Frequently Asked Questions
Want to understand more about tile and why it's a good choice? Read our frequently asked questions and let us know if we can help with anything else!
Tile is a healthy choice, ceramic and porcelain tile is made from natural ingredients and free from toxic chemicals that can make you sick. Tile is the smart choice for a healthy home from the ground up! Tile is a hypoallergenic flooring option, naturally resistant to dust and other harmful pollutants that are known to cause a variety of health issues. Tile is a great choice if you suffer from allergies or asthma. Tile is impervious, meaning it's inhospitable to dust mites, bacteria, fungi, mold, and other irritants. Tile is inherently inorganic, emitting zero VOCs. VOC's are emitted by virtually all other types of flooring. VOCs are harmful gases that can cause headaches, nausea, and nose, eye, and throat irritation. VOC emissions are also a leading cause of "sick building syndrome". Tile is also a solid material meaning tile does not contain the binders common to other flooring and wall surfaces- binders like formaldehyde. Tile is also free from PVC, a resin commonly used in other surfaces to improve mechanical flexibility and heat stability. PVC contains phthalates and organotin, both regularly a subject of concern and discussion among health experts. PVC link.
- Tile is a sustainable building material, Certified Green.
- No other flooring or wall covering choice can compare to tile when it comes to longevity. When installed correctly Tile will last for many generations. This combined with tile being a zero-waste manufacturing material made it the most eco-friendly choice when it comes to flooring or wall coverings.
- Ceramic tile is plastic-free and completely recyclable.
- There are many tile options available that are made from recycled materials. Find some examples or here.
- Tile is Energy Efficient. Tile\'s inherent thermal mass reduces peak heating and cooling, which helps moderate temperature swings in your home. This means less work for your HVAC system and more energy savings for you.
- Manufacturers of tile have the lowest carbon footprint of any flooring choice! Tile manufacturers typically use materials found within 500 miles of manufacturing facilities, dramatically reducing the energy and emissions that come from long-distance shipping of materials.
Over the centuries, tile has represented the perfect union of art and architecture. The richness of tile adorns our greatest buildings and historical icons. Whether you are looking for a durable surface for your flooring or something with a wow factor, tile can and should fulfill both desires!
Short answer No. Why is this important? When considering a tile contractor to construct and tile your shower or bathtub surround please keep in mind that your shower will have an average of 1100" or water ran per year, in comparison the average rainfall for Seattle Washington is 36" per year! Make sure that whomever you choose to install your new shower tile has a plan for waterproofing before installing tile!
- Porcelain Tile, porcelain tile is impervious, meaning its water absorption is 0.5% or less. A great choice for any application. Easy to maintain and very durable.
- Ceramic Tile, similar to porcelain ceramic tile is fired clay. Ceramic is not fired as hot and long as porcelain making it a softer product. Ceramic tile also absorbs water at a much higher rate, making it a poor choice for most outdoor applications.
- Mosaic Tile, tiles having a facial area of less than 9 in². Typically mounted on sheets or strips with other mosaic tiles.
- Encaustic Tile, tile decorated with colored clays, inlaid and fired. Often referred to as Cement Tile.
- Marble Tile, marble that has been cut into tile sizes.
- Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels/Slabs; Large format tile that is gauged to a certain thickness, often only half the thickness of standard tiles and up to 63"x 126".
- Natural Stone, tiles cut from naturally occurring material, travertine, marble, etc.
- Feature Tile; tile that is used strictly to make a statement, express your artistic taste, and beautify your home. The choices are endless and as unique as you are! 3D tile, metallic tile, stone-look tile are just a few of the options.
- Brick joint or Running bond, Tile installation with each row offset, typically with half its length. (If the side to be offset is greater than 15", a maximum offset of ⅓ is recommended.
- Bullnose, trim tile with a radius on one edge, is used for finishing an edge.
- Backerboard; An underlayment material used as a substrate for tile. Some backer boards are waterproof and some need to be waterproofed for proper shower construction.
- Grout; the material used for filling tile joints.
- Honed; a satin surface with little or no gloss.
- Lippage; A detectable change in elevation between the edges of tiles sharing the same grout joint.
- Membrane; An underlayment material, usually in the form of a sheet or trowelable liquid applied to the substrate prior to tile installation. A couple of common uses of membranes would be to isolate substrate cracks from the tile and mortar (crack isolation membranes), waterproofing (waterproof membranes).
- Thinset mortar; A blend of cement, sand, and additional compounds to improve adhesion and add strength.
- Rectified Tile; A tile that has had all edges mechanically finished to achieve a more precise facial dimension.
- Trim; Various shapes of bases, caps, corners, moldings, angles, etc. to finish or trim tile.
- ANSI, American National Standards Institute, a standards development organization.
- ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials International, a standards development organization.
- NTCA, National Tile Contractors Association, Established in 1947, the National Tile Contractors Association (NTCA) is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to the professional installation of ceramic tile and natural stone. It is widely recognized as the largest and most respected tile contractors association in the world.
- TCNA, Tile Council North America. TCNA is a trade association representing manufacturers of ceramic tile, tile installation materials, tile equipment, raw materials, and other tile-related products.
- Coverings, The largest event dedicated strictly to tile. Experience nine miles of the latest tile and stone trends. https://www.coverings.com/
- CTDA, Ceramic Tile Distributor Association,
- CTEF, Ceramic Tile Education Foundation,
- TCAA, Tile Contractors Association of America.
- TCA Team, The TCA Team, a subsidiary of the TCNA, was launched to address the growing demand for tile installation consultations, inspections and expert witnesses.
- Tile Heritage Foundation, For research and preservation of ceramic surfaces
Rating
Some of the best contractors we’ve ever hired. Ultra friendly people, super responsive, and did incredible work. We had them install tile for our backsplash, and they did a super job! It’s so great when you find people that really care, it makes working with them so great.
We finally (finally) got these projects done. Yay! PhD Home Solutions came to the rescue! They do excellent wall tile work plus other odds and ends. They mounted a bathroom cabinet and ceramic tiled its wall, installed a countertop and wall tile toilet in our laundry, removed an old and replaced with new toilet, and did some detail trim work under our main entry door. Fast response, super nice folks, efficient, detailed, fast and they know what they’re doing really, really well. PhD’s prices are reasonable. The owners Paul and Carrie are fabulous and we highly recommend them to anyone who needs work done in the home. Kudos!
Carrie, Paul and their son Jackson were an absolute joy to work with and did an amazing job on our kitchen backsplash. I received their name from the Tile Shop and Carrie called me back within an hour of me calling them. She even came over the same day to take a look at the work we wanted done. They were super flexible with me when our job was scheduled for the next day and I decided I hated the tile I picked out! They worked me back in within a few weeks. When they came out, the demo was very clean and Carrie has a great eye for where each tile should go. Highly professional, very friendly and the job was completed perfectly! Recommend them to anyone!
If you are looking for an efficient and reasonably priced company to install your tile backsplash or accent wall your search is over if you go with PhD Home Solutions. Paul and Carrie Dunbar have been in business for about 29 years. Their easy-going approach makes the project take shape without totally disrupting your life. The quality of their work is outstanding. I would not hesitate to hire them again for future projects.
PhD did a great job with our backsplash and island tiling. The whole process was seamless, and I couldn't be more happy with the experience and the end result. Paul and Carrie are responsive, reliable and professional. We ordered the tiles from Tile Shop, and they picked up the tile and installed it in 3 days. I would highly highly recommend them.
Paul and Carrie did a herringbone backsplash in my kitchen. Their work is literal perfection. I was given their name by The Tile Shop in Scottsdale. I was amazed how they carried the pattern around the corners of our kitchen. I highly recommend them. They cleaned everything up each day and were timely and professional. We remodeled our whole kitchen and they were by far the most professional part of our process. Highly recommend.
Paul did a complete remodel on our master bathroom shower and it turned out very nice. I would recommend him.
Rating
PhD Home Solutions is one of the best companies I have ever encountered. All staff was courteous, professional, and skilled…clear experts in their field. They worked very hard to be neat as possible and offer a very precise end result. I was referred to them by The Tile Shop and immediately knew we found a quality company after meeting Carrie to review the project. She sent us a very detailed quote much faster than I anticipated, and Carrie continued to be exceptional with communication throughout the entire process. There were no extra quote surprises along the way, and they were great with ideas. We could not be happier with the look of the new tile.
PhD did a great job with our kitchen backsplash! We’re very happy with how the project went from start to finish and would definitely recommend them.
Carrie, Paul and their son Jackson were an absolute joy to work with and did an amazing job on our kitchen backsplash. I received their name from the Tile Shop and Carrie called me back within an hour of me calling them. She even came over the same day to take a look at the work we wanted done. They were super flexible with me when our job was scheduled for the next day and I decided I hated the tile I picked out! They worked me back in within a few weeks. When they came out, the demo was very clean and Carrie has a great eye for where each tile should go. Highly professional, very friendly and the job was completed perfectly! Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone!
They did a great job on my backsplash they went above and beyond to make everything just perfect! Very nice and friendly people! Highly highly recommend them.
