Tile installation and repair in Palo Alto

Tile over Palo Alto slabs and in older baths

Palo Alto's Eichler guidelines map 32 tracts built between 1949 and 1974, and the typical Eichler sits on a concrete slab with radiant heating embedded in it. Slab is a solid base for floor tile, but nothing gets drilled or nailed into it until we know where the heating lines run. Cracks in the slab also need attention before tile goes down, or they can show up again in the grout.

For a floor, send a photo of the room and any cracks you can see; for a shower, a close shot of the grout and the corners. Large-format tile needs a flat floor, so leveling is part of the estimate. Replacing one cracked tile depends on finding a match, and leftover tiles from the original job are the best bet.

Worth knowing about Palo Alto

• Joseph Eichler built some 2,700 homes in Palo Alto, mostly in the central and southern parts of the city that grew quickly after World War II.
• Professorville, settled by Stanford faculty in the 1890s, is a National Register district with 105 contributing homes built between the 1890s and 1929, many sided in wood shingle.
• The City's Eichler guidelines describe post-and-beam framing on a concrete slab, radiant heat embedded in the slab, redwood siding, flat roofs and interior walls often paneled in mahogany.