Tile installation · Kenmore, Washington
Waterproofed first. Tiled second.
A shower's waterproofing is never the surface you scrub — it's the bonded layer underneath. In a Kenmore split-level, where lake-end humidity already works on every bathroom, that layer separates a shower with twenty quiet years ahead of it from a $40,000 framing repair. We build it, flood it for 24 hours, photograph the standing water, then start tiling.
North-lake floors since 2013
12 years — Bellevue based — family owned
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How much does tile installation cost in Kenmore, WA?
Installed tile in Kenmore lands around $14–$26 per square foot when tile, setting materials, substrate prep and labor all go in the total; the labor line begins at $11/sq ft. For a standard tub-shower surround, plan $3,200–$6,800. For a bathroom done completely — floor plus shower plus niche — most projects settle between $6,500 and $14,000.
One quiet variable outweighs the sticker: tile format. Labor tracks cuts and grout lines, so a $4 mosaic sheet often installs for more money than a $12 large-format porcelain plank — the invoice never sees it coming.
Kenmore ranges as of August 2026, installed — materials, tile and labor combined. Your free estimate produces the written number that actually holds.
What's behind a shower that lasts
Count them: seven layers from framing to grout. Every leaking shower we open around Kenmore skipped at least one — the membrane most often — trading a few hundred dollars up front for a five-figure tear-out down the road.
The failure is engineered to be silent. Water slips past grout, soaks the substrate, and says nothing for a couple of years — then a hallway floor gives slightly, or a shadow crosses the ceiling underneath. The repair at that point means framing, subfloor, drywall and re-tiling entirely.
Of everything in a shower's budget, waterproofing is about a tenth. Removing it is the most expensive edit anyone can make to a bathroom remodel.
What we tile in Kenmore
Prices shown are starting points; format, the substrate we uncover, and layout complexity each shift them. The binding number gets written at your home, free.
Shower & bath tile
Assembly first: pre-sloped base, bonded membrane, a flood test with photos, then the niche and the curb (or curbless entry), and finally tile. The layer you never see again is the one doing the work.
Porcelain & stone floors
Bathrooms, kitchens, mudrooms, entries and daylight basements. Subfloor leveled flat, with an uncoupling layer added when movement or radiant heat is in play.
Backsplash
Slab-look porcelain, mosaic sheet, subway or herringbone — clean outlet openings, properly trimmed edges, grout matched against the countertop rather than the tile-box suggestion.
Heated tile floors
Electric mat above uncoupling membrane, resistance readings on both sides of the setting bed, its own dedicated circuit throughout. One rule: it only pencils before the new floor closes over.
Tile repair & regrout
Failed grout, cracked tile, shower corners letting go. Our first job is telling you honestly whether a repair holds or the substrate below has quit.
Demo & haul-away
Old tile, backer and thinset come out under sheeting and negative air; every scrap gets hauled. No pile appears beside your garage.
Which tile, and where
In Kenmore bathrooms the usual tile mistake is technical, not aesthetic — a perfectly good tile asked to do a job it can't. Here's the short course we'd give you at the estimate.
These are material rates only, before install. Samples ride along to the visit, with a frank word on which earn their price.
Kenmore tile cost calculator
Price your tile job before we arrive
Same variables our estimator works through at your door — scope, footage, format and prep. Planning math, not a commitment.
A bathroom, day by day
For a typical Kenmore bathroom, four to six working days. The two that seem slow — waterproofing and its flood test — are the two doing the real work.
Tile work by the north lake
Puget Sound client reviews
“They placed plastic sheeting over the cabinets to contain the dust, so we noticed hardly any. The floors look as good or better than new.”
“We chose them because they were professional and top-notch. The work was smooth, fast and cost-effective — such skill and precision!”
“The installers were great! The floor is exactly what we wanted. We worked with OC Flooring previously — highly recommend.”
Tile installation FAQ — Kenmore, WA
Not here? Call us at (425) 595-1079 — you'll get an installer on the phone, not a call center.
How much does tile installation cost in Kenmore, WA?
Tile installation in Kenmore lands near $14 to $26 for every square foot installed — that money buys tile, sets it, preps the substrate and pays the crew, with labor claiming $11 per square foot before anything else. In the standard footprint, a tub-shower surround prices from $3,200 to $6,800; carried to completion — floor, shower, niche — a bathroom typically spans $6,500 through $14,000. Your format choice moves the total more than the tile's sticker: mosaic sheets and large-format tile each demand much more labor for every square foot than an ordinary 12×12 does.
How much does it cost to tile a shower in Kenmore?
A standard alcove shower in Kenmore prices at $3,200 to $6,800, covering demolition, a bonded waterproofing system, the pre-sloped pan or base, tile setting, a niche and grout. Push into curbless entries, benches, steam or full-height stone and the number climbs past that range. Waterproofing accounts for roughly a tenth of the cost while heading off the failure that carries a five-figure repair bill.
Do you waterproof showers before tiling?
Every time — and in a lake-end city like Kenmore we'd argue it matters double. The system is bonded, not improvised: pre-sloped base, sheet or liquid membrane taken up every wall, corners, seams and penetrations all sealed, then a documented 24-hour flood test before tiling begins. Cement board alone is not a water barrier. Tile and grout let water through; the membrane is what stops it reaching framing.
How long does a bathroom tile job take?
Kenmore bathrooms run four to six working days, in order: demolition behind dust protection; substrate and waterproofing, trailed by the flood test's 24 hours; setting across one day, occasionally two; then grout, silicone and trim to wrap. The grout cures next — 24 hours with the shower dry — before first use. A floor without a shower is usually a one- or two-day job.
Porcelain or ceramic tile — which is better?
Porcelain wins anywhere water or traffic shows up: it's the denser body, takes on less than 0.5% water, and resists chips. Ceramic remains the economical pick for walls and backsplashes. Around Kenmore we put porcelain on every floor and shower floor without exception, and let ceramic or glass handle the vertical surfaces.
Can you install a heated tile floor?
Yes — and against a damp Kenmore morning it's a small daily pleasure. Electric radiant mat under tile adds $11 to $16 per square foot installed with the thermostat counted in, and because it only pencils while the floor is already up, it's the least expensive luxury a bathroom can add. Installation goes over an uncoupling membrane, with resistance checks before and after setting, on a dedicated circuit.
Do I need to remove the old tile first?
Almost without exception. Budget about $3.50 for each square foot of tear-out with haul-away — it buys the one honest look at the subfloor's moisture history, rot and movement, and it keeps finished heights correct wherever a door swings. Old tile that's flat, solid and well bonded can sometimes host new tile, but the floor rises and hidden conditions stay hidden. Better to meet them at demo than after grout.
How much does a kitchen backsplash cost in Kenmore?
Backsplash work in Kenmore prices from $1,100 up to $2,200 installed across the typical 30-square-foot run — outlet cutting, edge trim and counter-keyed grout inside the number. The upper half belongs to layout-hungry picks: herringbone patterns, sheet mosaics, a framed accent above the cooktop, or ceiling-height slab-look panels. Added cutting and layout time is what drives it.
Can you fix cracked tile or regrout instead of replacing?
Quite often. Repair and regrout begins at $8 per square foot and fits when grout is stained or breaking up, an impact took out a couple tiles, or the corners of the shower need grout replaced with silicone. It stops fitting when the substrate has failed — tiles that sound hollow, loosen in a spreading pattern, or sit on a wall with give. In that case a repair buys months, not years, and we tell you which situation is yours before quoting.
Which Kenmore neighborhoods do you tile?
All of Kenmore — Moorlands, Arrowhead, Inglewood, Uplake, Lakepointe, Downtown Kenmore, Norway Hill and Waynita — plus the neighbors we cross into daily: Lake Forest Park, Sheridan Beach, Finn Hill, Juanita, Bothell, Brier, North City and Mountlake Terrace, and onward across the Northshore, the Eastside and Seattle.
What warranty comes with tile installation?
A 2-year workmanship warranty from OC Flooring stands behind every tile installation — twice our carpet term, since tile trouble tends to surface in the second year, not the second week. Where we install a manufacturer's complete assembly, their waterproofing system warranty applies as well. And because we photograph both membrane and flood test, the documentation exists whenever the house changes hands.