Ask three tilers for a quote and you may get three very different numbers, which makes budgeting for a bathroom feel harder than it should be. Most UK bathrooms cost somewhere between £900 and £3,000 to tile in full, but where you land in that range depends on the size of the room, the tiles you choose and the state of the walls underneath. Here is an honest breakdown of what drives the price, with figures relevant to South London and Surrey.
Tiling is almost always priced per square metre, and it helps to separate labour from materials. Across the UK, labour for wall and floor tiling typically runs from £40 to £70 per square metre. In and around London, including Wallington, Sutton and Croydon, expect the upper half of that range, often £50 to £80 per square metre, because local labour rates are simply higher.
Tiles themselves vary enormously. Basic ceramic wall tiles start around £15 to £25 per square metre, mid range porcelain sits at roughly £30 to £50, and natural stone such as marble or travertine can easily exceed £70 per square metre before you have paid anyone to fix it to the wall. On top of that, allow £8 to £15 per square metre for adhesive, grout, spacers, trims and sealant.
A typical UK family bathroom has around 12 to 20 square metres of tiled surface once you count the floor, the bath or shower enclosure and any half height walls. Using mid range porcelain, a full tiling job on a bathroom that size usually lands between £1,200 and £2,500 including labour and materials. A small cloakroom or an en suite with tiling only around the shower might come in at £500 to £900.
Fully tiling every wall floor to ceiling, which many homeowners now prefer for a cleaner look, pushes the surface area up considerably. On a standard bathroom that can add £600 to £1,200 compared with tiling only the wet areas. It is worth deciding early how much coverage you actually want, because it is the single biggest lever on the final bill.
The condition of what sits behind the tiles matters as much as the tiles themselves. Removing old tiles and making good the walls typically adds £150 to £400 depending on how much plaster comes away with them. Many bathrooms in older Victorian and 1930s houses around Wallington and Carshalton have uneven walls that need boarding or skimming before new tiles can go on, and tile backer board around a shower is money well spent for waterproofing.
Tile choice affects labour too, not just materials. Large format tiles, herringbone or other patterned layouts, and mosaics all take longer to set out and cut, so tilers charge more per square metre for them, sometimes 20 to 50 percent above their standard rate. Small tiles mean more grout lines and more time; very large tiles mean careful levelling and heavier handling.
The easiest saving is on the tiles rather than the tiler. A good fixer can make £25 per square metre porcelain look excellent, whereas poor workmanship will ruin expensive stone. Buying your own tiles from a trade supplier or during seasonal sales often saves 20 to 30 percent, though always order about 10 percent extra for cuts and breakages.
Get at least two or three itemised quotes and check each one covers preparation, waterproofing, trims and grout, not just fixing tiles to the wall. A quote that looks cheap because it excludes preparation usually stops looking cheap halfway through the job. Ask to see photos of recent bathrooms, and be wary of anyone who can start tomorrow with no deposit structure or written scope.
A typical bathroom takes two to four days to tile, including preparation and grouting. Full height tiling on every wall, or fiddly layouts like herringbone, can stretch that to a week.
Sometimes, because you save the cost of removal and making good, but only if the old tiles are sound, flat and firmly fixed. It also raises the surface level, which can cause problems at door thresholds and around fittings, so most tilers recommend stripping back.
No, but if it is your only bathroom expect one or two days without a usable shower while adhesive and grout cure. A good tradesperson will sequence the work so the toilet is out of action for as little time as possible.