Tile installation and repair in San Bruno

Tile work in San Bruno homes from the 1950s

Almost three in ten San Bruno housing units, 29.3%, were built in the 1950s, and 80.4% predate 1980. A bathroom from that era may still have its original tile, often set in a thick mortar bed rather than on backer board. Matching a tile that old is the hard part, so a leftover box in the garage is worth hunting for before any repair starts.

For a repair we cut out the cracked piece, rake out crumbling grout, regrout and put flexible caulk in every inside corner. For new work, the backer board, waterproofing and slope to the drain go in before the first tile. Grout and caulk typically need one to three days to cure, so text photos early and we'll plan the shower-free days with you.

Worth knowing about San Bruno

• About 80.4% of San Bruno's 16,433 housing units were built before 1980, and 29.3% went up in the 1950s alone.
• The older eastern half, east of I-280, is flat, with a street grid from its early 20th century roots; the newer western half is mostly single-family subdivisions on curving hillside streets.
• As of the 2009 General Plan, about 3,000 San Bruno homes had benefited from aircraft noise insulation, funded since 1983 for homes inside SFO's 65 CNEL contour.