Jacob Wiseman is a man on a mission. The owner of Madison Pro Services LLC, Wiseman is Certified Tile Installer (CTI) #1774 and Advanced Certified Tile Installer (ACT) #43, making him the first CTI in his area and the only ACT in his state of Alabama. He earned his CTI in 2022, evaluated by Bradford Denny and John Roberts. He credits the CTI as, “…the one thing that started my company on a trajectory to success,” he said. He aspired to be a CTI to prove to himself that he was well educated and skilled in his trade.
But that’s only the beginning. Just before press time, Wiseman took and passed his tests for unlimited licensed builder, qualifying him as a home builder and general contractor – and setting him above his peers, who are unlicensed. “I want to be completely in alignment with the law, and to operate at the level I do; this is what is required,” he said.
Wiseman’s dad initially inspired him to enter the tile trade, and Wiseman took it from there. Today, Wiseman’s company specializes in residential bathroom remodels and shower replacement, including curbless and custom bathrooms. He prides himself on his “dustless bathroom remodeling” and employs a comprehensive process to achieve this. His approach involves setting up a negative air pressure environment with HEPA air scrubbers that are ducted outside the home, and three levels of filtration. He also situates an air scrubber outside the bathroom door, which is installed with a zip wall in place of the door. Plus he covers walkways to and from the project area and uses sticky pads like those in cleans rooms and hospitals outside the project area to capture dust from boots.
Enter NTCA
Wiseman joined NTCA about two and a half years ago because he wanted to gain knowledge and experience from people around him. However, one of the most important things he’s gotten out of the membership is the “blueprint” of its apprenticeship program.
“The NTCA outline of this program was a great starting point to craft my own program and standards,” Wiseman said. The NTCA Apprenticeship Program is the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Apprenticeship System. It uses an employer-driven, “learn-while-you-earn” model that combines hands-on job-related training with NTCA University on-line learning for both finisher and setter programs. These hybrid programs require a certain amount of time on-the-job learning, in-the-classroom learning – including NTCA University – and competencies that demand a certain skill level of tasks to do the job.
On his way to developing his own apprenticeship program, Wiseman caught a Floor Academy podcast hosted by Kyle Hedin that featured Erin Albrecht, Dirk Sullivan, and Jeff Occhipinti, all NTCA Five-Star Accredited Contractors. Erin Albrecht, Owner of J&R Tile in San Antonio, responded to a post Wiseman made on the podcast thread, sharing her apprenticeship standards and offering guidance and encouragement. He finished crafting the program in May 2023. He is looking forward to scaling his business and having an apprentice that eventually also becomes a CTI.
Along the way, Wiseman has embarked on numerous training and education journeys, including LATICRETE University, NTCA trainings, and a Schluter workshop. He also participated in the Artisans Revolution in Tile Training co-sponsored by NTCA last June to learn how to create hand-shaped mosaics and how to design and market his work.
He called the training a “dream come true” to learn new skills from excellent teachers Lee Callewaert and Joshua Nordstrom – and helpers. “I was also kinda star struck to learn from such notable people in the industry. There were quite a few Five-Star NTCA Contractors, as well as people who were in the very beginning of the Certified Tile Installer movement,” and people whose podcasts Wiseman has followed. Since then, he’s been working on a couple of art tile commissions, as time allows, and offers it as options for his customers. He’s also been using some of the perspectives he learned from the class and inspirations from the book The Creative Act: A Way of Being that Ron Nash of co-sponsor LATICRETE handed out to class attendees.
Goal: expansion
Wiseman’s goal is to expand. “It’s a dream to build custom homes, and I would love to be a household name, like some of the builders in my area,” he said, “I want to get bathroom remodeling down to a science, so we can focus on the art of it.”
Like any tile installer with their own business, time can sometimes be the enemy. Wiseman knows it is crucial to stay organized and have a plan to maintain success in his business. Time can also be the hero, as one of the most satisfying feelings about tile installation is getting called back by a repeat client to do another bathroom remodel for them. “That tells me I am doing it right, to get called back for more work,” he said.
To Wiseman, it’s more than just setting tile: “Being a tile setter is at the core of all I do, which is to provide a beautiful, lasting and functional piece of art that meets industry standards, while providing a remodeling experience that is unparalleled,” he said.
Amanda Mourelatos
Amanda Mourelatos, daughter of John Mourelatos, Owner of Mourelatos Tile Pro, is a senior at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., where she is majoring in journalism with a communications minor.
Lesley Goddin has been writing and journaling since her first diary at age 11. Her journey has taken her through a career in publishing and publicity, landing her the editor position of TileLetter and its special publications in 2006. Her goal is to educate, inspire, recognize and encourage those in the tile industry -- especially the tile and stone contractor.
