LA Custom Tile

We hired Mark to retile our master bathroom, and we can confirm that his other positive reviews are spot-on: Mark is highly skilled, detail-oriented, conscientious, and a really nice guy -- and he does all the work himself. Every day Mark arrived with a big smile and seemed genuinely happy to be starting a new day of "making us a beautiful bathroom." Our cat always went over to say hi, and Mark gave him some petting and a "hello, beautiful!" The days ended with cleanup and some admiration of what had been accomplished so far. In between it was work, more work, a couple energy bars, and more work. No cigarette breaks, no music -- just work and the sounds of work. Throughout the project, Mark made sure that we understood every executive decision that had to be made, and walked us through the options. When it comes to the layout of tiles around partial walls and windows and corners, there can be a lot of these! Mark was patient while we tried to decide what we would prefer. We had been expecting to also hire a carpenter and have our plumber do more work, but Mark was able to do a lot more than just tile! The pictures show our results, and here are a few extra details: Mark built the shower stall from the subfloor up, including a new L-shaped pony wall with a huge custom shower niche in it. We used a 2x7 zellige-style tile on the walls, and Mark had great ideas for how to handle the edges and outer corners. Rather than just slap some Schluter edging on, Mark cut us some beautiful mitered corners. For the vertical edges, Mark cut our horizontal bullnose so it could be used vertically. Overall the zellige is pretty tricky to work with, so we knew from the start that we'd need someone like Mark with a lot of experience. We chose a 12x24 tile on the bathroom floor. We wanted to use the same style for the shower floor, so Mark cut the tile into smaller pieces. Since he was making custom pieces, he was able to make them exactly the same size as the square shower drain. We wanted to use quartz slabs in various places, including an L-shaped slab for the top of the pony wall. I was concerned that we would have trouble getting a fabricator to take on such a small task, but Mark made us a template of the top of the wall to take to the fabricator, and we had pieces cut from a remnant within a week. Mark installed the slabs himself. The alcove with shelves by the vanity used to be just one of those little mirrored medicine cabinets. There was extra space available there, so Mark opened it up and framed the space for those shelves. Mark also helped us with the installation of our toilet and our freestanding bathtub, including soldering together the parts of the bathtub's waste and overflow. Overall, Mark showed a ton of skill, experience, and wisdom in all our various bathroom renovation tasks, and we look forward to working with him on the next project!

In working with most trades, I’ve always felt a need to become educated about the trade to have productive conversations - in terms of understanding what I might want, what they should be capable of offering, what it may cost and whether they demonstrated knowledge to be trustworthy to do the job properly. We put off doing a kitchen backsplash as part of a very long, exhaustive whole home remodel a few years back because one doesn’t need a backsplash to move in. But over time the lack of one became more poignant. A family friend in the business hooked us up with a set of custom handmade porcelain tiles for our project and that inevitably set the project in motion. After speaking with a handful of different tile installers at varying ends of the spectrum, Mark impressed me the most. Talking in great detail about his approach and why, making decisions and suggestions not for his own benefit or ability to be efficient but for our benefit - it quickly became a litmus test for other installers who failed the “interview” for any number of reasons because it was clear their clientele were in the business of speed/cost/flipping, not the work itself or clearly didn't have the experience - whether it was working with Schluter trim and handling miters or even knowing what the tile was made of. Mark’s price came in the highest but not by much more over a few others. The peace of mind I got out of a several days install was absolutely worth it. From prep, taking absolute care to keep the space as clean as reasonably possible day in/out, taking utmost care to center and align, dealing with millimeter amounts of unevenness and make the best decision possible while compromising the least, entertaining our dog during moments of rest, and always providing options to help us make a decision for our benefit- not his, even if some of the asks just got more outlandish toward the end. Did you know you can mix grout colors? Neither he nor I would recommend it in general due to how difficult it can be to keep the mix consistent, but we did and we love it - of course, we tested it first. Like others have stated - Mark is the guy you hire because it’s YOUR house and you want someone to do it right, and treat it as well as if it was his own. If you’re flipping it or whatever - don’t waste his time.

If you have a house that you take pride in, hire Mark for any tiling/bathroom remodeling/other projects you have. His work is flawless. Just don't keep him so busy that he doesn't have time to help us! We hired Mark to fix an old 1940s bathroom that needed to be entirely re-done. From the outset, Mark took the time to walk us through all of the steps that would need to be completed. He showed up every day, and kept our house and his workspace incredibly clean and tidy. We even had new carpet installed in an adjacent room while the bathroom was being redone, and the carpet was pristine after Mark left. It's also obvious that Mark takes incredible pride in the level of work he does. He ensured that the plumbing was updated and working properly, once he saw the rusted old pipes in the walls. He noted that our drain wasn't draining well, so he took the time to snake it. He saw our walls were lath and plaster, so when he was patching, he used the exact same technique, instead of cheaping out and using drywall. He used a concrete base for the walls before putting up the tile in the bathroom, since that will last longer, and not rot. And the tile work itself is beautiful -- perfectly level and flat. He made sure that our hexagonal floor tile was placed so that you have a full tile be the first spot you step on when you enter the bathroom. He truly pays attention to every little detail that causes a project to look spectacular, as opposed to merely ok. We even had a glass shower door installed by another company, and when he saw they left too big of a gap, he had them come back out and fix it. He took every effort to make sure we absolutely loved the end result, and we do. Mark is also very kind and super easy to work with, loved our dog, and was respectful of our time and space. We had a few different folks give us estimates, and his prices were reasonable and in-line with what others charge. His work is clearly best-in-class, though. I cannot recommend him enough, and can't wait to hire him again to fix up our old fireplaces and whatever else we dream up!

I’ve been through two major renovations in my life, and Mark is without a doubt THE MOST COMPETENT, PROFESSIONAL, AND CONSCIENTIOUS CONTRACTOR I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH... a true tile artisan! He is the right choice for customers who appreciate doing things to the highest and most demanding standards, without compromise. He is the right choice for customers who will trust him to use his 30+ years of experience to guide you in the right direction. He is the right choice for customers who will appreciate the carefulness and time he takes to get the project completed to the best it possibly could be. However, if you are looking for a patch job or average quality cheapie job for your rental or flip property, he is definitely NOT that type of contractor. Let me explain... 1. Mark works on your house as if it were his own. He sweats the little details that most homeowners might not even recognize or appreciate. After you watch him work and listening to him talk with the pride of a brand new father as he explains some of the detailed steps he takes to ensure the best possible tile installation, you know that you are in the safest of hands with him on the job. By the end of the project, I trusted him as much as a family member in our house. 2. Mark chooses to only works on one project at a time and focuses all his energy on your project until it ends up being, as he would often tell me, “as perfect as humanly possible”. That’s an insanely high bar to set... and he absolutely means it. By the end of the project, I realized that we may never get this lucky again! Every other person you hire in the future will pale in comparison. He exceeded all of our expectations by miles! 3. Mark doesn’t work with an assistant because he wants the buck to stop with him. When you only deal with one point person, details don’t get lost in translation. You have the luxury of dealing directly with the master tiler himself for everything. That’s like having a celebrity chef actually prepare your food personally. 4. Mark meticulously set up his elaborate tented workspace in our driveway each day. At the end of his workday, he would pack everything up, sweep, and clean up the entire site way beyond what we even expected. He even filters the air of any dust with a purifier he runs while working! He doesn’t seem to want there to be any ambiguity about how far beyond the ordinary he is. Having employed countless contractors who routinely leave the place a mess, Mark’s conscientiousness was astounding. 5. Once you witness the enormous amount of time and effort that Mark pours into your project, you realize how fair his pricing is, given how fully booked he is at all times. He was the perfect choice to install our expensive handpainted tiles from Fire Clay Tile. 6. And, finally, it is often said that dogs are great judges of character, and my dog may actually love Mark more than us. In conclusion, you simply cannot go wrong with hiring Mark... that is, if you can wait for him to be available. And, once he accepts your project, you will have a tireless ally who will complete the project to the highest possible standards and on-time. THANK YOU MARK for making our bathroom so beautiful!