Ceramic tile - If there are any cracked or broken ceramic tiles on your walls or floors such as in the washroom or kitchen, they can always be replaced. Sometimes, when a old ceramic tile has to be replaced (and finding a replacement can be difficult), some of the places to search are established tile retail stores or importers that may have kept some old stock in their warehouse. The only really difficult situations are when the tiles are so close together that ther is almost no grout grove.

Wearing goggles, groves and knee pads, the grout around the tile has to be removed first with a grout scraper-NOT a kitchen knife.

Work your way to the center of the tile removing the pieces as they get loose until all damaged tiles are removed. Scrape off old cement from the floor to make room for nrw thin set. Set tile in place, let it sit for a full 24 hours before grouting.

Granite, marble or slate - Marble, granite and slate are natural stones. When replacing pieces where not much shade variation has been used in an area, a good match must be found so that newly installed sections blend with the existing floor. If possible, take a piece of the original and shop around for the closest match. In such cases, phoning around first will cut down your time and frustration.

Brick - As with stone or ceramic, brick that was installed years ago may not be able to be matched exactly. So once again, it is advisable to take a brick along to search for the closest match.

You may choose to search for the material yourself to cut down on the overall cost for my services. I charge 'search and find' fees by the hour or day. Locating the right match can sometimes take many hours if at all..

When cracked tiles are replaced, it is important to find out why the tiles cracked and rectify that problem before a replacement is done.

If you notice that the walls in your shower or tub enclosure seem to move even when pushed slightly, or you smell a mildew odor, or observe black fungus showing up in the grout or silicone around an area, then it is likely that the wall behind the tile has soaked up moisture and begun to rot. In cases like this, it is possible to replace the affected area using new backing board and the existing tile since it will detach from the wall easily. Then glue the tile back on once it is properly cleaned.

If an area in the tub enclosure or shower stall around the faucet is the source of a leak and you would like to have the faucet replaced with a newer model, that can easily be done. If you would just like to have the faucet in the shower or tub enclosure updated, my experience is that some of the tile on the wall around the faucet will need to be replaced.