In a further effort to clarify 'quality' and at the same time continue patting myself on the back we'll look briefly at what constitutes good workmanship when installing ceramic tile.

We'll only be referring to those things that are visible to the naked eye. This leaves out a great deal - perhaps most - of the really important stuff. Preparation is everything, in tile work as in any other endeavor.

However, there are 'ways' to tell if that all important advance work has been done properly. There are ways to tell if the tile was applied in a professional and careful manner.

Here are some things to look for:

Glance at the opposing, or opposite walls. Look at the east wall, say, and note the size of the last tile that abuts the wall. The same tile against the west wall should be the same size, or portion of a tile. In other words, there should not be a full tile on the east side and then a skinny piece of tile on the west side.

Below we see the floor tiles where they meet the east and west walls. The last tile is the same size, on both sides of the room. This means that the tile setter measured the room into quarters ahead of time, and tiled from the center of each quarter out to the walls.

Now a look at the north and south walls. Again, where the floor tiles meet the wall looks the same on either side of the room. This is a good thing. It gives the finished floor an appearance of balance and symmetry.

Without belaboring the point too much, the tiled walls (not shown) should also end in even size tiles. The portion of tile left over should be the same at each end of each wall. This kind of balance shows thought and careful preparation.

When the preparation has been thorough and every aspect of the finished project has been thought through ahead of time, nice things happen. Below we see the tub plumbing, from the side in the first picture, and more telling - from above. Where the drain and supply come up through the tile is symmetrical. The drain splits two tiles evenly. The supply lines go through their respective tiles in the same place on both sides. This gives a pleasing appearance to the eye. It is also indicative of a well thought and executed tile setting.

Likewise, we see that the sink pedestal sits exactly symmetrically between tiles on the floor, giving a balanced look.

Also the commode sits nearly the same distance between the tiles. In this instance, absolute symmetry was lost due to switching out the toilet after the fact. The new commode had a slightly different 'footprint' from the one that was on hand when the tiles were laid out prior to gluing. This required that the toilet 'flange' be moved just that small distance.

If the finished room feels and looks symmetrical and balanced, it was a decent job of tile setting.

Boy, am I good!