Shekinah Renovations LLC · Service
Tile Installation Services in Oklahoma City
Shekinah Renovations LLC installs tile throughout the Oklahoma City metro: floors, shower walls and pans, tub surrounds, kitchen and bar backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, mudroom and laundry floors and accent walls. Tile is permanent when it is done right and expensive to redo when it is not, and almost all of that comes down to what is under it. Owner Jimmy Garces Jr. sets the tile personally. Free estimates. Call or text (405) 532-3348.
Where Tile Goes in a House
Wet areas are the obvious ones: showers, tub surrounds, bathroom floors, laundry rooms and mudrooms, where tile is the only surface that genuinely does not care about water. Kitchens use tile on floors and on the [backsplash](/services/tile-backsplash-installation). Entries take tile well because it handles grit and wet shoes. Beyond that, a fireplace surround, a hearth, an accent wall behind a range or a bar, and a bench or niche inside a shower are all places where a small quantity of a nicer tile makes a big visual difference for a modest cost. Wood-look plank porcelain lets you put a wood appearance in rooms where real wood does not belong.
Substrate Preparation
Tile fails for three reasons: a substrate that moves, a substrate that is not flat, and inadequate mortar coverage behind the tile. Over wood framing we check for deflection, re-fasten and repair the subfloor, and add an uncoupling membrane where movement is a concern. Over concrete we address existing cracks with a crack isolation membrane rather than tiling straight across them, which matters in the metro where clay soil movement leaves hairline cracks in slabs. Flatness gets corrected with grinding and patching compound. In wet areas a waterproofing membrane goes over the backer board, with corners, curbs and drain flanges detailed as their own step.
Layout and Setting
Every job starts with a dry layout so the cuts land where they are least visible and full tiles land at the focal point. Large-format tile gets back buttered and set with a properly sized notch so coverage is complete rather than five dabs of thinset, and lippage gets managed with a leveling system where the format calls for it. Plank tile gets a modest offset instead of a half-lap because long tiles have a slight bow. Movement joints are left at the perimeter and, on large fields, within the installation, because tile expands and contracts and a floor with nowhere to go will tent.
Grout, Sealing and Hard Water
Grout width follows the tile format and edge. Given how hard the water is across much of the metro, a high performance or epoxy grout in showers and kitchens resists the mineral film and staining that makes light grout look dingy within a year, and cementitious grout gets sealed after cure. Changes of plane, meaning inside corners, wall to floor joints and around curbs, get flexible sealant instead of grout so seasonal movement does not crack the joint. Natural stone gets sealed and needs pH neutral cleaners, since acidic cleaners will etch marble and travertine permanently.
Free Tile Estimates in the Metro
Tile pricing tracks square footage, tile size and format, pattern complexity, how much substrate prep is needed and whether an old surface has to come out. Chipping old tile and thinset off a slab is real labor and gets priced as its own line. Send photos and dimensions and we can give you a range, then come out for a free written estimate. Related pages: [bathroom remodeling](/services/bathroom-remodeling), [kitchen remodeling](/services/kitchen-remodeling) and [flooring installation](/services/flooring-installation). Serving [Oklahoma City](/locations/oklahoma-city), [Edmond](/locations/edmond), [Moore](/locations/moore), [Norman](/locations/norman) and [Del City](/locations/del-city). Call or text (405) 532-3348.
A shower fails behind the tile, not on it
Tile is the finish. Whether a bathroom is still sound in ten years is decided by the layers nobody ever sees, and by whether anyone bothered to lay the job out before cutting.
Backer board set in mortar and screwed down
Cement board over a subfloor needs a bed of mortar under it and to be fastened properly. Screwed down over an air gap, it flexes, and flex is what cracks grout and tile later.
Waterproofing behind the surface
Seams, corners, and changes of plane are where water gets in. Those get waterproofed before tile goes on. A shower that was never waterproofed can look perfect and still be rotting the wall behind it.
The layout gets planned before the first cut
Niches lined up to the tile joints, full tiles where the eye lands, and cuts pushed to the edges. A niche that was cut in as an afterthought is obvious forever, and it is the detail people complain about most.
Slope, drain, and grout done to spec
Pans get sloped to the drain so water actually leaves. Grout and sealant get the right product for a wet area, and the joints get the cure time they need before the shower goes back into use.
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Letting someone you found online into your house
It is a fair thing to be careful about, and we would rather answer it straight than talk around it. Shekinah Renovations is a newer company name. Jimmy is not new to the trade. He started at fourteen, learned it from his stepdad, and has been doing this work ever since.
- Every photo and video on this site is Jimmy's own work around the OKC metro. None of it is stock.
- We will put you in touch with people we have done work for. Ask on the walkthrough.
- Oklahoma does not issue a general contractor or remodeler license, so for most of what we do there is no state license to hold. Where a trade is licensed, we say so and bring in the right partner.
- The estimate is free and written down. You know the number, and the scope, before anything starts.
- The person who quotes your job is the person who shows up to do it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually inadequate mortar coverage behind the tile. Large-format tile set on a few dabs of thinset instead of being back buttered for full coverage is the most common cause, along with substrate movement.
Yes. Perimeter joints at walls and cabinets, hidden under base, plus interior movement joints on large fields and at changes in substrate. Tile expands and contracts, and a floor with nowhere to go will tent.
A high performance or epoxy grout in showers and kitchens resists the mineral film and staining that makes light cementitious grout look dingy within a year. Cementitious grout should be sealed after cure.
Yes. A fireplace surround, a hearth, an accent wall behind a range or a bar are all places where a small quantity of a nicer tile delivers a large visual change for a modest cost.
Fair question, and it is the one we would ask too. Shekinah Renovations is a newer company, but Jimmy is not new to the trade. He started at fourteen, learned it from his stepdad, and has been doing this work ever since. Every photo and video on this site is his own work around the metro, not stock, and we are glad to put you in touch with people we have worked for. He is also the one who shows up for the estimate and the one on site while the work happens.
Oklahoma does not issue a general contractor or remodeler license, so for most of what we do there is no state license to hold. For the trades the Construction Industries Board does license, Jimmy has applications in progress and we will tell you that plainly rather than imply otherwise. Where a job requires a licensed plumber, electrician, or registered roofer, we bring in the right trade partner for that portion. Ask about your specific job and you will get a straight answer.
Usually the same day. Call or text (405) 532-3348 and it reaches Jimmy directly. If he is on a job site with his hands full he will get back to you as soon as he is off it. Most people call two or three contractors and hire whoever actually answers, so we try to be that one.
Want This Priced for Your Place?
Call or text (405) 532-3348 or send us the details and we will come look at the job in person. The visit and the written estimate are free, and you are not committed to anything by asking.
Get a free estimatefree · no obligationCall or text Jimmy directly at (405) 532-3348