The substrate decides more than the tile does
Whatever sits behind the tile — plaster and lath in an older bungalow, poured concrete in a converted mill building, drywall in a postwar ranch — determines how a membrane system gets installed and how long it holds up. That decision happens before anyone picks a tile pattern.
Build a complete scope
- The specific membrane or coating used, named in the quote
- How the assembly turns up walls and around the curb
- Whether the floor is level enough to tile, and what levelling costs
- A water test before tile, and the record kept of it
- Sealant renewal expectations and what the guarantee excludes
Durham context
Durham combines nineteenth-century tobacco and textile districts, early streetcar neighborhoods, postwar ranches, and fast-growing suburban edges. Humid Piedmont summers and mature tree cover common in older neighborhoods keep ventilation and drying time worth planning for alongside the tile itself.