Tile installation services in Metro Detroit
If you're planning a tile project in Macomb, Sterling Heights, Shelby Township, or anywhere else in Metro Detroit, DGJ Tile & Marble installs it — bathrooms, kitchens, and fireplaces, floors and walls, tile and natural stone. That covers seven specific jobs: bathroom tile, showers, bathtub surrounds, and master bathrooms; kitchen tile and backsplashes; and fireplace surrounds. Marble, travertine, and other natural stone show up as materials within any of those seven, not as a separate line item, because that's how the work actually happens — you're not hiring someone to "do marble," you're hiring someone to tile your shower, and marble might be what you tile it with. Each service below has its own page covering what's actually involved, and every page on this site links back here so you can compare all seven before deciding what your project needs.
The seven services
Kitchen Tile
Kitchen tile takes daily traffic, dropped pans, and constant cleaning without cracking or coming loose at the edges. DGJ lays it flat and level, with clean transitions at cabinets, appliances, and thresholds — so the finished floor looks intentional, not patched.
Learn more →Kitchen Backsplash
A backsplash is the tile work you actually look at every day, which means cuts around outlets, cabinets, and countertops have to be tight and even. DGJ plans the layout before setting a single tile, so the seams land where they should.
Learn more →Bathroom Tile
A bathroom deals with water, humidity, and temperature swings every day, so the tile and the surface underneath it both have to be right. DGJ tiles bathroom floors and walls with attention to slope and the seams that tend to fail first in a rushed job.
Learn more →Shower
A shower is the highest-stakes tile job in the house — get the waterproofing wrong and you won't know until there's damage behind the wall. DGJ waterproofs before a single tile goes on, then sets tile with consistent grout lines and a slope that actually drains.
Learn more →Bathtub Surround
A tub surround takes the same water exposure as a shower in a smaller footprint, which leaves less room for error at the tub edge, the corners, and the transition to the rest of the bathroom. DGJ tiles it to hold a hard line against water for years.
Learn more →Master Bathroom
A master bathroom usually carries more tile than any other room — floors, a shower or tub, sometimes a separate vanity area — and all of it needs to read as one finished space, not a set of mismatched patches. DGJ plans master bathroom tile with that whole-room consistency in mind.
Learn more →Fireplace
A fireplace surround is the one tile job in the house that's purely about how the room looks — no water exposure, but sightlines and symmetry matter more than anywhere else. DGJ sets fireplace tile level and centered on the opening, so the finished surround reads as one clean plane.
Learn more →Materials we install
Any of the seven services above can be done in any of these materials — the material changes how the job is priced and installed, not which service it falls under.
Porcelain
Dense and low-porosity, so it shrugs off moisture and heavy foot traffic. It works almost anywhere in the house, from kitchen floors to shower walls, and it's usually the baseline every other material's cost gets compared against.
Ceramic
Softer and easier to cut than porcelain, which makes it a good fit for walls and backsplashes rather than heavy-traffic floors. It costs less to buy, and it's typically faster — and cheaper — to install because it's more forgiving to work with.
Marble
A natural stone that needs sealing and more careful layout, since veining has to be matched across pieces instead of just lined up. It takes longer to install than porcelain, which shows up in the labor cost, and edges chip more easily if it's handled carelessly.
Travertine
A textured, often-pitted natural stone that's usually filled and honed before it's set. It behaves a lot like marble on installation day — similar care, similar cost tier — and it tends to show up in more traditional or rustic-styled rooms.
Glass
The least forgiving material to install — it shows every uneven spot in the substrate and every trowel ridge behind it. Almost always used as mosaic or accent tile rather than a full floor, and it costs more per square foot because of the extra prep it demands.
Mosaic
Comes on mesh sheets, which makes it the right choice for niches, borders, and shower floors where standard-size tile can't follow the shape. Keeping alignment consistent across sheets is slow, careful work, so labor cost per square foot runs higher than field tile.
Large-format
24-by-24 and up. Fewer grout lines and a cleaner look, but it needs a flatter substrate than small tile tolerates — lippage shows immediately on a large-format floor. It takes more prep time, larger trowels, and a specific mortar, and that shows up in labor cost.
What proper installation actually involves
Tile is easy to set badly and have it look fine for a year. This is what actually keeps it flat, watertight, and crack-free after that.
Substrate prep
Tile is only as good as what's underneath it. Plywood subfloors get checked for deflection and screwed down tight before anything else happens — a floor that flexes cracks tile and grout no matter how well the tile itself is set. Old tile, vinyl, or uneven concrete gets addressed before layout even starts, not patched around.
Flatness tolerance
The tile industry's standard is 1/8 inch of variation over a 10-foot span for most tile, tighter for large-format. A floor or wall outside that range gets built back up with self-leveler or backer board before tile goes down. Skip that step and you get lippage — the ridge you feel underfoot or see catching light across a large-format floor.
Waterproofing
Anywhere water lives — showers, tub surrounds, some bathroom floors — gets waterproofed before tile, not relied on to keep water out through grout alone. Grout is not waterproof. The membrane behind or under the tile is what actually protects the subfloor and the framing behind your wall.
Movement joints
Tile and the structure underneath it expand and contract at different rates. Without a soft joint — flexible caulk instead of rigid grout — at transitions, perimeters, and every 20 to 25 feet on a large floor, that movement eventually cracks the grout or the tile itself. Easy to skip, hard to fix after the fact.
Mortar selection
Not every thinset works with every tile. Large-format tile needs a mortar with enough bond strength and open time to set it flat before it starts to grab. Glass tile needs a mortar rated not to show through it. Porcelain's low absorption calls for a different mortar than a more porous ceramic or natural stone. The wrong one is invisible on installation day and a problem a year later.
Serving all of Metro Detroit
View our full service area →Questions about choosing a tile installer
What should I ask a tile contractor before hiring them?
Ask to see recent work, ask exactly what's included in the price — demo, disposal, and materials can all be handled differently — and ask who's actually doing the physical work. {{PLACEHOLDER: licensing and insurance status}} Get the estimate in writing before anyone starts.
Do I need to buy the tile myself, or does the contractor supply it?
{{PLACEHOLDER: tile supply policy}} Either way, you should be the one choosing the tile — pattern, size, and material affect both the look and the cost of the job, so get that decided before installation is scheduled, not during it.
Should I choose porcelain, ceramic, or natural stone?
It depends on the room and how it's used. Porcelain and ceramic handle moisture and traffic well and cost less than natural stone; marble and travertine cost more, need sealing, and show wear differently over time. DGJ can walk you through the trade-offs for your specific space during your free estimate.
How do I know if a tile installer is doing the job correctly?
Look for consistent grout lines, tile that doesn't rock or sound hollow when tapped, and a floor or wall that's actually flat — not wavy under raking light. Proper waterproofing in wet areas and movement joints at transitions matter more than they show; ask your installer directly how they're handling both.
Can I stay in my home during a tile installation?
Yes, in most cases — tile work is contained to the room being worked on. Expect some noise, dust despite containment efforts, and limited access to that specific bathroom or kitchen while the job is underway. {{PLACEHOLDER: typical job duration}} gives you a sense of how long that disruption actually lasts.
What's the difference between a tile installer and a general contractor?
A general contractor manages a whole project — permits, multiple trades, scheduling — and often subcontracts the actual tile work out. DGJ Tile & Marble is a tile and marble specialist: the person who gives you the estimate is the person accountable for how the tile itself is installed, not a middleman between you and whoever's actually doing the work.
Ready to talk about your project?
Get a free, no-obligation estimate — no pressure, no games.
Request your free estimate
Tell DGJ about your project and get a real, in-person quote.