Flipping Houses? Remodel with Tile From Tile Outlets of America ;)

Anyone who's considering flipping houses would be out of their minds not to remodel with tile.

Extreme statement? No. All you have to do is watch what professional house flippers John Gettle and Lana Tufo have done - and used - for their Flip Wars: Buying Blind properties.

Brief Background on Flip Wars: Buying Blind

We first introduced you to the program and to John and Lana in Partnering With Flip Wars: Buying Blind where we shared highlights with you about the first home Tile Outlets of America partnered with them on.

This article is about the second home with is located in Siesta Key, Florida, and the last episode of Season One of Flip Wars: Buying Blind which aired on 5/30/18.

Season 1 Episode 8: Beachfront Brawl and How a Remodel With Tile Makes a Strong Design Statement

Here's the premise for episode eight of Flip Wars: Buying Blind:

"A property goes up for auction in Siesta Key, home of America's top-rated beaches, and it sends the flippers into a feeding frenzy. Sarasota flippers John and Lana invest well over half a million in the property. With costs skyrocketing and delays mounting, they have never had more to gain or more at stake."

Ready to learn more?

Basics About this Flip House

This house, based in an upscale, quiet Siesta Key, Florida is a 1600 square foot ranch style residential home with three bedrooms and two baths.

It sits on a canal and is less than one mile from the beach. It is central to shopping, dining, and entertainment.

You might ask why John and Lana chose this house as a flip. Here are their reasons:

• This house is in an upscale neighborhood, minutes from the beach.
• They purchased the house below market value.
• The savings on the purchase price allowed more room in the budget to do a complete renovation.

How John and Lana Improved the Space

John and Lana made two significant improvements.

First, they added 400 square feet off the back of the house during the remodel. The house is now 2000 sq. ft.

In the image below, you can see the new section added to the back of the house.

Next, they removed walls.

The original floor plan was closed and cut up into distinct rooms. John and Lana removed the kitchen walls and now the house offers an “open concept” which incorporates the kitchen, dining, and living-room areas without walls separating the space as you can see in the image below.

Light flows throughout the space, too.

Here's another perspective on that open common area.

Unexpected Remodeling Situations

No home remodel can take place without some sort of unexpected situations. This Siesta Key flip house remodel is no exception.

First, it took 45 days to get approved for permitting to begin remodeling the house.

Next, the state of Florida - and particularly the Sarasota area - was affected by Hurricane Irma and Harvey. This slowed down concrete pours and pushed back the timeline of the remodel.

That said, the final result speaks for itself.

So, let's talk tile. As you can from the images, there's tile on the floor, on the kitchen walls and also in the bathrooms.

How a Remodel with Tile from Tile Outlets Made a Major Design Statement

So let's learn more about the tile products and design influences that this remodel bring to life.

We asked John and Lana why they chose the specific tile products you see in this home. Ultimately, they wanted to create an upscale coastal look to the home. The light, bright colors used in the tile selections make the house look and feel bigger.

Specific Tile Products to Remodel With

Floor Tile

Throughout the entire house, you'll notice wood plank tile on the floors. This is Bosco Bosque Taupe 9x33 porcelain tile. It even extends into the bathrooms, adding to the open, airy feel of the space.

The Kitchen Backsplash

Aqua 3x6 glass was used on the kitchen backsplash to accentuate the beautiful cabinets and countertops.

Guest Bathroom Tile Selections

The guest bathroom combined those tropical blue tones with a brilliant white subway tile.

White Ice Bright 3x6 beveled tile (and White Ice Bright Bullnose 3x6) was used on the guest bath walls and works beautifully with the feature wall finished in Heirloom 21221 Imperial Majesty Brick 12x12 mosaic.

On the floor, you see Marmol White Jade Mosaic.

Here's another view of the bathroom. The white and turquoise/sea foam color touches are a knockout!

The Master Bath Tile Selections

The master bath in this flip house took the subway tile idea to another level with Statuary Carrara 4x12 white polished marble and Carrara White Marble Polished Pencils for the walls.

This was combined with a feature wall made of Tour White 2” hexagon glass stone mosaic as an accent strip.

On the shower floor, you find Marmol Bianco Carrara mosaic in the master bathroom. Due to its unique interlock design, it provides safe functional a non-slip surface while also coordinating with the marble on the shower walls.

Here's what the master bathroom looks like.

And here's a closeup of those beautiful shower details.

John and Lana also added ledger stone on the outside.

Successful Tile Installation Reminders

As important as the right tile is for creating floors and walls that not only look beautiful but also function as they should is ensuring that the right tile installation materials are used. That starts with using the correct grout.

Merkrete grouts were used throughout the house including floor and wall installations. In particular, Merkrete 720 Marble Pro White.

Merkrete regularly holds product knowledge sessions at Tile Outlets of America to demonstrate best practices for installing tile.

>> What You Need to Know About Thinset or Mortar

>> Merkrete Duracolor Grout and Integra Thinset Adhesive and Grout

>> How To Set Large Format Wall and Floor Tile: Merkrete Demonstration

Go Watch Flip Wars: Buying Blind! and Then, Remodel With Tile!

We are so excited about this #flipwarsbuyingblind series! Yes, we're partial to John and Lana, but we love seeing homes get the love they deserve, and how, when you remodel with tile, the end result is spectacular!

Come visit Tile Outlets of America and let us know what you think of the series.

Just don't bother us at 10 pm ET/PT on Wednesdays: we'll be watching Flip Wars: Buying Blind on A&E.