The Ultra Reno Blog
Practical advice on tile installation, kitchen and bathroom renovation, costs and materials — written for homeowners across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA.
Kitchen Backsplash Ideas That Work in Real Kitchens
Six backsplash directions that work in the kitchens we actually tile, from classic subway to zellige.
Read guide →Herringbone vs Straight Lay: Look, Labour and When Each Works
Herringbone takes roughly 30 percent more labour to install. Here is what you get for it and where it is worth it.
Read guide →Premium Tile in Custom Homes and Rebuilds
Large format porcelain, natural stone and heated floors across big open areas. What changes when the home is a custom build and the tiled area is large.
Read guide →Retiling a 1960s Bathroom: What You Will Find Underneath
Pink, avocado or mint-green tile, a mortar-bed floor and cast iron drains. What a 1960s bathroom renovation really involves, from demolition to new tile.
Read guide →Tile in Newer Homes: Replacing Builder-Grade Floors and Showers
Homes built since the 2000s have flat, predictable floors that suit large format tile. They also tend to have builder-grade tile laid fast. What to upgrade, and how.
Read guide →Tiling Older Homes Where Nothing Is Square
In a hundred-year-old house, layout planning matters more than the tile you pick. How we tile rooms where floors slope and walls are out of square.
Read guide →Levelling Floors in 1950s and 60s Bungalows Before Tile
Post-war bungalows are solidly built and rarely level. What tiling them actually involves, from board subfloors to self-levelling compound.
Read guide →Older Home or New Build: How Bathroom Renovations Differ
Two bathrooms the same size can be very different jobs. What changes between a 1950s bathroom, a 1980s one and a new build, and why it matters before you get a quote.
Read guide →Tiling a 1970s to 1990s Home: What to Check Before the Tile Goes Down
Homes built between the 1970s and 1990s make up most of the GTA suburbs. Here is what we usually find under their floors and what a lasting tile job needs.
Read guide →Planning a Renovation?
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