Tile questions, answered straight

Konstantin, the owner of Perfect Touch Tile & Stone, does the work himself. He is the person who comes out to look at the job, gives you the estimate and sets the tile. That is why reviews mention him by name: on time every day, clean cuts, straight lines and a clean job site when he leaves.

It depends on the square footage, the tile, the layout and what is under the old surface. A shower with a niche and a bench costs more than a plain tub surround, and large-format or natural stone takes more time than standard porcelain. Konstantin looks at the space in person and gives you a free written estimate before any work starts.

Florida does not issue a state license for tile setting, so no tile installer can show you one. What you can check: Perfect Touch Tile & Stone Inc. has been an active Florida corporation since 2005, it has a 5.0 rating across 15 Google reviews, and you can see photos of past jobs before you hire.

Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, from Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach in the north to St. Augustine in the south: San Marco, Mandarin, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Orange Park and Fleming Island. Not on the list? Call (904) 614-5333 and ask.

Call or text (904) 614-5333, ideally with a few photos of the space, or email from the contact page. Konstantin will set a time to see it, measure, talk through tile and layout, and give you a written estimate. Estimates are free and there is no pressure to book.

Yes. Konstantin helps you pick a tile that suits the room and the way you use it, then plans the layout: where the cuts land, how the pattern lines up with the window or the niche, and which way large tiles should run. Ask about sourcing when you get your estimate.

Monday to Saturday, 7 am to 6 pm. The fastest way to reach Konstantin is a call or a text to (904) 614-5333. If he is on a job and cannot pick up, leave a message or text a photo of your project and he will get back to you.

Most custom showers take about one to two weeks from demo to grout. Demo, framing repairs and waterproofing come first, and the membrane needs time to cure and pass a water test before tile. Benches, niches, mosaic floors and large-format slabs add time. Konstantin gives you a schedule with the estimate so you know which days the bathroom is out of use.

Behind good shower tile there is a solid backer, a waterproofing membrane and thinset mortar. The membrane, sheet or liquid, is what keeps water out of the wall; grout and tile are not waterproof on their own. In Florida the code accepts membranes that meet ANSI A118.10, carried up the walls and past the shower opening.

Yes. A curbless or zero-entry shower has no step at the door, so the floor has to slope toward a linear or center drain while the bathroom floor stays level. On a Florida concrete slab that can mean recessing the shower area. Konstantin checks the slab and the plumbing at the estimate and tells you what your bathroom allows.

Yes. A standard 60-inch tub space makes a comfortable walk-in shower, often with room for a niche and a small bench. The drain moves to suit the new floor, the walls and floor are waterproofed, and the shower can have a low curb or none at all. One reviewer had exactly this done after Konstantin repaired her cracked tile.

It can if it is the only tub in the house, since some buyers with young children want one. If there is another tub in a second bathroom, a walk-in shower in the primary bath is usually what buyers expect. Talk it over before demo; Konstantin can also tile a tub-and-shower combination instead.

They do not have to match, but they should relate. A busy patterned floor usually wants a quiet wall tile, and a marble-look wall reads best over a simple floor or a small mosaic. Keeping one tile as the star and the other as the background is the safe rule. Konstantin can lay tiles out on the floor before you decide.

Porcelain is the usual choice: it is dense, absorbs very little water and holds up to Florida humidity. Use a textured or matte finish for grip, or small mosaics in a shower where more grout lines add traction. Natural stone looks beautiful but needs sealing and more care with cleaners.

Concrete slabs shrink and move, and the hairline cracks in the slab pass straight up into tile set directly over them. The fix is prep: a crack-isolation membrane over the cracks and movement joints at the walls and across big rooms. Tile also cracks when it was set without full mortar coverage, so the hollow spots break under load.

Lippage is when the edge of one tile sits higher than the tile next to it. You feel it with bare feet and see it as shadow lines when light comes across the floor from a window. It shows most on large and plank tile. Flattening the floor first and using a leveling system while setting keeps the edges flush.

A typical kitchen backsplash takes one to two days: one to set the tile and one to grout and clean up, since thinset has to cure before grout. Herringbone, small mosaics and natural stone that needs sealing take longer. You can usually keep using the kitchen in the evenings while the work is going on.

Behind a range hood or on a wall with open shelves, running the tile to the ceiling looks finished and is easy to wipe down. On a standard kitchen with upper cabinets the tile stops under the cabinets. Where cabinets end, the tile should end at a clean line, not halfway up a bare wall.

Porcelain and glass mosaic are the usual choices for the waterline. Both are dense, so they do not soak up water and they clean easily when calcium builds up. Glass reflects light and looks vivid; porcelain costs less and comes in stone and pattern looks. The setting materials must be rated for full submersion.

In Northeast Florida, plan on resealing a travertine pool deck every one to two years. Use a breathable penetrating sealer rather than a film that sits on top and turns slippery. Salt and chlorinated water soaking into unsealed stone causes pitting and white efflorescence, and you should never seal over efflorescence that is already there.

Outdoor-rated porcelain with a textured or matte finish is the safest choice. It absorbs almost no water, stands up to sun, and gives grip when wet. Travertine is also popular here because it stays cooler under bare feet, but it needs sealing. Glossy indoor tile gets slippery the moment it rains.

Usually heat and missing movement joints. Outdoor tile and the slab under it expand in the sun, and without soft joints every 8 to 12 feet the tiles push against each other and tent up. Poor mortar coverage and water getting under the tile make it worse. Correct joints and full coverage prevent it.

Yes. Stacked stone panels are one of the most common finishes on outdoor kitchens and grill islands. The island needs a solid cement board or block base, an exterior-rated mortar, and corner pieces so the outside corners look like real stone. Around a grill, follow the manufacturer's clearances for heat.

Yes, as long as it is rated for the heat and the clearances in the fireplace instructions are kept. Porcelain, stone and stacked stone veneer are all used on fireplace walls. A linear electric fireplace like the one in the gallery runs cooler and gives more freedom in the material choice.

Yes. The grout around the tile is cut out, the cracked tile is broken out carefully so the tiles next to it are not damaged, the old mortar is scraped off and a new tile is set and grouted. The hard part is the match, so keep leftover tile from your original install. One customer had a large shower tile removed for plumbing and put back with no sign of it.

A hollow sound under a tile means the mortar did not fully bond. That happens when tile is set on spots of mortar instead of a full bed, when the slab moved, or when there were no movement joints. Hollow tiles crack under weight later. A few can be reset; if a whole area sounds hollow, it should come up and be set again.

Yes. Perfect Touch has tiled showrooms, a commercial corridor in large-format porcelain, and pool and amenity areas. Commercial jobs usually mean long runs of large-format tile on a tight schedule. Call (904) 614-5333 with the plans, the square footage and the dates, and Konstantin will tell you how he can fit it in.

A leveling system is a set of clips and wedges or caps that go under the edges of neighboring tiles while the mortar cures. Tightened down, they pull the edges flush so there is no lippage. On large and plank tile, and on long commercial runs, it is the difference between a flat floor and one you can feel underfoot.

Perfect Touch Tile & Stone, a Jacksonville tile company in business since 2005, builds custom showers, stone floors, pool decks and outdoor kitchens on Amelia Island and in Fernandina Beach. The owner, Konstantin, estimates and sets every job himself and is rated 5.0 across 15 Google reviews. Call or text (904) 614-5333.

Choose porcelain where sand, salt and wet feet come in, and seal natural stone such as travertine and marble with a breathable penetrating sealer, renewed every one to two years near the ocean or a pool. Rinse salt off outdoor tile, use pH-neutral cleaners on stone, and keep soft movement joints in sunny lanais and pool decks.

Yes. Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach are part of the regular service area, about 40 minutes up I-95 and A1A from Jacksonville. Konstantin comes out for the estimate in person, then works on site through the job. Text a few photos of the space to (904) 614-5333 to get started.