b'NTCA FIVE-STAR SPOTLIGHTTerra-Mar, Inc.Oklahoma contractor prides itself on doing the job rightBy Lesley Goddin, EditorBack in 1964, Mike DeGuistis father started Terra-Mar, Inc., in Oklahoma City, Okla., with an emphasis on ter-razzoandmarble(hencethename Terra-Mar).ThecompanyinstalledMike DeGuisti, Terra-Mar, Inc.tile, but got away from it for awhile in the early days. DeGuisti himselfapullsuptilesandcheckscoverage. thirdgenerationItaliancraftsmanWe play by the rules. got involved in the company in 1968,In the late 1980s, Bob Young, who and around 1980, the company start- purchased the other half of the com-ed turning back to tile.pany the DeGuistis bought in the 60s, Backthen,settingtilewassim- encouraged Terra-Mar to join NTCA. pler, and it was easy to find qualifiedI learned all the things I thought I tile help and people who wanted toknew, DeGuisti said, adding, I do work, DeGuisti said.not see how you can be a tile contrac-Time brought a lot of changes totor and not be an active member of thecompany,includingDeGuistiNTCA. He contends that theres so becomingasecondgenerationmuch that tile contractors dont know. owner. The company is very hands- When he does local workshops, he onandfamilyoriented,withhissays, I am not here to teach you to sons Adam and Noel, who are bothset tile, but I can teach you how to CertifiedTileInstallers(CTIs),run- makemoremoney. Youshouldget ning all of the tile jobs. paid for leveling, control joints, etc. Theyarehands-on,anddotheirAbout five years ago, DeGuisti took own estimating from start to finish,hisNTCAmembershiptothenext DeGuistisaid.Thetwoofthemlevel by becoming an NTCA Five-Star knoweverythingthatisgoingon.Contractor.BecauseTerra-Marwas Asthesuperintendent,Adamgoesalreadyahigh-calibercompany,it byeveryjobalmosteveryday;hewas a perfect fit. We didnt do any-60TileLetter | March 2020'