Spotlight: Evolve Tiling , LLC
With a need for the next generation of trained young professionals in the trade workforce, it is great to see hard-working young talent partnering to bring their families’ long-standing trade experience to Connecticut homeowners and businesses.
Matthew Chrobak and Jakub Msciszewski launched Evolve Tiling LLC in 2021 after working together on jobs since they were 18. Contractors Direct sat with Chrobak to find out more about Evolve Tiling.
What are your families’ histories in the trades?
My parents won visas to the U.S. from Poland in 1995, and I was born only two months after they arrived here. They struggled to make ends meet in the beginning but took the opportunity to give our family a better life here. In Poland, they came from a large family with many being in a variety of different construction trades.
Jakub came to the U.S. when he was 18 from Poland, where his father has a wood finishing business.
As you continue in your second year of business, what do you hope to accomplish?
Our focus now is on tiling, mainly with bathrooms and kitchens as well as areas like sunrooms, balconies and other outdoor spaces. We are focusing on one profession and then expanding out when we have reached a good point for it. Our goal is to add kitchen cabinets and finished woodwork as well in the next year or so.
We are very busy, but we want to get our tiling certification done when we can. It gives customers a different level of trust knowing we have reached a certified higher standard.
We are young, skilled and ambitious in a trade that is dying. So much of what we learned was from those who are close to retirement. We want to provide the best quality service for many years to come so we continue with our outreach about the quality of our work. Our plans include bringing in more employees and expanding to New York, Massachusetts and beyond in New England.
What areas do you service?
We are based in Central Connecticut and service mainly the I95 corridor and Litchfield County in Connecticut. One of the benefits of doing tilework is working year-round; the jobs are consistent through all the seasons with no rain delays.
We like to support local companies. We recently worked in a gated community in New Haven to install tiling on 48 balconies. We used Laticrete, which is a Connecticut-based company. We love working with local distributors, such as Contractors Direct for any tools and supplies we need, and Bestflor. The benefit for us is that we can go straight to them for supplies.
What were some of your favorite projects and why?
A recent project is one of my favorites. The original bathroom was a full 60s look with hot pink tiles. We tore the whole thing down and added tiles from floor to ceiling with a tub and a curbless shower. We could see such a huge transformation with the before and after process. With new construction or renovations, the space is already cleared out, so we are usually only seeing the empty space to install.
We are also big fans of simple white marble projects as it is a nice, timeless look and finish.
What are some of your pet peeves when looking at past work that needs to be redone?
Poor-quality, fast work bothers us; we usually see such work in commercial spaces, but we are seeing it more in residential spaces. Coming into mold is problematic for us because of the cleanup needed before installation. Also, when the layout is not visually perfect, it is obvious. Not seeing grout lines is another pet peeve.
One difference between tiling and other trades is the huge variations in prices for tiles. You get in what you pay for, whether it is the tile choice, quality of work, waterproofing and/or setting materials as well as whether the contractor follows NTCA code when installing.
How are you involved in the community?
We love to give back to our community. As we grow, we are giving more, including doing fun and educational projects in local parks and buildings teaching young kids this dying trade that we have such a strong passion for. We want to teach them to love the trade just like we do!
This is a trade with a lot of attention to detail. This is more of an art for us…with a lot of math.
Reach out to Evolve Tiling at 860-518-6113, Evolvetile@gmail.com, or on Facebook at Evolve Tiling LLC or Instagram at evolve_tiling_ct.