after it sets up. Yeah to get it.

Speaker 1: 12:36

Well, that's another one that I can immediately start looking at niches, corners, and man, they will pack out in that corner. Yes, now there's a difference in not cleaning it properly, edging it up and all that, and then some people use it to hide their cracks and mistakes. You know, and I've seen that, so you gotta be leery if you see some some fat corners or some packed out grout and corners. You know, people use that to compensate, they use that grout to make it seem more level than it is sometimes too. But what you're saying is you, you can tell sorry, you'll have level, actual level tile, but because of your grout you've messed your whole job up. Yeah, yeah. And one thing I've seen too, just sticking on grout how important it is is we had a huge shower down at one of our clients in Gulf Shores, mr Kidwell. I'll cut that piece, but you know that shower was half of his entire bathroom, it seemed like, and it kept hazing.

Speaker 2: 13:41

Why was it hazing? Remember that 18 feet by 7 or 8 feet.

Speaker 1: 13:45

Yeah, it was humongous shower, Seamless entry, but it kept hazing up. I can't remember what did we figure out with that, because that's happened before.

Speaker 2: 13:56

Well, it'll just keep hazing I can't remember, but it really. I mean, it's the way you clean it yeah sometimes it calls for dry. Yeah, I mean after you do first couple wipes. Yeah, with the sponge, it helps to take a dry, clean, clean towel and wipe off the haze.

Speaker 1: 14:16

And I've seen. So one of the first big showers we did actually the whole bathroom. They wanted subway and so we did a half wall of subway all the way around the bathroom, around the tub, and then the whole shower floor to ceiling room, around the tub and then the whole shower floor to ceiling or and the, the couple, the. The guy was an engineer and he would come in there at night with a laser and check everything. And that was one, seriously, where that the crew was in there with razors edging up the ground. I mean, yeah, you know what I mean, and it had to be perfect to satisfy this client's needs. But that was one of the toughest clients, not that they were wrong, but I mean he just would set a laser level on there every night to make sure it's right. But the grout lines man, he wanted them things perfect too, I mean. And so they were in there with the razor. I mean edging it up, getting it. You know what I mean, getting it exactly perfect.

Speaker 2: 15:18

I mean the straighter and perfect your grout line is the it really sets it off.

Speaker 1: 15:25

What's your best tip then, when you're finished, before they, you know, especially for your DIY people watching this, for your beginners, what is your best advice when it comes to the grout process? Talk us through what that looks like To keep it clean, to keep it kind of Read the bag, okay.

Speaker 2: 15:44

So the bag of grout tells you, has instructions. It's going to tell you exactly what it calls for because a lot of different brands yeah. Are different. Yeah, I mean the way you mix it. Mix it just like it says and not just by. So it'll tell you, it'll give you mixing instructions, okay, because you can think oh yeah, I mixed that good.

Speaker 1: 16:12

You spread it and then within three or four minutes it's locking up on you and then you got issues when you're trying to clean it up. Well, so it so the you can do it too thick, too thin. Now we're going to move into the portion of the show where we talk interior design. We're going to bring in an interior designer and we're going to talk trending design and products. Hope, hope, you enjoy, let's go yeah.

Speaker 3: 16:32

And I, you know, I didn't know why. But then, after finding that out, I'm like oh, how cool, you know, now I learned something new, yeah, that I can implement, moving forward Awesome.

Speaker 1: 16:40

Education for sure. Education, knowledge is power. Knowledge is power Right, especially in our industry as well, and that's what separates people who really care about their craft from people that are just, you know, doing it. That's right. Okay, what do you got next?

Speaker 3: 16:54

Number three Terrazzo, and everybody loves that word. Terrazzo yeah, it brings back so many memories. I mean truly so. Terrazzo is a mix of cement and marble, chips and other materials, so it tends to have a flecking to it A lot of people think of. You know, the oranges with the multicolored greens and blacks. Well, terrazzo is coming back in. And the cool thing about it? It does touch on another trend, which is sustainability, because you are using chips, material, recycled material.

Speaker 1: 17:23

So terrazzo is more of a composite, it's a mix. Okay, I didn't know that.

Speaker 3: 17:33

It's a mix of cement and marble chips and other kind of porcelain chips. Okay, so it is making a comeback. The cool thing about terrazzo that people tend to forget is it's a multi-surface material. It can be used on floors, countertops and walls.

Speaker 1: 17:41

I'm glad you spoke on that. So, most of so, you can't assume that let's just say a client walks in and they're picking out tile. You cannot assume that that can be used on the floor or the wall, or so the box, the back of the tile, the manufacturer is going to specify what tile can be used where.

Speaker 3: 18:01

Yeah, got it. There is a reason for that. There is. I know Christy touched on this before. Safety is number one of them.

Speaker 1: 18:07

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 18:08

You have a slick tile.

Speaker 1: 18:08

You do not want that on your floor.

Speaker 3: 18:10

I mean, it's just, it's not something that anybody would want. But again, thickness.

Speaker 1: 18:14

Got it.

Speaker 3: 18:14

There are certain thicknesses that require it to be wall tile only Gotcha.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Okay, and so the terrazzo can be used where.

Speaker 3: 18:21

Floors, walls.

Speaker 1: 18:23

Walls. It can be used in multiples. It can be molded, gotcha it can actually be molded.

Speaker 3: 18:27

Most of the time, they're going to sell it like they sell a tile. However, you can spread it even.

Speaker 1: 18:32

Gotcha.

Speaker 3: 18:33

I mean it's such a multifunctional material because it is a cement base.

Speaker 1: 18:36

Sure.

Speaker 3: 18:37

So yes, terrazzo.

Speaker 1: 18:39

Got it. So number three is terrazzo. Okay, what do you got on there for four?

Speaker 3: 18:43

So four was actually sustainability. So, going back to recycled materials, one of the things too is how they actually box materials. Now, you know, shipping tile, it takes a lot, a lot of materials to ensure that those delicate pieces or sheets are being delivered, you know, intact.

Speaker 1: 19:00

Sure, like what you were talking, I can't imagine the shipping on that thin glass tile. I mean, we have a lot of times where we'll open especially if you're getting a heavy load a lot of tile, where we'll open multiple boxes that you know some coming at are broke. And so I recommend tip, tip, tip, always overshoot with the tile, always get more. You don't want to get the right amount because it's inevitable that something, even if you get it in and it's not broke, you may drop a piece.

Speaker 1: 19:34

So are you? Yes, and we've. We've started actually doing even 20 percent more.

Speaker 3: 19:39

Not just what I recommend yeah now here's the kicker to that one, though, just because I've experienced it. Before you tell a client you're going to need 20 percent. Now, these are special order tiles. This is not Home Depot, this is not Lowe's. You order 20%. Any excess or underage, that is yours, that's to keep. You might end up with a whole box. Don't think of that as oh, I wasted money on a box I'm not going to use.

Speaker 1: 20:12

Think of it as good to have that extra, especially the special order, because some of this stuff, and quite frequently it goes out of stock.

Speaker 3: 20:22

It goes out of stock because of popularity, or you go into a different dye lot or cutting lot. It goes out of stock because of popularity, or you go into a different dye lot or cutting lot. So some of these that are not done, particularly in large batches, because they are more the artisans, they might make enough to fill up, let's say, 2,200 orders and then after that it's going to look a little different.

Speaker 1: 20:39

So what's your, what's your recommendation? So you said 20 percent extra. Your reasoning for that is because you want to make sure you have enough Some is bound to break and chip, or for future needs as well and then also because if something does happen and you don't end up with enough, you may really never be able to get that again, that same batch, even if it's the same line. You may not get the same batch, it could come in different. Yes, gotcha, okay.

Speaker 3: 21:09

I had a gal I follow her on Instagram and she had one of her client's floors and it was just a simple hex Sure, an off-white hex Sure, and she did not arrive at the job site in time to catch it. But they started laying the floor and they ended up taking and switching to a different box that was ordered at a later date.

Speaker 1: 21:26

Yep, about two shades darker, and we've seen that. We have seen that it happens. Yeah.

Speaker 3: 21:31

That's why you have to order everything all at the same time and again, too, having a designer who's going to make sure they're ordering everything from the same distribution center.

Speaker 1: 21:38

Thanks for joining us today. As always, we are grateful for our listeners and your continued support. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. Follow us on social media via Facebook, instagram and TikTok. Get more info at our website, wwwthehomebuildingshowcom. And, as always, remember who we are the Home Building and Remodeling show.