About

As a licensed contractor and tile installer, I have put down acres of stone floor tiles and built dozens of custom showers. Many times when I completed a project, the homowner would ask "how do I take care of my new floor?" It sounds odd coming from a tile guy, but I honestly didn't have a good answer 10 years ago. The question came up so often that I decided to look into it. I did my research and there was nobody in St. George with any training or expertise in the field. That got my attention and I decided to become "the stone floor expert" here in Southern Utah..... much easier said than done it turns out. I wanted to focus on the care & maintenance of the most popular stone types used here, travertine, limestone & marble. These are all relatively soft stones and easily damaged by improper care or accidental spills. Having been involved in the Utah & Nevada chapter of the National Kitchen & Bath Association for 8 years (Membership VP for 4 years and then Chapter Representative for 2 years) I was familiar with the "who's who" in the field and knew who to contact.

Polishing stone floors is much, much more than just buying all the equipment. In fact, without proper training & practice, it is more likely that you will cause serious damage, rather than help. The traditional method of "stone on stone polishing" is considered to be the best, and being "old school" myself, that is the technique I wanted to use in my business. With that in mind, I decided to take several week long classes from the experts that design & manufacturer the diamond pads used in the process. Learning about & working on 18 different stone floor types and 6 different counter top stones durring the class was just the beginning. When I returned home, I installed 50 square feet of travertine & marbles in my garage to work with further. Four years later, I felt that I had gained enough experience and was ready to take the next step. The Marble Institute of America is considered "education central" when it comes to stones & how to care for them. They use & recommend books from several authors, the most prolific being Dr. Fred Hueston of the Forensic Institute in Florida with over 30 books to his credit. Dr. Hueston only teaches one small class per year (10 students) and I was fortunate to participate in 2015. Fred is a wealth of information and opened my eyes to the many challenges faced when restoring stone flooring. I learned many things while attending Fred's class and he continues to be an ongoing resource for me if I run into a unique problem and need a second opinion.         

I feel that a big part of my expertice comes from installing stone flooring for as long as I did. It's critical to be able to recognise "good technique" from "bad technique" when restoring a floor. Floors installed correctly, can be brought back to their original glory and last for generations. On the other hand, if the floor was not done right in the first place....it might require removal rather than restoration. Throughout the years, I have worked with and purchased materials from all the major tile suppliers in town. I am proud of the relationship I have with them and grateful for their unanamous recomendation of Suva Tile for natural stone cleaning, maintenance and restoration work here in St. George.   

I could not do all this terrific work without my crew, they are simply the best. "Caring for your home as though it were mine" has been my motto since I started the business. If you have ever hired a service company in this town, it's a concept lost on most workers, especially in these times of explosive building growth. I hire veterans and I'm proud to say that Suva Tile was awarded Patriot Partner recognition by Gary Herbert, the Governor of Utah in 2016. 

Should you decide to hire Suva Tile, be aware that we are different. We will show up on time. We will leave your home as clean as we found it. We will answer your questions. We will treat you and your property with respect. That's not just talk, Suva Tile has won the Houzz.com Best of Houzz Service Award four years in a row for 2015, 2016, 2017 & 2018 with over 40 Five Star reviews. That's what I would expect of someone coming into my home to work...and I think you should too! That's just how we do business.