Bathroom Tile & Flooring in Pompano Beach, FL

Bathroom tile and flooring projects range from a new floor in an otherwise good bathroom to retiling every wall and the shower. The tile you see is only the top layer. Whether it stays flat, stays bonded and keeps water out depends on the base: the slab or subfloor, the underlayment, the membrane in wet areas and the setting method.

Removing old tile

Many older Pompano Beach bathrooms have tile set in a thick mortar bed, sometimes with a second layer added on top during an earlier remodel. Removing it down to the slab or subfloor lets us find cracks, low spots and old leak damage and correct them, rather than tiling over problems. In a house built on a slab, we look for cracks that could telegraph through new tile and treat them with a crack-isolation membrane.

Condos above the ground floor

Flooring in upper-floor condos is regulated. Pompano Beach's remodel checklist asks, for units on the second level and above, for a flooring limits plan and an independent lab report showing the installed floor assembly meets at least 50 for both STC (airborne sound) and IIC (impact sound). Many associations also have their own underlayment rules. That means a rated sound-control underlayment under the tile, chosen before the work is permitted. We ask for the association's rules at the estimate.

Choosing tile for a humid bathroom

• Porcelain: dense, low water absorption, durable; the usual choice for floors and showers.
• Ceramic: lighter and easier to cut, good for walls and low-traffic floors.
• Natural stone: marble, travertine and slate look distinctive but need sealing and gentler cleaners.
• Large-format tile: fewer grout lines, but needs a very flat floor and careful setting to avoid lippage.
• Mosaic and smaller tile on shower floors: more grout lines give better grip and follow the slope to the drain.

For bathroom floors, a textured or matte finish is less slippery when wet than polished tile.

Grout and caulk

Grout choice matters in Florida humidity. Cement grouts need sealing; epoxy and high-performance grouts resist staining and mildew better. Changes of plane, like the corner between the floor and the wall or the tub and the tile, get flexible sealant rather than grout, since grout cracks there as the building moves.

Retiling a shower

If shower tile is loose or the grout keeps failing, the cause is often water behind the tile. Regrouting can help when the tile is still bonded and the walls are dry. If tiles sound hollow or the wall is soft, the right fix is to remove the tile, replace the backer, add a waterproofing membrane and retile.

Permits

Tile replacement by itself is often finish work, but in upper-floor condos the floor assembly is part of the permit review, and any shower rebuild includes plumbing. We tell you at the estimate which permits and association approvals your tile project needs.