A Better Tile Job Starts Here

A veteran tile setter shares his best practices for achieving top-notch tiled surfaces

- JOSH GARSKOF

MARK FERRANTE started laying tile in his teens, working alongside his father. "It was so rewarding to turn a shell of a space into a thing of beauty," he says. "I still love creating that transformation." Mark's father, Carmine, founded the family business, Ferrante Tile, in 1954, handing down the old-world techniques he was taught, such as laying thick beds of hand-mixed mortar to lock tile in place.

He also stressed the importance of starting with a well-prepared, perfectly level surface. "My father taught me to go all out on the prep work-it takes more time, but we get it right and we don't have problems," says Mark, who's been the go-to tiling contractor on more than a dozen TOH project houses.

Today, Mark works with his own son, Erik, using a mix of traditional and modern methods. On these pages, he shares tiling advice for DIYers or those hiring a pro. "Once you understand the materials and techniques, you can make sure you're getting a quality job."

BEGIN WITH THE RIGHT BASE

TILE NEEDS a supportive, rigid base. If installed directly on a surface that flexes and swells, such as plywood, it can crack and crumble. Here's how to think about underlayment options

THE GOLD STANDARD

Mortar bed

The original tile underlayment, brought to the United States by Italian immigrants in the 1800s, is a hand-laid bed of concrete troweled in place on walls or floors-a process that requires pro-level skills. Still considered the top-quality underlayment, and Mark's choice when a project isn't facing time or budget constraints, a mortar bed provides the best surface for adhering tile, can flatten out inconsistencies in the subfloor, and can be pitched to the drain for shower floors.

DURABLE AND VERSATILE

Cement board/fiber cement