Washroom and Tile Renovation: A Procurement Checklist for Georgia-Pacific, Schluter Trim, and Liquid Glass

Call me old-fashioned, but I still keep a check register. It is the first place I go when a budget overrun shows up. Last fall, it caught a $450 freight mistake that the accounting software had already approved.

I manage purchasing for a 40-person commercial construction company. We do bathroom remodels, small tenant build-outs, and occasional tile work for property managers. My annual buying budget is around $1.2 million, maybe a little more in a busy year. This checklist is for the jobs where you need both washroom fixtures and tile materials. If you are only buying a pallet of drywall, this is more than you need. If you are ordering a Georgia-Pacific paper towel dispenser, tile trim, and waterproofing on the same project, this sequence will keep the job out of trouble.

When to Use This Checklist

Use this on commercial washroom renovations and small-to-mid-size tile jobs. It works when you are the person placing the orders, expediting the delivery, and tracking the cost. It is not for a full new build with a formal submittal process. In that situation, the schedule and lead times are different, and the procurement software does the heavy lifting. This is for the messy middle.

Step 1: Check the Georgia-Pacific Paper Towel Dispenser Manual Before You Order

I made the classic model-number mistake in my first year. I ordered refills for a Georgia-Pacific paper towel dispenser based on a photo of the unit. The refills did not fit. That error cost about $300 in wasted stock and two trips to the jobsite.

Now I pull up the Georgia-Pacific paper towel dispenser manual for the exact model before ordering anything. The manual tells you three things: the refill roll diameter, the core size, and whether the unit is powered and needs a specific battery pack. Two dispensers can look the same from the front but take different refills.

The question isn't 'Do I have the model number?' It's 'Where is the model number?' On most GP units, it is on a sticker inside the lid. Get that sticker open before you search for the manual.

Step 2: Pick the Right Georgia Pacific Anchor for the Wall

Here is a step that gets skipped. The quote says 'dispenser only.' The crew opens the box, finds plastic anchors for drywall, and the wall is already tiled. A drywall anchor in a tile wall is useless.

The bracket has a defined mounting hole layout, and the manual lists the recommended anchor. If you lost the original kit, look up the Georgia Pacific anchor replacements for the dispenser model and the wall condition. For tile or masonry, use a masonry anchor. For hollow block or metal stud, use something suitable for that cavity. If you are not sure, pick the heavier-rated anchor, because a dispenser filled with towels gets pulled and bumped every day.

The numbers said a generic drywall anchor would work because 'it's just a towel dispenser.' My gut said no. I approved it anyway. The dispenser wiggled after two weeks, and we had to move the anchor and patch a tile. The callback cost more than the anchor kit.

Step 3: Keep a Check Register for Every Purchase Order

A check register sounds like something from an old office, but it is still the best way to catch what invoices hide. I keep columns for date, PO or check number, vendor, item, and amount. Every order goes in the register at the moment I place it.

In 2023, I audited spending and found that about 12% of our overruns were shipping and restocking fees. The check register made that obvious because the fee landed in the current month while the original PO sat in the previous month. Without the register, those charges would have disappeared into the monthly budget report.

Example: Two vendors quoted the same Georgia-Pacific dispenser. One price was $152, the other $139. I almost bought the cheaper one until I checked my register and saw a pattern: that vendor kept adding handling charges. The $152 quote included freight. Unit price is not total cost. Total cost of ownership is what matters, and a check register is the tool that helps you see it.

Use any template you like. The habit matters more than the format. No, wait—the format matters a little. Keep the columns simple and update them daily.

Step 4: Order Schluter Trim After You Know Tile Thickness

Schluter trim is an aluminum or PVC edge profile for tile. It is a good choice for a clean transition and a durable edge. But it must be ordered after the tile build-up is known.

Tile build-up is the finished height of tile plus thinset. A 3/8-inch tile with a 1/4-inch notch trowel sits higher than a 1/4-inch tile with a 3/16-inch trowel. The vertical leg of the Schluter profile has to match that build-up. If the leg is too short, the tile steps over it. If it is too tall, the tile sits below the edge, and the setter has to float the substrate.

I learned this on a job where I bought a standard Schluter trim before the tile was selected. The leg was too tall by about 1/8 inch. The tile setter had to build up the substrate with thinset, and that added a day of labor. The overrun was roughly $600.

The rule: select the tile, confirm the substrate thickness, and know your trowel size. Then order the trim. Schluter's product drawings list the exact dimensions, and the manufacturer's website is the source I trust.

Step 5: Know How to Turn Off Liquid Glass at Tile Transitions

Liquid glass is one of those generic names for a liquid-applied waterproofing membrane. It works well in showers and other wet areas. But you cannot let it run through every joint, especially where a profile or movement joint is coming.

Here is the method I use to turn off liquid glass at a tile transition:

1. Install the substrate—cement board, DensShield, or whatever the wall spec says.
2. Mark the line where the tile edge, Schluter trim, or movement joint will land.
3. Mask off the area past that line with painter's tape.
4. Apply the liquid glass product up to the tape. Do not let it bridge the joint.
5. Remove the tape while the membrane is still wet. If it starts to skin over, cut it with a utility knife.
6. Let the membrane cure, then set the Schluter trim and tile.

Why does this matter? If liquid glass crosses the line and the Schluter trim is pressed into it, the bond between the trim and the substrate is weaker. The movement joint becomes a crack point, and the tile job fails.

After we ordered these materials on one project, I kept second-guessing the decision. What if the waterproofing layer was too thick? I did not relax until the tile setter confirmed the first panel fired the way it should. The tape method solved the problem.

What I Do Not Put On This Checklist

I do not promise next-day delivery for every product. I do not buy the cheapest anchor or the widest Schluter trim without checking the fit. And I would not use this checklist for a large project with a full-time expediter. It is for the job where you are the buyer, the expediter, and the one holding the check register.

This list is also not a religion. If there is no tile, ignore Step 4. If the washroom already has dispensers, ignore Step 1. The honest answer is that a checklist should fit the project, not the other way around.

Bottom Line

The most useful habit is the check register. It turns every other decision into evidence: the GP model number, the Georgia Pacific anchor, the Schluter trim profile, the liquid glass stop line—they all become entries in one place.

Pricing as of January 2025. Prices I have mentioned are from vendor quotes and invoices I saw in January 2025. They will change. Verify current pricing and requirements against your own suppliers and the product documentation at georgiapacific.com and schluter.com.