Ada County, Idaho
One of the valley's fastest-growing towns: mostly new construction, with riverside and semi-rural properties along the Boise River.
Star has grown from a small town to a steady stream of new subdivisions in a short span, and the tile work reflects that. Most homes are recent, so the projects are upgrades and finish-level changes rather than repairs.
The exception is the riverside and semi-rural properties, where older houses and outbuilding conversions bring more variety.
Star's newest homes have flat, predictable substrates by older-home standards, but still need flattening for large-format tile and porcelain panels. Walls in particular are drywalled to a tolerance intended for paint, not for a 24x48 tile that will telegraph every hump.
The most common Star project is upgrading what a builder allowance covered: swapping the standard shower surround for tile, taking a backsplash to full height behind the range, and replacing the small-format entry tile with large-format porcelain.
Properties near the Boise River corridor can have higher ground moisture and, in some cases, homes with older slab or crawlspace construction. That makes slab moisture testing and crawlspace inspection worth doing before installation rather than after a floor shows a problem.
Star's newer floor plans favor a single continuous floor across the main level. Long runs need whole-house layout lines and correctly spaced movement joints so the tile can expand without tenting at a doorway.
Continuous main-level floors and full-height feature walls in new construction.
Replacing builder shower units with tile in homes only a few years old.
Upgrading the standard builder counter splash to a full tile field or range wall.
Tell us the room and what you have in mind. We follow up to arrange a site visit — the substrate decides the scope, so we look before we price.