Tile

What this trade is

Tile covers the surface-finish phase of bathrooms, kitchens, entryways, and pool decks. A competent tile sub handles substrate prep (cement board, waterproof membrane, Schluter systems), layout planning, setting, and grouting — across ceramic, porcelain, natural stone, and large-format slab. The work is invisible when done well and very expensive to redo when done poorly.

Why a GC needs a verified tile sub

GCs rarely employ tile setters directly — the skill is too specialized and the volume is seasonal. A GC who cannot name three tile subs they have worked with across the last year will either (a) delay your bathroom 2-4 weeks waiting for availability or (b) bring in an unknown setter on the day and hope. AskBaily surfaces the GC's actual declared tile network so you can see whether the names are consistent across projects.

Regulatory landscape

License structure varies by jurisdiction. AskBaily verifies against the licensing authority that applies to the project location — not the GC's headquarters. A few representative jurisdictions:

• California — CSLB
  C-54 (Ceramic and Mosaic Tile)

  California requires a C-54 specialty license for tile work above $500 in labor and materials. CSLB publishes bond + workers-comp status per license.

  CSLB→
• New York City — DCWP Home Improvement Contractor
  HIC (general scope covers tile)

  NYC bundles tile under the Home Improvement Contractor license — no separate tile classification — but the building superintendent's letter of no-objection is still required for wet-area alterations in co-ops.

  DCWP Home Improvement Contractor→
• Florida — CILB
  Specialty contractor (local registration)

  Florida does not issue a statewide tile classification — setters register locally and pull permits under the GC's license. AskBaily verifies the parent GC's CILB number.

  CILB→

Quality signals AskBaily tracks

Each declared sub accumulates these signals across projects. They appear on the sub's digital twin and on the GC's public sub-trade view.

• Completion count per trade

  How many tile-primary jobs the sub has closed through AskBaily in the last 18 months. Below 5 is a signal to ask for off-platform references.

• Substrate-failure rate

  Percentage of warranty callbacks traced to substrate or waterproofing. AskBaily ties this to the sub's digital-twin record via project outcomes.

• Large-format slab capability

  Tile setters who can handle 48x48 or larger porcelain slabs are a different skill tier from standard 12x24 work. Flagged on the twin.

Cross-trades

Tilesits at the edge of several other trades. Coordinated scheduling between these is the GC's core responsibility; the sub-trade graph makes the coordination visible across projects.