How Much Does a Tiler Cost?
Last updated 2nd July, 2025
Looking into how much a tiler costs in the UK?
This guide has everything you need! Below, we break down how much a tiler charges per hour, typical tiler day rates, what common homeowner tiling jobs cost, and more!
Let's begin!
Table of Contents
Tiler Costs
If you need to have some tiling work done in your home, this article will help you get an idea of the average cost of hiring a tiler and set it against the cost of doing it as a DIY project.
Across the UK the average cost of hiring a tiler to fit wall or floor tiles is between £140-£200 per day. However, many jobs may not take a whole day, and the average tiler hourly rate is between £18-£35 with variations depending on location in the country.
As well as considering the cost of hiring a tiler, you should also be looking for someone with a good reputation, who is reliable. Getting recommendations from family, friends, and neighbours is an excellent way to find a trustworthy tiler.
If you know someone who has recently had work done, it's an opportunity to judge for yourself how suitable they would be for your own project. Obviously, the cost will be an essential factor, but the quality of the finished work is most important.
Tiler Hourly Rate
The average hourly rate for a tiler in the UK is about £18-£35, although there will be regional variations and cost differences depending on the type of tiling being done.
Working with porcelain tiles is more labour intensive and will potentially cost more per hour. Other types of tiles, such as mosaic are very time consuming and will incur a higher labour cost as a result.
Tiler cost per hour will typically be higher in London, and in some cases, it may be double. This is mainly due to the living costs and other overheads like insurance which are costlier in the capital than in other parts of the country.
A tiler will typically work a 7-8-hour day depending on the job that they are carrying out. They are not affected by bad weather like some other trades as it is mainly an indoor job.
As a tiler is normally working either in a kitchen or bathroom, and both are essential to the welfare of the occupants of the house, there may be a time pressure to complete the work. This should never compromise the quality of the work that the tiler does, but he may work longer hours than usual to finish.
Tiler Daily Rate
The tiler day rate will depend on the location within the UK and the type of tiling that the tiler is doing, but the average will be between £140-£200. The higher end of the range will typically apply to London and the southeast where these prices may double in some areas.
Some areas of the north of the UK will be cheaper, but large cities will still command a higher tiler cost per day.
Depending on the type of tile and the size of the room, the daily tiler rate may vary. Tiles which require more time such as mosaic tiles will command a higher price per day.
Porcelain tiles are extremely hard and as a result, take a lot of effort to trim and cut, and this too may increase the tiler cost per day.
Tiler Qualifications
Tiling is one of those jobs that people assume is an easy DIY project for a weekend, but there is a lot more to it than is appreciated. Many tilers work for years to gain a reputation and build up a successful business, and it all has to start somewhere.
As such, when hiring a tiler you may wish to look at experience and recommendations, rather than formal qualifications. However, there are a couple of acknowledgements worth looking out for:
- NVQ Level 1 and 2 qualifications for wall and floor tiling
- Level 2 specialisation in tiling for property maintenance
- Membership with The Tile Association (a trade association in the UK for tilers)
Some tilers may have a portfolio of their work too, especially for kitchens and bathrooms that are move complex than tiling a standard wall.
Tiler Insurance
As with any trade, a reputable tiler should have the following insurance:
- Public Liability Insurance - Covers injury or damage to property in the event of an accident due to the tilers work.
- Employer's Liability Insurance - Mandatory if a tiler employs someone other than a family member.
If a tradesmen isn't insured, they could face a fine of £2,500 per day, plus a £1,100 penalty for not presenting the certificate when requested by an inspector.
Tiler Cost Summary
Before we go into the finer details of each job, with links to further details about what to expect, here is a summary table of the estimated costs involved:
| Service | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| Internal Wall Tiling (Small Bathroom) | £200–£400 |
| Internal Wall Tiling (Splashback) | £60–£100 |
| Floor Tiling (20m² Room) | £200–£250 |
| Re-tiling a Shower | £150–£200 |
| Re-tiling a Bathroom | £250–£300 |
| Replacing Grout | £200–£250 |
Prices can vary depending on the extent of the work required, how experienced the tiler is and whereabout in the country you are located. As such, it's always worth getting more than one quote - especially for bigger jobs.
Tiler Jobs
Bathrooms and kitchens in the UK often have tiled walls, however, floor tiles are also growing in popularity.
Regardless of whether or not the tiles are for a wall, floor or shower cubicle, a professional tiler will be able to help in whichever room requires the work - they all come under the same profession.
Installing Internal Wall Tiles
The most common job that a tiler will undertake is to fit internal wall tiles in either a kitchen, bathroom, or utility room. The type of tiles to be installed and the size of room will affect both the cost and timeframe for the job.
To fit wall to ceiling tiles within a small bathroom will take approximately 1-2 days and cost on average £200-£400 in labour and for a smaller job such as tiling a splashback, the timeframe will be around 2-4 hours and cost £60-£100 in labour.
For smaller jobs in particular, it's common practice for the customer to provide the tiles and the grout, with the tiler then providing any adhesive when they carry out the work.
As for types of tiles:
- Ceramic Tiles - Very popular, durable and waterproof. They are also much easier to cut and so the process to fit them around sanitary ware, windows or doors isn't overly difficult.
- Porcelain Tiles - Much denser and therefore harder to cut, requiring a special diamond-tipped blade to cut and trim them. This will take longer than with ceramic tiles and involves precision work ensure the tiles can fit around obstacles such as sanitary ware.
Fitting Floor Tiles
Porcelain and stone floor tiles have become very popular as an alternative to carpet or lino in bathrooms and kitchens. The cost to install floor tiles will depend on the type of tile, the area to be covered and where in the country you live. Although as a guide, the average price in labour to tile a 20 square metre room will be £200-£250.
Another factor affecting labour cost will be the amount of time spent cutting the tiles to shape. This could be minimal in regular shaped rooms, however, a bathroom involves shaping around toilets and sinks.
Stone and porcelain floor tiles are tough and require a diamond-tipped wheel cutter to shape them. This process is labour intensive and will add to the tiler cost per day.
Re-tiling a Shower
To re-tile a shower will take time and patience, along with removing the old tiles carefully which will add to the labour cost. Once the old tiles are taken off, the wall surface will need to be levelled, and all traces of old adhesive and grout removed completely.
This helps to create a sound, clean base for the new tiles and ensure they stick to the wall properly and are attached evenly and level. The cost to re-tile a shower will be between £150-£200 in labour and will take one to two days.
Re-tiling a Bathroom
The task of re-tiling a bathroom will be quite labour intensive if the room is tiled floor to ceiling. Depending on the bathroom's size, removing the old tiles and preparing the wall surface may take a day ahead of re-tiling - which may also take another day or two.
The labour cost to tile or re-tile a bathroom will depend on the size of the room, type of tile, the tiler day rate and the location of your property. An average cost is around £250-£300 in labour.
The style and size of tile being fitted will affect the timeframe and amount of work involved. Larger tiles individually cover a larger surface area per tile, but they can still take just as long to fit.
Re-tiling a Kitchen
In many ways, re-tiling a kitchen is fairly similar to a bathroom. Both rooms usually have a splashback tiled behind the sink or basin, which on average is a job that costs around £60-£100, plus they may require a whole wall or floor to be completely re-tiled.
While a kitchen is often more straightforward, if there are kitchen islands or unusual shapes involved this can add a certain amount of complexity to the job which may affect the labour cost.
Replacing Grout
If the grout between tiles becomes brittle and starts to crack, it can allow water to seep behind the tiles and will eventually cause them to detach and fall off. To avoid this, if you see small holes or hairline cracks appearing in the grout, it's time to have it replaced.
The labour cost for replacing grout will be approximately £200-£250.
Water can find its way into the smallest hole and cause damage that will be unseen until it is too late. Therefore, replacing damaged or aged grout is a cost-saving exercise in the long term as it is much cheaper than re-tiling.
The task of removing old grout is actually a relatively labour-intensive and challenging job. There are various methods available for removing grout, however a professional tiler will use an oscillating power tool with a specific blade attached.
How to Find and Hire a Tiler Near You
Recommendations from family, friends, and neighbours are good ways to find a tiler that you can trust. It will likely be possible for you to see the results of their work and speak to previous clients about prices, timeframes and how the project progressed. It may be more reliable than typing 'tiler near me' into a search engine.
Qualifications
The minimal qualifications that a tiler should have are an NVQ Level 1 and 2 for wall and floor tiling. There are also many providers, such as City & Guilds, who run tiling courses. Most professional tilers will be happy to discuss their qualifications with you and provide evidence if required.
Accreditations
The largest tiler's trade association in the UK is The Tile Association, and membership ensures that codes of practice and workmanship standards have been adhered to.
The Tile Association along with the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers can confer the status of Master Craftsman on tilers who have achieved NVQ Level 3 or who have served a 3-year apprenticeship and demonstrated experience in heritage or complicated work.
Insurance
Tilers should have public liability insurance to protect them against damage or injury claims. If they employ someone other than a family member, they must have employer's liability insurance. Failure to have this insurance can result in a substantial fine, as previously mentioned.
Reviews
Many tradespeople will have a presence online, whether it is a website or a social media platform. You may be able to read reviews from previous customers but do treat this content with caution as there is no real way to verify if reviews are genuine.
Previous Experience
Asking a tiler about their previous experience will give some insight into the extent of their knowledge and skill. You should be confident in their ability to do the job to the standard that you expect and for which you are paying.
Specific Job Experience
For your tiling job, it is essential to know if the tiler has experience which is specific to the work that you wish to have done. Professional tilers should have knowledge of most types of tiles, and a range of previous jobs to draw from so your project should not present too much of a challenge.
If you feel that your project may be the first time a tiler will have attempted such work, it may be better to look elsewhere.
Quotations
For any work that you want to have done in your home, you should obtain at least three quotations and speak to all the contractors about the work to be done.
This will allow you to evaluate the differences in price and the approach and attitude of each of the tilers quoting for you. Having input from more than one source on the tiling project may also raise issues or scenarios that you may not have already considered.
FAQs
Mosaic tiles are time-consuming to fit even though they come on backing sheets and do not have to be laid individually. Fixing tiles in a kitchen can be quicker than a bathroom as there are sanitary items to be negotiated in a bathroom.
The tiler's experience and skill will also determine how many tiles can be fitted in a day.
There are tiling calculators available online, however, and you can enter the dimensions of the area to be tiled as well as the size of the tile you want to fit, and it will give the number of tiles that you will need.
It is important to buy all the tiles you need, including the extra 10% at the same time and with the same batch number. This ensures that colour, texture, and shading will be the same for all the tiles.
Electric underfloor heating comes in the form of coils of wire, some of which are embedded into mats, making them easier to install and often sold as a DIY option.
A tiler can carry out this part of the installation, but the final connection to the electricity supply should be carried out by a qualified electrician.
