1. Classic subway, running bond

3×6 white ceramic, 1/3 offset, mid-grey grout. It has been popular for a century because it works with everything. Cheapest to install at $18 to $26 per square foot, and it will not date. Best in the 1980s and 90s kitchens common across Ajax and Pickering.

2. Large format slab-look

A single large porcelain panel behind the range, often matching or complementing the counter. Almost no grout lines, very easy to keep clean, and strongly contemporary. Needs a flat wall. Works well in the newer Whitby and Markham builds.

3. Vertical stack

Subway tile turned vertical and stacked rather than offset. Draws the eye up, which helps in kitchens with standard 8-foot ceilings — which is most Durham homes. Same cost as classic subway, noticeably more current.

4. Zellige or handmade

Irregular, glazed, with visible variation between pieces. Beautiful and full of character. It is slow to install and needs wider grout joints because no two tiles are the same size. $40 to $60 per square foot installed. If you want a kitchen that does not look like anyone else’s, this is the one.

5. Marble-look porcelain

The veining of marble with none of the sealing. Excellent behind a range where real marble would etch from anything acidic. See our materials comparison for the full trade-off.

6. Herringbone accent

Keep the main run simple and do the section behind the range in herringbone. Contained cost, real focal point.

What we would avoid

• Very busy mosaics across a whole kitchen. Striking in a photo, tiring in daily life, and murder to keep clean behind a stove.
• Bright white grout. It will not stay white. Use epoxy or go a shade darker.
• Anything unsealed and porous behind the range. Grease wins.

Practical notes

Standard height is counter to underside of upper cabinets, usually 18 inches. Going full height behind the range is a strong look and costs little more. Decide on outlet placement before tiling — horizontal outlets or under-cabinet strips keep the field clean.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your backsplash at no cost.

The post Kitchen Backsplash Ideas That Suit Durham Region Homes first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

Cost difference

Why herringbone costs more

Every tile sits at 45 degrees to the wall, so every perimeter tile is an angled cut. The pattern is also unforgiving — a small error at one end compounds visibly across the floor. It takes a slower, more careful setter, and it takes longer.

It is also the pattern that most clearly separates a skilled tile setter from a general handyman, which is partly why we chose a herringbone unit as the basis of our logo.

Where each works

Straight lay — large format tile, modern interiors, and anywhere you want the floor to recede rather than announce itself. With big tiles and matched grout it reads almost as a continuous surface.

Running bond — the default for subway backsplashes. Classic, forgiving, timeless. A 1/3 offset looks better than a 1/2 offset with longer tiles, because it reduces lippage at the centre of each tile.

Diagonal — makes a narrow room feel wider. Genuinely useful in a small bathroom or a narrow hallway.

Herringbone — entryways, feature walls, and small floors where the extra cost is contained. A herringbone entry in a Ajax or Whitby home is a strong first impression for a manageable premium.

Ordering for pattern

Order 15 to 20 percent extra for herringbone or diagonal, not the usual 10. The offcuts are less reusable because of the angles.

One honest recommendation

If budget is tight and you want visual interest, do herringbone in a small, high-impact area — the entry, a powder room floor, a backsplash — and keep the large areas straight. You get the effect for a fraction of the cost.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your layout at no cost.

The post Herringbone vs Straight Lay: Cost, Look and When Each Works first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

North York: two housing stocks on one street

Willowdale, Bayview Village and Newtonbrook are a study in contrasts. Original post-war bungalows sit beside full custom rebuilds.

The rebuilds are specified from the start for large format porcelain, heated floors in the ensuites, and often natural stone somewhere prominent. Flat subfloors, no surprises, and the work is about execution quality rather than problem-solving.

The original bungalows need the same honest assessment as Scarborough — sixty-year-old joists rarely meet modern deflection requirements for natural stone without stiffening. We will tell you if that is what we find.

Markham: newer and larger

Cornell, Berczy Village and Cachet are dominated by newer, larger homes. Bigger tiled areas mean layout planning matters more, not less — a layout decision that produces an awkward cut is repeated across a much bigger floor.

Historic Unionville is the exception, with older properties needing a more careful approach.

Natural stone requests

We get asked for marble more often in these areas than anywhere else in our service region. It is beautiful and we install it happily, but we always explain the commitment first: sealing on installation and again every one to three years, and it will etch if something acidic sits on it. Some clients want it anyway. Some choose a marble-look porcelain once they understand the maintenance. Both are reasonable.

Timelines

Larger homes mean longer projects. A main floor of 800 square feet in large format takes considerably longer than a 200 square foot Durham kitchen — not proportionally longer, but longer. We give realistic dates and we hold them.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your project at no cost.

The post North York and Markham: Rebuilds, Large Homes and Premium Tile first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

Downtown and the south end

Some of the oldest housing in the region. Original hardwood, board subfloors, multiple flooring layers, and floors that have settled considerably. These need proper assessment — we have opened floors here and found three generations of flooring over planks with visible gaps.

The upside is that these houses are often solidly framed. Deflection is less of an issue than the age suggests. The work is in the preparation, not the structure.

Central Oshawa

Donevan, Eastdale and the surrounding neighbourhoods are mostly post-war through 1970s. Plywood subfloors, standard construction, membrane over plywood as always.

The north end

Windfields, Taunton and the newer developments are straightforward modern construction. Flat subfloors, open plans, good candidates for large format and heated floors.

Where Oshawa clients buy

Ritson Tile & Carpet has been serving Durham since 1979 and is where a lot of our Oshawa clients start. We install from any supplier.

The most common Oshawa project

Bathroom renovations in central Oshawa homes where the original 1960s pink or avocado tile is still in place. These are full guts — $12,000 to $28,000 — and the results are dramatic because the starting point is so dated. See our bathroom renovation page for what is involved.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your Oshawa home at no cost.

The post Oshawa Tile Renovation: Downtown Heritage to North End New Builds first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

The 2000s subdivisions

Pringle Creek, Rolling Acres, Williamsburg and most of the growth from that period. Large open main floors, consistent modern subfloors, predictable joist spacing.

These are the best candidates in Durham for large format tile. The subfloors are usually flat enough to need minimal levelling, and the open floor plans are exactly where fewer grout lines make the biggest visual difference. A 24×48 porcelain across a main floor in one of these homes looks genuinely excellent.

Brooklin village

Older stock, some of it considerably older. Here we are back to levelling compound, layered flooring and layout planning around rooms that are not quite square. Closer to the Oshawa or Scarborough work than to the Whitby subdivisions ten minutes south.

Port Whitby

A mix, with some 1950s and 60s waterfront properties that need the same careful assessment as the older Pickering waterfront homes.

What Whitby clients ask for most

1. Main floor porcelain, usually large format, replacing builder-grade tile or laminate
2. Ensuite shower upgrades — replacing the builder acrylic surround with a proper tiled shower
3. Backsplashes, often alongside a counter replacement
4. Basement finishing

A note on builder-grade tile

The 12×12 ceramic in a lot of these homes was installed fast, frequently without membrane. When we lift it we often find hollow-sounding sections and cracks along grout lines. That is not bad luck — it is what happens when tile is bonded straight to plywood. Doing it properly the second time is why it does not happen again.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your Whitby home at no cost.

The post Whitby and Brooklin: New Subdivisions vs Village Homes first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

Layout planning is the whole job

In a new build you can start from a centre line and work out. In a 1910 semi, if you do that you end up with a half-inch sliver of tile in one doorway and a full tile in the other, and it will bother you every day.

We dry-lay the first run before mortaring anything. It costs an hour and it decides how the finished floor reads. Where the out-of-square is significant, the right answer is often to align the layout to the most visible sightline and absorb the discrepancy where nobody looks.

What else these houses throw up

• Original plank subfloors that need plywood over them before tile
• Significant slope — an inch across a room is not unusual
• Narrow stairs and no parking, which affects how material gets in
• Knob-and-tube or old plumbing occasionally discovered mid-demolition
• Rooms that were three rooms, with subfloor transitions where walls used to be

Condo work

The other half of our Toronto work is condos, which is a completely different set of constraints: building rules, elevator booking, restricted noise hours, protection of common areas, and often a certificate of insurance filed with property management before we can start. We handle all of that, but it needs planning, and it is why condo timelines are less flexible than house timelines.

Where we work

The Beaches, Leslieville, Riverdale, East York, Danforth, Midtown and the downtown core.

Be wary of a quote given over the phone

For an older Toronto house specifically, a number given without a site visit is a number that will change. We would rather come out, look properly, and give you something you can rely on.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your Toronto home at no cost.

The post Tiling Toronto Semis and Victorians: Nothing Is Square first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

What we find

Uneven floors, almost always. Seven decades of settlement means self-levelling compound is part of nearly every Scarborough floor we quote. On a 300 square foot main floor that can add $900 to $1,800 — real money, and not optional if you want large format tile.

Board subfloors under the plywood. Many of these homes have original plank subfloors with plywood added later. That layered construction moves differently and needs an uncoupling membrane without exception.

Solid joists, generous spacing. The good news. Old-growth lumber and closer joist spacing than modern code means deflection is less often a problem than the age would suggest.

Small original bathrooms. Typically 5×7. Worth thinking about layout while the walls are open.

Basements are the big Scarborough job

Most of these bungalows have full basements, and finishing them is the most common project we are asked about in Agincourt, West Hill and Birch Cliff. Below grade needs porcelain, a moisture-tested slab and crack isolation. Full detail in our basement renovation guide and our piece on choosing materials.

Neighbourhoods we work in

Agincourt, Guildwood, West Hill, Malvern, Birch Cliff, Cliffside and Highland Creek.

Realistic expectations

A Scarborough bungalow floor will cost more per square foot than the same floor in a 2010 Whitby build, and the difference is entirely preparation. That preparation is what makes the tile last. We would rather explain that at the quote stage than surprise you with it in week two.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your Scarborough home at no cost.

The post Scarborough Bungalows: Levelling Floors in 1950s and 60s Homes first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

Bay Ridges and West Shore: 1950s and 60s

The waterfront neighbourhoods are among the oldest housing in Durham. In these bathrooms we routinely find:

• Multiple layers of old flooring, sometimes three deep
• Original board subfloors rather than plywood sheet
• Floors noticeably out of level — self-levelling compound is standard here
• Cast iron waste stacks that need care during demolition
• Occasionally, original mortar-bed tile that is genuinely well built and hard to remove

These are satisfying jobs but they need a real site visit before anyone puts a number on paper. Anyone quoting a Bay Ridges bathroom from photographs is guessing.

Amberlea, Liverpool and Brock Ridge

Mostly 1970s to 1990s. Plywood subfloors, standard joist spacing, generally predictable. This is where the bulk of our bathroom renovation work in Pickering happens.

Seaton: new construction

The Seaton development at the north end is new build. Flat subfloors, modern plumbing, no surprises behind the walls. These move quickly and are ideal for large format tile and heated floors, which is what most Seaton clients ask for.

What a Pickering bathroom costs

Older waterfront homes tend toward the upper end because of what is under the floor, not because of the tile.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your Pickering bathroom at no cost.

The post Pickering Bathroom Renovations: Waterfront Homes to Seaton first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

North of the 401: 1970s to 1990s

Westney Heights, Applecroft and the older parts of Nottingham are largely 1970s through 1990s construction. What we typically find:

• Plywood subfloors that have been through thirty-plus winters. An uncoupling membrane is essential. We do not quote these floors without one.
• Original 1980s ceramic in kitchens and entries, often over a bed of thinset that takes real effort to remove cleanly.
• Some floor deflection, particularly in second-storey bathrooms with longer joist spans.
• Small original bathrooms where the layout is worth reconsidering while everything is open.

South of the 401: newer builds

Discovery Bay, Duffin’s Bay and the newer south Ajax developments have flatter, more consistent subfloors. These are good candidates for large format tile, which needs a subfloor flat within 1/8 inch over 10 feet. In an older home that usually means levelling compound. In a newer Ajax build it often does not.

The most common Ajax job

Kitchen and entry floor together, in a home where the original ceramic has cracked along the grout lines. The crack pattern almost always tells us the subfloor was tiled directly with no membrane. Once we lift it and put a membrane down, the same floor does not crack again.

What it costs here

Same as the rest of our service area — $14 to $24 per square foot installed for floors, $900 to $2,400 for a backsplash, $4,500 to $9,500 for a full tiled shower. Being local means no travel premium and we can drop in mid-project without it costing you.

Where Ajax clients buy tile

Most go to The Tile House in Pickering, which is ten minutes away and has the largest selection in Durham. Bring us your samples before you buy — we will tell you honestly whether they suit the room.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your Ajax home at no cost.

The post Tile Renovation in Ajax: What 1970s to 1990s Homes Need first appeared on ULTRA RENO.

Test the slab first

Before anything goes down, the slab needs a moisture test. The simple version is taping a 2-foot square of clear plastic to the slab and leaving it 72 hours — condensation underneath means active moisture. For a proper number, a calcium chloride or relative humidity probe test gives a measurement rather than an impression.

Why porcelain is the right answer

Porcelain absorbs 0.5 percent water or less. Slab moisture, a leaking washer, a spring thaw backing up a floor drain — none of it damages porcelain. Compare that with engineered hardwood or laminate, which will cup and delaminate, or carpet, which will hold moisture and grow mould.

What the installation needs

• Crack isolation. Slab cracks are normal. They also move. A membrane isolates the tile from that movement.
• Levelling. Basement slabs are poured to drain, not to be flat. Self-levelling compound is almost always needed, particularly for large format tile.
• An uncoupling membrane rated for below grade.
• Consider heating. A basement floor is cold whatever you put on it. In-floor heating is the difference between a finished basement and a used one.

What it costs

$14 to $24 per square foot installed, with slab preparation as the main variable. A badly out-of-level slab can add $3 to $6 per square foot in levelling compound alone.

If the basement actually leaks

Fix that first. No flooring system solves a water ingress problem — it just hides it while the damage continues. Address grading, downspouts, weeping tile or the crack itself, then floor it. We will tell you honestly if we think that is what you are looking at.

More on our approach to basement renovations.

Get a free estimate

Ultra Renovations Inc has been installing tile across Ajax, Pickering, Whitby, Oshawa and the wider GTA for over ten years. We are a registered Ontario corporation, fully insured, and rated 5.0 on Google.

Call (647) 648-8985 or request a free estimate and we will come out, measure properly, look at your subfloor, and give you a written quote for your basement at no cost.

The post Basement Flooring for Damp Ontario Basements first appeared on ULTRA RENO.