Question 1

Can you tile over tiles?

Accepted Answer

Usually yes, provided the existing tiles are sound, firmly bonded and reasonably flat. Tap every tile first: any that sound hollow must come off. The bigger constraints are weight on walls and the loss of floor height, which affects doors and thresholds.

Question 2

Can you tile over painted walls?

Accepted Answer

Only with preparation, and often not at all. Your tiles are only as well attached as the paint is, and emulsion is not a bonding surface. Gloss and silk must be abraded and primed; flaking or chalky paint has to come off entirely.

Question 3

Can you tile over plasterboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and it is standard practice. Tile directly onto the board rather than onto a skim coat, observe the weight limit for the board, and in showers and other wet areas use moisture-resistant board or a tile backer board with a proper tanking system.

Question 4

How long does tile adhesive take to dry?

Accepted Answer

Standard cement-based adhesive needs about 24 hours before grouting. Rapid-set versions allow grouting in three to four hours. Ready-mixed adhesive takes considerably longer, sometimes several days, because it dries by evaporation and cannot do so through non-porous tiles.

Question 5

How much do tilers charge per m2?

Accepted Answer

Around £20 to £40 per square metre for labour, with materials on top. Ceramic tiles run £12 to £50 per square metre, porcelain £50 to £100, natural stone £40 to £90 and glass £110 to £160. Most tilers switch to per-m2 pricing on larger areas.

Question 6

How much does a tiler charge per day?

Accepted Answer

Roughly £150 to £200 a day nationally, with London rates above that. Tilers typically use a day rate for small jobs such as a splashback or a single floor, and switch to a per-square-metre price on anything larger.

Question 7

How much does it cost to tile a bathroom?

Accepted Answer

Around £750 on average, with most jobs falling between £500 and £800 for labour. A medium bathroom fully tiled takes about four days at £600 to £800. A small bathroom runs £300 to £700. Tiles and tanking are on top.

Question 8

How much does it cost to retile a bathroom?

Accepted Answer

Budget the tiling cost of £500 to £800 for labour, plus removal of the old tiles at around £30 an hour, plus making good the wall underneath. Retiling reliably costs more than tiling a new bathroom because of what stripping reveals.

Question 9

How much does it cost to tile a kitchen?

Accepted Answer

A splashback above the sink is about half a day at £75 to £100. Tiling a full kitchen floor or the wall areas between units costs more, but kitchens generally need less tiling than bathrooms because units and appliances cover much of the wall.

Question 10

How much does it cost to tile a floor?

Accepted Answer

Labour runs roughly £20 to £40 per square metre, so a medium bathroom floor is about a day at £150 to £200. Floors usually need more preparation than walls, and on suspended timber floors an overlay board or decoupling membrane is essential.

Question 11

How much does it cost to regrout a bathroom?

Accepted Answer

Considerably less than retiling. Regrouting is largely labour, charged at a day rate of roughly £150 to £200, with grout at about £17 a bag covering fifteen square metres. Most bathrooms are a day or less.

Question 12

How long does it take to tile a bathroom?

Accepted Answer

About four days for a medium bathroom with walls and floor tiled, three days for walls only, and a day for the floor alone. Add time for preparation, and add a day between tiling and grouting for the adhesive to cure.

Question 13

Do you need to seal grout?

Accepted Answer

Cement-based grout is porous and benefits from sealing, particularly in showers and behind hobs where it absorbs water and staining. Epoxy grout does not need sealing because it is already impermeable. Sealing is not a substitute for waterproofing behind the tiles.

Question 14

Should I tile the floor or walls first?

Accepted Answer

Either works and tilers genuinely differ. Floor first gives a continuous floor and a clean junction, but risks damaging new tiles. Walls first, worked off a supported batten, protects the floor. What matters is a flexible sealant at the junction, not the order.

Question 15

What should you check before hiring a tiler?

Accepted Answer

Ask what preparation is included, whether tanking is in the price for any shower area, what is happening to the substrate, and who supplies the tiles. Ask to see recent work in person. Most tiling failures come from preparation, not from the tiling itself.

Hiring a tiler in South London: your questions answered

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