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.
- TTMAC. Terrazo, Tile and Marble Association of Canada, founded in 1944. It's mandate is to develop a method of standardizing terrazzo, tile and marble installation techniques, as well as being a technical resource and liaison for architects, specifiers, designers and engineers. See the list of their Certified Tile Installers here: https://ccti.ttmac.com/list-of-certified-tile-installers/
- 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
Just give us a call, and tell us a bit about your space and your idea.
Schedule an in person or virtual consultation and we will assess all that needs to be done. You will get a detailed quote including any structural changes, prep work, tile installation labor, and materials.
The answer is simple. After your free consultation, have one of our competitors stop by and assess the same job. Let your judgement decide who you will hire. Our product knowledge and ability to treat each installation as if it was our own is what will set us apart.
We had WNA Tile & Design renovate two of our bathrooms and we are super happy with the results. The tile work in both walk in showers are amazing and are show home worthy. Thanks for the great work.
Trevor did some Reno’s for me. It is an Old basement that he made new again, very professional job. He is Coming back again for more updates. Highly recommend Trevor.
We got Trevor to install our subway tile in our shower and he did an amazing job! He is very professional and easy to deal with. He did exactly what we had envisioned. We liked his work so much we got him to come back and install floor tile in the same bathroom. The floor also turned out perfectly. We will be using him to do our kitchen backsplash as well in the near future. I would 100 percent recommend Trevor !
Trevor at WNA Tile and Design did an amazing job on our kitchen tile backsplash! Right from the beginning, he was professional and reliable. He had many options to choose from for grout color and schluter and offered his opinion on what would look best and what would really draw someone's eye to a focal point in the kitchen. It is very obvious that he kepts attention to detail and takes pride in his work. Even after the work was completed, he came back to touch up what he "felt" was not perfect but wasn't even noticeable to us. When guests see our newly renovated kitchen, they comment first on how stunning the backsplash is. He did not disappoint and we certainly are very pleased that we decided to go with him. Highly recommended!
Trevor and his team installed a heated floor system and laid a complicated tile pattern in our porch area and it looks and feels amazing. We love having the additional heated floor space for family and friends and for us of course 😉 They exceeded our expectations delivering what they promised...on time and even a bit below the estimate he provided. We highly recommend Trevor and WNA Tile design.
Great company to deal with, very professional and organized. Awesome tile work!
First time using this company, and will definitely use them again. We needed two bathrooms redone with tile. Quoted price was very reasonable and ended up being accurate. The work was completed when they said it would be, and the results are perfect. We were very impressed with the attention to detail displayed. They are also very helpful with suggesting designs or options that we would not have thought of but turned out great. It’s very helpful to have someone with a lot of knowledge to discuss and plan the project with for those of us who don’t know much about tile work, design or renovations in general. The fact that there is a lifetime warranty on the shower tile installation is an added bonus. Really I can’t say enough good things about this company and their work. Highly recommended.
I have used Trevor twice now. Each job was completed on time and on budget. The crew was very courteous as we were home during one of the projects. We barely knew they were working while we were in the house. The quality and attention to detail proved that they take pride in their work. They even went out of their way to seek options and warranty possibilities as one of our project was fixing a leaky shower installed by another contractor. In the end they saved me thousands off of the job. The bottom line is; I would use them again and again. In this day and age it is hard to find reliable help. Here it is. The only short fall I felt was on my part. I feel we could have helped Trevor decide on some design options, but we trusted his judgement. The showers turned out amazing!
The quality in the work, and attention to detail is immaculate and really speaks for itself. Always professional and will always stand behind the quality of his work. I picked a more “complicated tile” for the base but he spent the time figuring out how to make it work as I had my heart set on it. I really cannot say enough good things and would highly recommend.
WNA have remodelled various rooms in my house. The latest was a complete bathroom renovation. The tile work in the walk in shower is flawless. It is outfitted with rain and telephone shower heads including overhead LED lights and heated tiled floor. I am a repeat customer and will be calling them up for the next project. So I highly recommend them for your next project.
