Broward County
Tile installation in Fort Lauderdale often means a single-story home on a slab, or a home on a canal with salty, humid air. Each one changes the prep: check the slab before you order tile, and pick outdoor tile for sun, salt and water.
Redoing the main floor? Plan the living room, kitchen and entry as one run of tile, so the grout lines stay straight from room to room and the cuts land against the walls, not in a doorway. Before you pick a tile size, read our large-format tile pros and cons guide.
Showers and bathroom floors follow a stricter wet-area process; for that, see our page on bathroom tile installation in Fort Lauderdale. When you compare tile contractor quotes, ask how each one will prepare the floor.
Single-story homes built on a concrete slab are common across Broward, and in those houses the slab is the base of your new floor. For tile installation in Broward, whatever is wrong with the slab shows up in the tile, so check it first.
Start with flatness. Lay a long straightedge across the floor in several directions and look for gaps. High spots get ground and low spots filled before tile goes down. Skip this and the floor sounds hollow in places, or shows tile edges higher than the next piece.
Then read the cracks. A hairline crack and a crack with one side higher than the other are different problems. The second kind means the slab has moved, and rigid tile over it can split along the same line. Ask how each crack will be handled.
Old tile and adhesive come off first, because new mortar needs a clean, sound surface to grip. Leave movement joints at the room's edges and where the floor meets a wall or step; a slab shifts a little with heat and load. New tile adds height, so doors may need trimming.
Fort Lauderdale is laced with canals and waterways, and many homes sit on the water. Outside, that often means salt spray, humid air and full sun on the same patio. Choose outdoor tile for those three, not for how it looks in a showroom.
Porcelain is the safer pick for most outdoor floors. It absorbs 0.5% water or less, so little salty water soaks in. Travertine and other natural stone can work by a pool, but they are more porous and need a sealer that has to be renewed. Do not want that upkeep? Choose porcelain.
Around a pool, pick a textured finish, not a polished one, because wet polished tile is slippery. Outdoor tile also needs a slope so rain runs off, and movement joints, because the sun heats a patio far more than an indoor floor.
Broward is inside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) of the Florida Building Code, a wind zone that matters for exterior work. Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. Do not leave a patio half torn up with a storm coming; plan the start date around the season.
Why Choose AP STONE INC.
AP Stone is a family business, and your tile is set by our own crew.
Our team brings more than 20 years of tile and stone work.
We work across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale included.
When your job needs a permit, we prepare the submittal and handle permitting as part of the job.
Ask your questions in English or Spanish, start to finish.
"We have a waterfront home in Las Olas and were nervous about tile on a slab that had some moisture history. AP Stone tested it, used a moisture-tolerant primer, and the install came out perfect. They knew exactly what to do for this type of property."
Thomas B.
Las Olas Isles — Full Floor Installation
"AP Stone tiled our entire first floor in a 24x48 porcelain. The team was professional, on time every day, and cleaned up completely each afternoon. The grout lines are impossibly straight. Highly recommend for Broward County homeowners."
Jennifer R.
Coral Ridge — Large-Format Porcelain Floor
"Got three bids for our master bath and kitchen. AP Stone wasn’t the cheapest but they were the most thorough in their site assessment. They spotted a subfloor issue the others missed. Glad we went with them — no surprises, great result."
Marcus & Sandra W.
Weston — Kitchen & Bath Tile
The price follows the job: floor area, tile size, how much grinding or filling the slab needs, and whether old tile comes out first. Outdoor work adds slope and movement joints. We quote after measuring, so the number fits your house.
The steps set the pace. Old tile comes out, then the slab is ground, patched or leveled, and tile waits for each product's cure time, set by its maker. A shower in the job gets a 24-hour flood test before tile. Grout goes in last; natural stone is sealed after.
The address decides. Inside Fort Lauderdale city limits, building permits go through the City of Fort Lauderdale. Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Weston are separate cities with their own building departments, and unincorporated areas go through the county.
Only if it is flat enough. Large-format tile, any piece with a side of 15 inches or more, needs a flatter base than small tile. Each piece is also back-buttered and set in a mortar made for large tile.
Yes. We are based in North Miami Beach and work across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, including Hollywood, Pembroke Pines and Weston. Call (754) 202-0447 for a free quote.
Get a detailed estimate for your Fort Lauderdale tile project today.