Tile installation · Kirkland, Washington
Waterproofed first. Tiled second.
Beautiful tile gets the compliments; the membrane behind it earns them. In a Kirkland view home or a Carillon Point condo, that unseen layer is what separates a shower still perfect in twenty years from a $40,000 framing repair nobody photographs for Instagram. We build the assembly, flood-test it for a full 24 hours, document it, and only then set tile.
Waterfront floors since 2013
Family owned · 12 years · based in Bellevue
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How much does tile installation cost in Kirkland, WA?
Price a Kirkland tile project at roughly $14 to $26 for the installed square foot — tile, setting materials, subfloor prep and labor rolled together, the labor piece from $11/sq ft. Standard tub-shower surrounds run you $3,200–$6,800; carried all the way through — floor, shower, niche — most bathrooms invoice at $6,500 to $14,000.
One truth serves both design and budget: labor tracks the format, never the per-box price. Cuts and grout lines are where handmade-look zellige and small mosaics spend their hours — the mechanism by which a $4 sheet overtakes a $12 large-format porcelain plank on installation day.
Ranges for Kirkland homes and condos, August 2026 — installed, with tile, materials and labor counted. The written quote from the free estimate is the real figure.
What's behind a shower that lasts
Seven layers, stacked in an order that isn't negotiable. When a failed shower around Kirkland gets opened with us watching, some layer is missing — the membrane, near enough always — trimmed out once to bank a few hundred dollars, repaid at five figures when the wall comes apart.
No leak introduces itself. Water moves past grout, sits in the substrate, and turns up two years later as a hallway floor with give or a stain blooming on the ceiling of the room below. By that stage the scope reads framing, subfloor, drywall — and the tile you loved, done twice.
Call waterproofing 10% of the shower budget. No pricier decision exists in a bathroom remodel than deleting it — nor a less visible one.
What we tile in Kirkland
Honest labels: these are starting prices, moved by format, substrate condition and how ambitious the layout gets. The firm figure gets written at your place, at no charge.
Shower & bath tile
Waterproofed from the studs out: base pre-sloped, membrane bonded, flood test documented, then the niche, curb or curbless entry, and the tile last. The unglamorous half of the job is the valuable half.
Porcelain & stone floors
Bathrooms, kitchens, entries, mudrooms, condo baths and basements. Subfloor brought dead flat, and an uncoupling membrane specified where the floor moves or carries radiant heat.
Backsplash
Zellige, subway, herringbone, mosaic sheet or slab-look porcelain — outlet cuts kept crisp, edges trimmed properly, grout chosen against your counter, not the tile carton.
Heated tile floors
Radiant electric mat over an uncoupling membrane, resistance-tested before setting and after grout, on its own circuit. An upgrade that only makes sense while the floor is open.
Tile repair & regrout
Cracked field tile, tired grout, shower corners pulling loose. We'll say plainly whether a repair is honest or the substrate behind it has already failed.
Demo & haul-away
Sheeting and negative air go up, then old tile, thinset and backer come down and ride away that same day. Elevator bookings, HOA rules, tight parking — handled without drama.
Which tile, and where
Kirkland has no shortage of gorgeous tile — the mistakes we see are gorgeous tile in the wrong application. Here's the advice we'd give standing in your bathroom, minus the hour.
Rates cover material alone; install is separate. Samples travel with us, plus candid opinions on which deserve their number.
Kirkland tile cost calculator
Price your tile job before we arrive
Scope, square footage, format and prep — the identical arithmetic from our on-site visits. Consider it a planning tool rather than a quote.
A bathroom, day by day
The typical Kirkland bathroom occupies four to six working days — and the stretch where nothing seems to happen is exactly what makes the result permanent.
Tile across Eastside homes
What clients on the Sound say
“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 — Kirkland, 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 Kirkland, WA?
Add up tile, setting materials, subfloor prep and labor in Kirkland and installation comes to roughly $14 to $26 for the installed square foot, labor itself starting near $11 per square foot. A standard-size tub-shower surround will run you $3,200–$6,800; finish the room completely — floor plus shower plus niche — and totals mostly invoice at $6,500 to $14,000. Format outweighs unit price every time: mosaic sheets and large-format planks each consume far more setting labor per square foot than everyday 12×12 tile.
How much does it cost to tile a shower in Kirkland?
Tiled showers in Kirkland cost $3,200 to $6,800 for the standard alcove — demolition, bonded waterproofing, a pre-sloped base or pan, setting, niche and grout all included. Designer scope moves the number up: curbless entries, benches, steam enclosures, full-height stone or zellige walls. Waterproofing is only about a tenth of the bill — and it's the tenth that rules out the tens-of-thousands failure.
Do you waterproof showers before tiling?
Yes, whatever the tile's ambitions. The build under every shower is a bonded waterproofing system: sloped base, sheet or liquid membrane taken up the walls, sealed seams, corners and penetrations, and a 24-hour flood test we document before setting a single piece. Thinset over cement board does not count as waterproofing. Tile and grout let water straight through — interception is the membrane's job.
How long does a bathroom tile job take?
Kirkland bathrooms take four to six working days, condos included. Demolition with dust protection starts it; substrate and waterproofing follow, the 24-hour flood test in the middle; a day or two of setting comes next; grout, silicone and trim wrap it. The first shower waits another 24 hours for the grout to cure. A floor by itself? Usually a two-day matter at most.
Porcelain or ceramic tile — which is better?
Different jobs. Porcelain — denser, sub-0.5% water absorption, harder to chip — is the call for floors, showers and any wet or high-traffic surface. Ceramic costs less and looks every bit as good on walls and backsplashes. Our Kirkland rule: porcelain underfoot and in shower floors, always; ceramic, glass or zellige where the surface's whole job is beauty.
Can you install a heated tile floor?
Yes. Running $11 to $16 the installed square foot with thermostat within, heated tile is the remodel's best-value indulgence — precisely because the numbers only work with the floor already open. Underneath, the mat sits on uncoupling membrane; resistance gets tested twice, bracketing the setting work; and the circuit it draws from is dedicated to it alone.
Do I need to remove the old tile first?
Nearly always, yes. Demolition plus haul-away comes in around $3.50 per square foot and doubles as the only true subfloor inspection — rot, movement and past moisture all show, and the new floor lands at the right height against doorways and cabinetry. Over-tiling can pass on a flat, sound, well-bonded floor, though even then it entombs conditions far better discovered during demo than after grout cures.
How much does a kitchen backsplash cost in Kirkland?
A Kirkland backsplash across the typical 30 square feet lands at $1,100 to $2,200 installed, with outlet cuts, trimmed edges and counter-matched grout inside the price. Designer choices — zellige, mosaic sheets, herringbone, a framed feature at the range, slab-look porcelain run to the ceiling — climb the range on layout and cutting time, not because the tile itself must cost more.
Can you fix cracked tile or regrout instead of replacing?
Often. Pricing for repair-and-regrout starts at $8 the square foot; it handles grout gone stained or crumbly, a couple of tiles cracked by impact, and corners due to swap grout for silicone. Where it can't help is a spent substrate — tile sounding hollow, loosening that spreads, softness in the wall — since a patch there buys months at best. Inspection comes first, and you learn which situation is yours before any quote exists.
Which Kirkland neighborhoods do you tile?
All of Kirkland — Moss Bay, Market, Norkirk, Highlands, Everest, Lakeview, Central Houghton, Carillon Point, Bridle Trails, North and South Rose Hill, Kingsgate, Totem Lake, North and South Juanita and Finn Hill — condos downtown included, plus Bellevue, Redmond, Bothell, Kenmore, Woodinville and the rest of the Eastside and Seattle.
What warranty comes with tile installation?
Every OC Flooring tile installation carries a 2-year workmanship warranty — twice the term we give carpet, because tile defects show themselves in year two, not week two. When the shower uses a manufacturer's full waterproofing assembly, their system warranty adds to ours. Membrane and flood test are photographed on every job, so the record is there for a future appraisal or sale.