Tiling has no mandatory registration scheme, so there is no register to check. The useful checks are about the specification rather than credentials, and almost all of them concern what goes on before the first tile.
Is tanking included?
Ask this first on any bathroom with a shower. Tiles and grout are not waterproof; grout is porous and water passes through it. A shower area needs a waterproofing system applied to the substrate before tiling.
It is routinely left out of cheaper quotes, and it is the omission that causes the failures that cost thousands. Water into a timber floor in a Victorian terrace rots joists invisibly until the ceiling below stains.
If a quote does not mention tanking, that is not an oversight to let pass.
What preparation is included?
Removing old tiles, making good the wall behind, levelling an uneven surface, boarding out, priming. Each of these is real work and each is a place where quotes differ.
Two tiling quotes several hundred pounds apart are usually quoting different amounts of preparation rather than different labour rates. Ask for the quote itemised so you can see which.
What is the substrate, and what happens if it fails?
Ask what they are tiling onto and whether it is suitable. Painted walls, old tiles, fresh plaster and suspended timber floors each have specific requirements.
Then ask what happens if the wall turns out to need replastering once the old tiles come off. In a property over a century old that is a realistic outcome, and agreeing the rate in advance is far better than negotiating with a stripped bathroom.
A tiler who has tapped the tiles and looked at the floor before quoting has done the job properly. One who quotes from a photograph has guessed.
Who supplies the tiles?
Some tilers supply at trade prices, which can beat retail. Others expect you to buy them. Either is fine, but you need to know which, and whether the quoted figure includes materials.
If you are buying, ask how much to order. Ten per cent over the measured area is the usual allowance for cuts, fifteen for diagonal or herringbone layouts. Order it all in one go, because tiles are batch-made and later batches vary in shade.
See recent work
Photographs hide almost everything that matters. Look at a finished job in person if you can.
Check the grout lines are consistent in width and straight. Check the cuts around sockets, pipes and corners, which is where skill shows. Check that cuts have been set out sensibly rather than leaving slivers of tile at the edges. Run a hand across the surface to feel for lipping between tiles.
Ask about setting out
Ask how they will set the room out. A competent tiler will talk about where the cuts will fall, how the pattern centres on the room, and how they will handle the junctions. Someone who intends to start in a corner and work along has not planned it.
What we do and do not verify
Our listings are compiled from public Google Maps data and filtered to businesses rated three stars or higher with at least three reviews. Tradespeople who submit their own details are reviewed before publishing.
We do not hold insurance certificates or qualification documents for the businesses listed here, and we do not verify them. Ask to see them yourself and confirm anything that matters directly with the tiler before work starts.