Tile installation · Davie, FL
Tile Installation Davie, FL: Flat, Fully Bonded Floors, Walls and Showers
Tile installation Davie homeowners can stand on for years depends on what goes under each piece, how it is laid out and how flat it sits against the next one, whether the tile is on a floor, a wall or a shower.
- Estimate
- Free, in your home
- Scope
- Prep, layout and tile, in writing
- Changes
- Approved by you first
- Your contact
- One named person
- Part of Gaven Constructions
- Free on-site estimates
- Written 1-year workmanship warranty
- Dedicated project contact
Tile Is Only as Good as Its Setting
Two floors with the same tile can look the same on day one and very different a few years later. One sounds solid when you walk on it. The other has a hollow spot by the door, a cracked piece near the kitchen and an edge you catch with your toe. The difference is not the tile. It is the setting: how flat the base was, how much of each piece is bonded to the mortar, and how the layout was planned before the first one went down.
That setting is what we put in writing. We install porcelain and ceramic tile on floors, walls and showers, including large-format and wood-look planks, and we treat the base, the mortar and the layout as part of the job, not as something the tile setter figures out on the day.
When Tile Is the Right Surface
Tile is a good answer in some rooms and a poor one in others. It makes sense when the surface has to deal with water, heat or heavy wear.
Wet rooms. Bathrooms, laundry rooms and the floor in front of a kitchen sink. Porcelain does not care about water, and a tiled shower is still the most common way to finish one.
Floors that open to the outside. A living area that runs to a patio door, a back entry from the pool, a mudroom. Tile takes sand, wet feet and furniture being dragged across it.
Old tile that has failed. Hollow-sounding pieces, cracks that run across several tiles, grout that keeps breaking out. Those usually mean the setting failed, and the fix is to take it up and set it again properly.
A look you cannot get another way. Large-format slabs with almost no grout lines, wood-look porcelain planks, a patterned floor in an entry. The material is chosen for the look, and the setting decides whether the look holds.
The rest of the room is changing. If a bathroom or kitchen is being redone, the tile is planned with the plumbing and the cabinets, so the layout lines up with the vanity, the tub and the toe kicks.
When New Tile Would Only Hide the Problem
If the idea is to cover a base that is damaged or damp, new tile does not solve the cause. A floor that is wet underneath or a wall that has been leaking will crack the new tile or let it loose, the same way it did the old. In that case the first step is to look at the base and what it needs, and we tell you so at the visit, before there is a scope to sign.
Floors, Walls and Large Format: How Each One Is Set
Where the tile goes changes how it has to be set.
Floors. The base has to be flat, not only level, and the mortar has to fill under each tile so no corner is left hanging. The layout starts from the center of the room or the main sightline, so cut pieces end up against walls and under cabinets instead of in the doorway. Laying tile straight is simpler and suits most rooms. A diagonal layout can make a small room feel larger, and it uses more tile because every edge piece is cut.
Walls and showers. The wall behind the tile has to be built for water, with a board and a waterproofing layer behind the surface, not drywall. The tile is set from a level line, not from the tub or the floor, which are rarely perfectly straight. In a shower the floor slopes to the drain, and the wall tile has to meet it cleanly.
Large format. Big tiles and long planks look calm because of their size, and that same size makes them unforgiving. A small dip in the base shows as one edge sitting higher than the next. They need a flatter base, a mortar made for them, and a method that fully beds each piece.
How much of each tile is bonded is not a matter of taste. The Ceramic Tile Education Foundation's note on insufficient mortar cites the ANSI installation standard: average contact of at least 80%, and 95% on exterior or shower installations. We check it by pulling a tile now and then while setting.
Whichever case fits, the written scope names the tile, the base prep, the waterproofing where it applies, the layout and what is not included.
Shower Tile and the Line Broward Draws on Permits
Re-tiling a shower looks like a surface job, and the county code Davie builds under does not treat it that way once the wall opens. Broward's Board of Rules and Appeals writes the county's own version of the code's administrative chapter, and section 105.2.2 of Broward's Chapter 1 sets the limits of a minor repair done without a permit. It needs the Building Official's approval, and it cannot cut into a wall or a partition. It also cannot replace or move water, drain or vent piping, or wiring.
A shower where only the grout and a few loose pieces are fixed can stay on the small side of that line. A shower where the old tile comes off down to the studs, the valve gets replaced or the drain moves is on the other side, because that is a wall being opened and piping being changed.
That is why we decide the scope of a shower before we talk about the tile. If the job crosses the line, the permit and the inspection go into the schedule. If it does not, the proposal says what we are leaving alone, and why.
We are at 4491 S State Road 7, 3rd Floor, Ste PH16, Davie, FL 33314, and we set tile across Davie and 19 more Broward cities.
How a Tile Installation Runs
- The visit. We look at the floor or wall, tap the old tile for hollow spots, check the base with a straightedge, and measure the room and its doorways.
- The scope. Tile type, size and pattern, removal, base prep, waterproofing where it applies, grout and trim, written down.
- The written proposal. Line items, exclusions, payment terms and an estimated schedule that counts tile delivery and any permit or inspection, not only the days of setting.
- Selection. You choose the tile, the grout color and the pattern. We order extra for cuts and breakage, and check the boxes match before the first piece is set.
- Removal and base. The old tile and mortar come up. The base is ground, patched or leveled until it is flat enough for the tile you chose. In a shower, the waterproofing goes on and is checked before any tile.
- Layout. Reference lines are snapped and squared with a 3-4-5 triangle, and the tile is dry-laid along them to see where the cuts land before mortar is mixed.
- Setting and grouting. Each piece is set in mortar, checked for coverage and for any edge higher than its neighbor, then grouted once the mortar has cured. Movement joints go where the floor meets walls and changes direction.
- The walkthrough. We go over the tile with you, tap it for hollow spots, and hand you the warranty and the care notes for the grout.
What Tile Installation Costs Around Davie
One Miami-Dade and Broward tile and marble installer's 2026 price guide puts installed porcelain or ceramic tile at $8 to $14 per square foot, and large-format tile at $14 to $25 per square foot. Those are their ranges, not our price.
What moves a tile job inside or outside those ranges:
Removal. Taking up old tile set in mortar is slow, heavy work, and it often leaves a base that needs grinding.
The base. A flat slab is ready for tile. One with dips and ridges needs leveling first, and large format needs it flatter than small tile does.
Size and pattern. Large pieces need more care and often two people to set. Diagonals, herringbone and mixed sizes mean more cuts and more waste.
Walls and showers. Backer board, waterproofing, niches, a sloped floor and the trim pieces add work that a flat floor does not have.
The tile itself. Within porcelain alone the spread is wide, from plain body to through-body color and rectified edges.
The visit and the written estimate are free. You get the price after we have seen the base, with each line spelled out, and nothing is added later without your written approval.
Why Homeowners Bring Us the Tile Work
Tile shows its problems late. A hollow spot or an edge sitting high is set in the first hour and noticed months later, when fixing it means breaking out finished work.
One scope from removal to grout. Demolition, base prep, waterproofing, the tile and the trim in one document, so you compare a full job, not a labor price per square foot that leaves the base out.
One project contact. You know before work starts who runs the job and who answers your call, and that person stays with your project.
Changes in writing first. If the old tile comes up and the base or the wall needs more than planned, you see the effect on price and schedule before we go on.
A written warranty. One year on our workmanship from the day we finish, plus what the tile and setting-material manufacturers give you. General Contractor Davie is part of Gaven Constructions.
Permits
Permits and Inspections in Davie
Who signs your contract. The contract names the company doing the work and the license that covers it, so you know who answers for the job before it starts.
When a permit comes into it. A floor of tile over a sound base is a different job from a shower that is opened to the studs. When the work moves plumbing or opens a wall, it goes through the Town's Building Division, and we put that in the proposal.
Your HOA. Some associations have rules on floor finishes, underlayment or work hours. That approval is separate from the Town's, and we list it if it applies.
FAQ
Tile Installation Questions From Davie Homeowners
How much does tile installation cost in Davie?
One Miami-Dade and Broward tile installer's 2026 guide puts installed porcelain or ceramic at $8 to $14 per square foot, and large format at $14 to $25. Your price depends on removal, the base and the pattern. We give it in writing after a free visit.
Should floor tile be laid straight or diagonal in a Davie home?
Straight suits most rooms, especially with large or rectangular tile, and it wastes less. A diagonal can make a small room or an entry feel larger, and it means more cuts along every wall. If you are undecided, we can lay out both before anything is set.
Can new tile go over existing tile in my Davie house?
Sometimes, if the old tile is fully bonded, flat and free of cracks. It raises the floor height at every door, and it carries over any problem the old tile has. Most of the time taking it up and starting from the base is the safer choice.
Is it hard to install tile yourself in Davie?
Small, simple areas are within reach for a careful homeowner. Floors in open rooms, large format and showers are harder, because flatness, full mortar contact and waterproofing are where tile fails, and they cannot be fixed without breaking the tile.
Does re-tiling a shower need a permit in Davie?
It depends on how deep the work goes. Under Broward's building code, which applies in Davie, a repair without a permit cannot cut into a wall or replace water or drain piping. A shower opened to the studs or with a new valve is past that line.
Why does tile sound hollow on a Davie floor?
A hollow sound usually means the mortar does not fully fill under that piece. It can come from an uneven base or from mortar applied too thin. Those spots are where tile cracks first, which is why full contact matters while the tile is set.
Tile installation is one of the services we run as a general contractor serving Davie, with the base, the layout and the tile in one written scope.
Show us the floor, the wall or the shower you want tiled.
Tell us where the tile goes and what is there now. We come for free, check the base and the layout, and write down the prep and the price before you pick a single piece. Our address is 4491 S State Road 7, 3rd Floor, Ste PH16, Davie, FL 33314.
