Average Costs Of Tiling Jobs

The cost of tiling your wall or floor will, of course, depend on the size of the area that you're tiling and the type of tiles you use, however there are a number of items which will we look at in this article, including the costs of labour and tiling materials.

Measure Up For Tiles

So first thing's first: measure up your wall or your floor and calculate how many tile's you'll need. You can do this by measuring the height and width of the area you're planning on tiling. Multiply these measurements together and the figure you arrive at is the size of the area you'll need to tile. If there's more than one area to be tiled, do the same calculation and add the totals together.

Shopping For Tiles

You'll be buying tiles by the square metre, so take your calculations with you when head out to purchase your kitchen or bathroom tiles. If you're trying to work out your wall tiling costs, it's not just the cost of the tiles that you'll have to budget for - there's also plastering or rendering, or applying plasterboard. If you can do any of the DIY yourself before you call in the professionals, this will cut down the costs.

Generally, the cost of plastering or rendering your walls will come to about £20 per square metre. For plasterboard, plywood or aqua panel, it'll come in at around £30. The cost of laying the tiles will be approximately £70 to £100. This work is best done by a professional tiler, to ensure a high standard of work.
The price of tiles per square metre depends on which type of tiles you want to use. The most popular are ceramic tiles, which are versatile, attractive and relatively cheap. Ceramic tiles can be bought for £5 to £10 per square metre - so it's cheap to replace these tiles if you damage them. For something a little different, you could try installing stone tiling, such as limestone. These will cost about £10 to £20 per square metre. They're a little more expensive but they'll make your walls look a little more special!

Costs for Granite Tiling Per Square Metre

For granite tiling, you can expect to pay £25 per square metre. At the top of the range is marble which will cost at least, £30 per square metre - but these are stylish tiles that will make your floors look really stunning!

Find A Tiler

Why not let the experts do all the hard work for you? Contact a local tiler to ask them to quote you a price. Do this with three or four recommended tradesmen so you can pick the best quote for the job.

Tiling Advice & Tips - Find Tiling Materials

Times are pretty lean out there for the average homeowner so it is important that you get the best deals possible whether you are looking to get some tiling done, be it wall tiling, floor tiling, a full bathroom renovation, simply tiling your kitchen worktop areas or regrouting to spruce up some existing tiling or putting a silicone sealant trim in place to stop leaks from shower cubicles.

Go direct to the trades suppliers - get wholesale prices for tiling materials

The first thing to remember when buying materials is that you really are better off getting trade prices. Even the wholesalers and suppliers who provide materials to tilers and bathroom installer tradesmen are struggling in these very difficult financial times so it is always worth asking the likes of Travis Perkins, Builder Center, Tile Center, Jewsons and any other local builders merchants whether they deal with the public and what type of discounts are available to the homeowner. You will find that nowadays they simply do not care who they sell materials to, as long as you are prepared to help pay their bills.

Another option is to find a tiler and ask him whether you can buy the materials through his trade account if he has one with suppliers mentioned above such as Travis Perkins. You can pay the account for him and get the materials sometimes at very attractive trade discount prices.

Consider Screwfix for tiling materials - Buy tiling materials where the trade buys

They provide materials at trade prices but they are not just for tilers or tradesmen. They target the tiler and tradesmen market but they have outlets which anyone can walk into now in most cities. They are part of B & Q so you should get your materials there but often pay less than you would in B And Q stores. They have a very good website where you can buy online and also you can go to their site and check for branches.

Ask for discounts - don't be afraid to haggle for reduced materials prices. The construction industry (including tilers) is going through a very hard time and many may consider it is better to get a deal than not even if they give the tiler materials away cheap to you.

Look for cheap materials for jobs in the right month

It will be far cheaper general speaking to buy materials for tiling jobs in the early part of the year. January is a good time to start looking for materials as there are many discounts. Again, the tiler and construction trades industry has a difficult time at this time of year so you are likely to get some good deals even if you are not looking to get your tiling jobs done until later on.

Tiling Tips - How to Grout Tiling For Your Tiling Job

Tiling grout strengthens the tile and keeps water from entering the joints. As well as the practical purpose of grout, it also adds aesthetically to the tiling project or job. Usually tiling grout is a neutral color but there are so many colors available now that any tiling grout color combination is possible. In general, it is best not to pick white or a light color for floor applications since dirt will quickly make it look dingy and you will end up with a mucky off white colour or yellowish tinge to your grout. This may lead to you having to repeat the grouting to your tiling job again.

Tiling grout application is actually a fairly simple job after the harder parts of laying and levelling the tile. The tools and equipment you need for your tiling grouting job are tiling grout, bucket, kneepads, tiling grout float, tiling grout sponge and waterproof gloves.

Tiling grout is available in premixed tiling grout form or in tiling grout powder form. The premixed tiling grout depends upon evaporation for drying and therefore is really only appropriate for small wall tiling applications which will not be in contact with water. The powder form of tiling grout is cement based and therefore dries chemically which provides a much stronger and harder joint. Powdered tiling grout is available in sanded or non-sanded mixtures. Sanded tiling grout is appropriate for tiling joints larger than 3mm and usually used for floor tiling applications. Non-sanded tiling grout is for wall tiling applications with a tiling joint width of less than 3 mm. It is possible to purchase a polymer-modified tiling grout or a tiling grout polymer additive, which adds flexibility and provides more water resistance but it is a little more difficult to work with on your tiling job. Polymer additives are indicated when the backing surface onto which your tiling is to be applied is wood since the wood will bend and flex and a polymer-modified grout will flex without cracking.

Tiling Grout Mixture - The first step to applying tiling grout is to mix the tiling grout. It is very important to use gloves, goggles and a mask when dealing with cement based tiling grout powders. The tiling grout bag has the proportion of water to tiling grout for mixing but factors such as heat will affect the mixture so add water only a little at a time to the tiling grout mix. The consistency of tiling grout should be about the same as peanut butter. A watery tiling grout mixture will take much longer to dry and is harder to work with. Once the tiling grout is mixed, it has a working time of 20-40 minutes so only mix small batches of your tiling grout or it will be necessary to throw away tiling grout and you will have to start your tiling job all over again.

Tiling Grout Application - Apply tiling grout to the tiling joints with a rubber tiling grout float. Press the tiling grout into the tiling joints by holding the tiling float at a 30-degree angle and applying pressure as tiling grout is dragged over the tiling gaps. Be sure that the tiling grout is filling the tiling joint to the bottom surface. Once the tiling grout fills all the tiling joints, scrape the excess tiling grout by holding the tiling float almost vertically as you drag. It is helpful to drag diagonally across the tiling joints to prevent digging in and accidentally removing tiling grout from within the tiling joints. Once the tiling grout has begun setting, use a large tiling sponge and wipe the excess from the tiling joints; do not use too much water in this process. Once the tiling grout hardens, go back with a soft rag and buff the tile to remove tiling grout film. Depending on the tiling application, the last step is a tiling grout sealer, which will help it repel stains and prolong the water-resistant life of your tiling grout and your overall tiling job.

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