Tile in Lake Oswego, OR

Usually, yes, and it is generally the better call. Original millwork in the older neighborhoods is worth keeping. We scribe and undercut to it rather than shimming a floor to a wall that has not been straight since the 1920s, and we quote quarter-round or shoe only where it genuinely improves the finish.

Attached and multi-level homes often have one, and it is worth checking your HOA or building documents before you order anything. Bring us the requirement and we will spec an underlayment that meets it. It is a small cost at the start and an expensive problem to fix after the floor is down.

Yes — stairs and trim are one of our core services. On the multi-level homes common here, treads, risers, nosings and the transition at each landing are what make the whole job read as finished. We would rather do them with the floor than leave you looking for a second contractor.

Generally not, and it is better to say so up front. We do not take on repair work for hard surface flooring, tile or countertops on projects we did not install. With a shower the reason is specific: the waterproofing is buried behind the tile, we cannot inspect it, and patching the visible part of a system that may already have failed does you no favours. If we built it, that is a different conversation.

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about showers. Grout is a filler between tiles and it lets water through. Sealing it helps with staining and slows things down, but the thing actually keeping water out of your wall is the membrane and pan behind the tile. That is why we spend the time there rather than on the part you can see.

Longer than people expect, because the sequence has waiting in it — the waterproofing has to cure before tile goes on, and the setting mortar has to cure before grouting. Rushing any of those stages is how failures start. We will give you a realistic schedule at the estimate, including the days when nothing appears to be happening.