A new service that I am pleased to offer is on hands instruction to help you through your project, from start to finish.

Perhaps you are working within a tight budget, or you just want the satisfaction of doing the work yourself.

This method gives you the chance to do the job yourself while saving money, regardless if the area is a wall, floor, or the materials are ceramic, marble, slate or granite.

I will show you how to get started, what to take into consideration as you move along, and help you to anticipate problems and solve them before they happen.

Here's an example: Your project is to install a new floor in your kitchen with rustic ceramic tile.

We would meet where the work is to be done and, just like a regular estimate, we would discuss exactly what you would like to do. But instead of creating an estimate as to how much it would cost me to do it for you, we would sit down together and create a plan on how you can do the work and what materials and tools would be needed for the job.

We would discuss things like:

• Is the floor uneven or perhaps has a raised area in the middle or at an entrance? How can you can get rid of that?
• Is your floor strong enough to support ceramic tiles or does it need to be re-enforce?
• What type of ceramic or stone can be used in this area?
• Do you need reducers to transition to another floor such as carpet or hardwood? What's the best way to do that?
• Where to start laying tile to have the most symmetric pattern?
• We can talk about designing aspects as far as patterns, inserts, colour schemes or creating a mosaic in the center or borders around the outer edges.
• Where to go for the best selection in your area without traveling all over the city

There are several basic consultation fees, depending if the work is floor or wall, ceramic or stone. This would include a minimum of 2 hours looking over your project and any phone calls or e-mails for advice along the way.