- Tub surround tile work: $2,000 flat.
- Kitchen backsplash tile work: $1,000 flat, labor.
- Tile floors: $3 per square foot labor, or $2 per square foot labor on jobs of 2,000 square feet or more.
Tile jobs that show up in Killeen owner houses and rentals
Killeen is home base. Fort Cavazos sits next door so housing stock swings between long term owner homes and a heavy rental and turnover market. A lot of slab on grade houses were built from the 1970s through the 2000s. Original baths still have fiberglass tub surrounds that crack, stain or leak. Those get replaced with tile. Showers need a bonded membrane and a floor sloped 1/4 inch per foot to the drain. Kitchen backsplashes and tile floors in baths or living areas come up too. West and north side subdivisions have newer slabs and people often choose large porcelain or mosaic.
The work covers zellige, marble, porcelain, ceramic, terrazzo and mosaic. Brass and satin edge profiles finish the exposed cuts at a tub deck, shower niche or floor transition. Tile is bought out of the Temple supply house so the customer pick is what gets set. Bring your own material if you already have it. In a turnover rental the surround stays straightforward ceramic. An owner might want mixed mosaic or marble. Either way Genaro Merlan looks at the room himself. Call for a straight quote on showers, backsplashes or floors. Tub surround tile work is $2,000 flat.
Substrates we run into on Killeen slabs and in original bathrooms
Concrete slabs in the older houses often have leftover mastic, paint or a failed patch of leveler. That all comes off before thinset goes down. A crack in the slab gets filled and we use a membrane if movement looks likely. Moisture coming through the concrete is checked so the tile does not pop later. In the bath the fiberglass surround sits over a mud bed that is usually uneven after tear out. We pack it, slope it 1/4 inch per foot, and put down a bonded waterproofing membrane before any wall tile. Newer west and north side slabs are cleaner but still need careful layout so large tiles sit flat.
- leftover mastic and carpet strip on 1970s through 2000s slabs
- uneven packing mud after a fiberglass surround comes out
- hairline cracks that get filled before any thinset
- fresh slabs in new subdivisions that still need a primer coat
Measuring the room and lining up the work from Killeen
You phone (512) 297-7493 or email info@merlanstile.com to start. We come to the house in Killeen and look at the actual room. Measurements come from a tape on the walls and floor, not from a sketch. That number tells us how many tiles, how many cuts, and whether a reducer or stair nose is needed if flooring is mixed. The same people who quote the job are the people who do the job. You pick the tile after the measure. Bring your own or we go to the Temple supply house together. Scheduling the set work happens on that same call once material lead time is known.
Demo of an old fiberglass surround creates dust and broken pieces so we plastic off the rest of the bath. Substrate work comes next, packing low spots and setting the membrane. Tile setting uses the trowel size that matches the tile. On a job like this it tends to run two or three days for a surround, longer for a full floor. That is typical. Grout and sealer follow once everything has set. We clean the new surfaces and take the trash. You get the written warranty paper on the last day.
Layout, cuts and grout on showers and floors in this town
Layout begins at the shower valve wall or the longest floor run so leftover cuts hide in the least seen corner. Porcelain tile over 12 inches on a side needs a larger notch trowel and we back butter each piece so voids stay out of the bond. Mosaic comes in sheets. We soak them if they have paper face and align the grout joints across sheets. Wet saw cuts go around the mixing valve, the shower arm, and any niche. Brass or satin profiles cap raw edges at the ceiling line or where wall tile meets the tub. A floor job gets a threshold or reducer where it meets vinyl plank or carpet so there is no trip.
Grout is packed into the joints after the thinset has cured, most of the time the next morning. Color choice is yours, matching the tile or contrasting it. We wipe the haze off before it hardens. Sealer goes on the grout to slow stains. Clean up is part of the job: floors swept, walls wiped, extra material stacked or hauled. A thing that can go wrong is walking on a new floor too soon and shifting a tile. We leave the room taped off and tell you when it is safe. Another is grout cracking later if the slab moves. The labor warranty looks at whether the original work caused it.
The written one-year limited labor warranty after a Killeen install
Every installation carries a written one-year limited labor warranty from the date of completion. It covers issues arising from the original installation. Materials fall under the manufacturer's own warranty. Modifications made after we finish are not covered. If a tile loosens because the thinset failed, that is labor. If you drill a hole for a new fixture and crack the tile, that is a modification. Keep the paper we leave. Call the number on it if something shows up in the first year.
Genaro Merlan and the crew who quoted are the ones who come back if there is a labor issue. We look at the spot, decide if it is from the set work, and fix what the warranty names. For a new shower, a floor, or a backsplash in Killeen you still call for a straight quote because those prices are not listed here. Other work is quoted after we look at the room. Phone (512) 297-7493 or use info@merlanstile.com to get the process started on your space.