We've been building in New York City for a long time. Long enough to have opinions. We put this together as a quarterly deep dive from a builder's perspective — part insight, part entertainment. We're glad you're here.
Enjoy this quarterly deep dive from a builder's perspective: part insight, part entertainment. This quarter: tile.
Current projects — New York City, 2026
Building Notes
Four Modest Proposals
Things we keep thinking about. Things that matter on a job site.
№ 01
De-Schluterfly
Tile-edge trim — aka Schluter — has overtaken America's bathrooms. Gone are the bullnose, pencil liner, quarter-rounds, and corner pieces that made tiled walls feel elegant. Now so many new bathrooms look like a LaGuardia concourse with metal strips everywhere.
Let's bring back complete tile systems. Or maybe just ask your tile setter to specify mitered corners.
The case for bringing back the bullnose.
№ 02
Steal Focus Less
Walk through Rome or Porto. Centuries-old tile, local sand and lime grout, completely invisible. The tile was the thing — the grout just held it together.
Then Mapei and Laticrete arrived with hundreds of grout color options and suddenly what was a background material became a complicated design decision and a possible dilemma. And now what was a background material is a complicated design decision and possible dilemma.
When in doubt: keep the joints tight and the grout gray.
Grout color is a design decision. Treat it like one.
№ 03
Cry Once
Standard grout works fine. Epoxy grout costs roughly 3× more in material and labor — it doesn't stain, doesn't crack, and doesn't require sealing. Which is why it gets value-engineered out of most budgets. Fair.
But here's the math: epoxy grout lasts dramatically longer with zero maintenance. Standard grout, in a high-traffic bathroom, will need regrouting inside of a decade. The cheaper option can look expensive in hindsight.
Our advice: just keep the joints tight and the grout gray. If you're going to spend, spend once.
Epoxy grout: more upfront, less everything else.
№ 04
Tile Ain't It
Tile and grout aren't the end of the story. They're not waterproofing — water finds every grout crack, corner, and penetration and works its way through.
A continuous waterproofing membrane under the tile is non-negotiable in any wet area. Most problems we see in bathroom renovations trace back to this step being skipped or done poorly. It's not glamorous, you won't see it, and it will never come up in conversation.
Best practice: flood-test before your beautiful tile goes down.
The thing no one sees is doing the most work.
"The tile is what you see. The membrane is what protects it. Do both right, and no one ever has to talk about the bathroom again."
— Ted Kilcommons, RAMP Contractors
Foot Notes
Still here?!? 😊 ...Links for the Tile-Obsessed
Chifoumi Studio Mosaïque
@chifoumistudioMostly Paris commercial. Designing and fabricating some of the best modern mosaic work around — the kind that makes you stop walking and take a photo.
Atelier de Knock
@atelierdeknockHandmade tile work with a restraint that's increasingly rare. Worth following even if you never order anything.
Kachelofen
@kachelofenartCeramic masonry heaters — the original radiant heat, predating forced air by centuries. Impractical for most New York apartments. Spectacular everywhere else.
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