TileMasters provides tile installation and tile repair in Wilmette, IL, the first of the North Shore villages heading up from Evanston.
Wilmette has a broader mix than its neighbours to the north. Along the lake and around the Baha'i Temple there are substantial older homes on large lots, while the blocks west of Green Bay Road hold a lot of solid 1920s and 1930s Colonials, Tudors, and Georgians on more ordinary plots. That range means the tile work varies enormously from street to street. Recent jobs are in our project gallery.
The 1920s and 1930s houses are the ones we see most. They have the original bathrooms, usually one up and one down, with tile set in a thick mortar bed that has finally reached the end of its life. Whether that bed is still bonded is the single question that decides between a regrout and a rebuild, and it is the first thing we check. We work across Winnetka and Glenview on the same routes. Get in touch for a free estimate.
Tile installation and tile repair for Wilmette homes. Our services page covers each in detail.
Porcelain, ceramic, and stone floors for Wilmette homes, with movement joints placed where old and new structure meet.
Learn MoreKitchen and bathroom backsplashes in subway, mosaic, glass, or stone, cut cleanly around outlets, windows, and range hoods.
Learn MoreWalk-in showers built from the studs out and fully waterproofed before tiling, with niches, benches, and curbless entries available.
Learn MoreFull bathroom remodels from demo through the last grout line, with plumbing and electrical coordinated so you deal with one crew.
Learn MoreOriginal mortar-bed tub surrounds stripped back and rebuilt with modern waterproofing behind the tile.
Learn MoreRegrouting and repair for interwar bathrooms where the tile is still sound but the grout has failed.
Learn MoreWhat we find behind the tile in interwar North Shore homes.
The interwar houses here almost all have tile set in a thick mud bed rather than on backer board. Sound beds can be regrouted and will last years more. Failing ones sound hollow when tapped, and no amount of new grout fixes that.
Kitchens in these homes were often extended or reconfigured decades after the original build, which leaves a seam between old and new structure. Tile run straight across that seam cracks. It needs a movement joint placed deliberately.
The larger homes east of Sheridan bring different work again, often multiple bathrooms and a mudroom or pool area. Each of those was likely built or updated at a different time and needs assessing on its own terms.
Honest assessment of what can be saved. Our reviews speak to that.
1920s and 1930s homes are most of what we work on across the North Shore.
We tap out the tile and tell you whether a regrout will genuinely hold.
Fully licensed and insured, paperwork ready before we start.
Written schedules including curing days, not just the days we are on site.
Common questions from Wilmette homeowners before starting a project.
Mostly 1920s and 1930s, which is the bulk of the housing west of Green Bay Road. Those houses were built well but their original bathrooms are now close to a century old, which is why regrouting and rebuilding are the two most common jobs here.
We tap it out. Solidly bonded tile sounds dense, failing tile sounds hollow and drummy. If the sound is good across the field and only the grout has gone, a regrout is the sensible spend. We do that assessment during the free estimate.
Yes, backsplashes and kitchen floors both. In Wilmette kitchens the thing to watch is the join where an older extension meets the original structure, because that is where floors crack if the movement joint is not placed properly.
A regrout is often a day. A tub surround runs two to three days, a custom shower five to eight, and a full bathroom two to four weeks. Much of that is curing time rather than active work, and we build it into the schedule honestly.
Get a free, no obligation estimate for tile installation or tile repair in Wilmette.
