Rectified porcelain
$$Machine-cut edges allow 1/16 inch joints and a near-seamless stacked wall. The workhorse of almost every project we build.
Tile · Stone · Fixtures · Glass
What everything is, and how it behaves
Almost anything looks good on day one. These notes are about year four, which is the part showrooms rarely mention.
01
Tile
Ninety percent of what you touch and look at in a bathroom is tile. We stock full-size samples of everything below so you can live with them in your own light for a week.
Handmade ceramic
$$$Slight variation in glaze and edge. Catches light beautifully and needs a wider joint and a patient setter.
Zellige
$$$$Moroccan hand-glazed clay. Every tile is different, which is the point. Best on one feature wall rather than a whole room.
Porcelain mosaic
$2x2 or smaller on mesh sheets. More grout lines means more grip, which is why we use it on shower floors.
Order 12 to 15 percent over your measured area for straight layouts, and closer to 20 percent for herringbone.
02
Stone & surfaces
Counters, thresholds and the occasional slab wall. The honest conversation here is about maintenance, not looks, because almost everything looks good on day one.
Engineered quartz
$$Non-porous, consistent and forgiving. It will not etch from toothpaste or perfume and needs no sealing, ever.
Honed marble
$$$$Unmatched depth and a surface that will etch and patina. Choose it because you like how it ages, not in spite of it.
Soapstone
$$$Soft, dark, entirely non-porous and oiled twice a year. Takes scratches and takes them well.
Limestone
$$$Warm and matte, wonderful for trough basins and thresholds. Needs sealing and a gentle cleaner.
If anyone in the household uses the bathroom counter for hair products or perfume, we will steer you to quartz.
03
Fixtures & fittings
We specify from three manufacturers we can get parts for in Western North Carolina, because a beautiful tap with a twelve-week cartridge lead time is not a good tap.
Thermostatic valves
$$$Set your temperature once and it holds it regardless of what else in the house is running. Our default for accessible work.
Pressure-balanced valves
$$Protects against scald when a toilet flushes. The right choice for most hall baths and conversions.
Rainfall heads
$$$Ceiling-mounted, 8 to 10 inch. Lovely to stand under, poor at rinsing hair, which is why we pair them with a handheld.
Handheld on a slide bar
$The most used fitting in any shower we build. Also the one that makes cleaning the enclosure bearable.
Finishes: brushed nickel and matte black hide water spots. Polished chrome and brass show every one of them.
04
Glass & enclosures
Glass is measured after tile, fabricated locally in Arden, and installed on the last day of the project. It is the single most common reason a schedule slips, so we order early.
Fixed panel
$$One piece of 3/8 inch glass, no hinges, no track, nothing to scrub. Our recommendation for most walk-in showers.
Hinged door
$$$Needed when the opening is narrow or the head is high-flow. Requires a header on wide openings.
Low-iron glass
+15%Removes the green cast at the edge of standard glass. Worth it against white or pale tile.
Clear-shield coating
$Factory-applied hydrophobic treatment. Halves how often you have to squeegee. Reapply around year five.
Framed enclosures cost less and collect everything. We only fit them when a budget genuinely will not stretch.
03
Studio swatches
Four ways to lay the same tile
Pattern changes a small bathroom more than colour does. Here is what each layout costs in labour and what it does to the room.
Stacked
Tiles aligned in a strict grid, vertical joints running floor to ceiling. The quietest pattern we install and the one that makes a small room feel taller.
- Needs very flat walls, because every joint lines up and any bow is obvious
- Vertical stacking adds perceived height; horizontal stacking adds width
- Works best with rectified tile and a tight 1/16 inch joint
Running bond
The classic half-offset. Forgiving of slightly irregular tile, cheap in labour, and the pattern most people picture when they say subway tile.
- A one-third offset looks more contemporary than a half offset
- Hides minor wall irregularity better than a stacked layout
- Cuts land in alternating positions, so waste is low
Herringbone
Rectangular tiles set at 45 or 90 degrees into a woven zigzag. It carries a room on its own, which means everything else should stay calm.
- Expect 12 to 15 percent waste because of the perimeter cuts
- A 45 degree layout needs a precise centre line or the whole wall drifts
- Small-format herringbone on a shower floor gives excellent grip
Basketweave
Pairs of tiles alternating direction around a square. Traditional in North Asheville houses from the 1920s, and still the right answer in many of them.
- Usually arrives on mesh sheets, which speeds setting but needs joint alignment between sheets
- Marble versions need sealing; porcelain versions do not
- Reads busy in large rooms, superb in small ones
Next step
Take the samples home first
Selection sessions run at the Riverside Mill studio in daylight, and full-size samples go home with you for a week before anything is ordered.
Free measured survey · Fixed written proposal · Bathrooms only