How to Quote a Tiling Job: UK Pricing Guide for Tilers

Tiling is a trade where a small error in your quote gets multiplied across every square metre. Materials are a real cost, the work is labour-intensive and detail-heavy, and clients compare quotes closely. Underquote and you are effectively paying to work. Overquote and a cheaper tiler takes the job. Getting the numbers right, and presenting them well, is what protects your margin and wins the work.

This guide walks through how to quote a tiling job in the UK from start to finish: surveying the space, measuring accurately, understanding what actually drives your labour cost, pricing materials with a sensible markup, and building a clear quote that a customer trusts. The principles apply whether you are tiling a single bathroom, a kitchen splashback, a wet room, or a large floor area.

Step 1: Survey the Space and Check the Substrate

You cannot quote tiling from a photo. A proper site visit tells you what you are tiling onto, which is the single biggest variable after area. During the survey, check the following.

• Substrate condition. Are the walls or floor flat, sound and dry? Bowed walls, hollow plaster, flexing floorboards or uneven screed all need work before a single tile goes on.
• Preparation needed. Removing old tiles, hacking off loose plaster, priming, levelling a floor, or overboarding a timber floor with tile backer board all add labour and materials.
• Wet areas. Showers, wet rooms and splash zones need tanking (waterproofing). This is a separate priced item, not something to absorb.
• Access and layout. Cutting around toilets, basins, pipes, sockets and windows slows the work. A simple square wall tiles far faster than a bathroom full of fixtures.

Step 2: Measure the Area Accurately

Tiling is priced per square metre, so measure carefully. Multiply the width by the height of each wall (or the length by width of each floor) and add them up. Deduct large openings such as a window or a doorway, but do not bother deducting a single socket. For borders, splashbacks and small runs, measure the actual tiled band rather than the whole wall.

Always add wastage. Ten per cent is the standard allowance for cuts and breakages on a straightforward layout. Add fifteen per cent or more for diagonal layouts, herringbone, brick bond, large-format tiles, or busy rooms with lots of cuts. Order the client the wastage too, or note it clearly in your materials figure, so a mid-job shortfall does not become your problem.

Step 3: Understand What Drives Your Labour Cost

Not all square metres take the same time. Before you set a price, weigh up the factors that speed up or slow down the job.

• Tile size. Small mosaics and tiny tiles are slow and fiddly. Very large-format tiles are heavy, need flatter substrates and often two people. Standard 300 by 600 tiles are usually the quickest per square metre.
• Pattern. A straight or brick-bond layout is fastest. Diagonal, herringbone, and patterns with feature strips take longer and waste more tile, so they carry a higher rate.
• Cuts and detail. Bathrooms with pipes, niches, trims and mitred edges are far slower than an open floor or a plain splashback.
• Wall versus floor. Floors often need levelling first; walls often need more cutting around fixtures. Price each area on its own merits rather than one blended rate.

Step 4: Set Your Labour Rate

Most UK tilers price either per square metre or on a day rate, then sense-check one against the other. As a rough guide, standard wall and floor tiling labour commonly sits around thirty to fifty-five pounds per square metre, with large-format, mosaic, and patterned work priced higher because it is slower. Day rates for an experienced tiler commonly fall in the region of a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty pounds, varying by region and demand. Treat these as starting points, not fixed prices: your local market, overheads and the specific job decide the real number.

Whichever method you lead with, estimate how many days the job will take and divide your target daily income by the metres you can lay in a day. If the per-metre figure and the day-rate figure are miles apart, one of your assumptions is wrong. Reconcile them before you send the quote.

Step 5: Price the Materials with a Markup

Materials on a tiling job add up quickly, and they are your cash upfront. Price every element and apply a sensible markup for sourcing, collection and handling.

• Tiles, including the wastage allowance.
• Adhesive, in the right type for the substrate and tile (a heavier floor or large-format tile needs a stronger adhesive).
• Grout, in the colour and type the client has chosen, plus any sealant.
• Trims, tanking kit, primer, levelling compound and backer board as required.
• Consumables: spacers, blades, mixing, protection and waste disposal.

Be clear in the quote about whether you or the client is supplying the tiles. Client-supplied tiles are common, but note that you cannot be responsible for shortfalls, colour batches or breakages on tiles you did not order.

Step 6: Add Preparation, Waterproofing and Extras

The extras are where thin quotes lose money. Price them as separate line items so the customer sees the value and you get paid for the work: removing old tiles and disposal, floor levelling or overboarding, tanking a wet area, sealing natural stone, and making good around fixtures. If any of these are unknown until you open up the wall or floor, say so and quote a provisional figure rather than swallowing the risk.

Sample Quote Breakdown: A Small Bathroom

Here is a simplified example for a small bathroom with tiled walls and floor. Your real figures will differ, but the structure is what matters.

• Wall tiling, 18 m² including wastage: labour at your per-metre rate
• Floor tiling, 4 m² including wastage: labour at your per-metre rate
• Tanking the shower area: fixed price
• Materials: tiles, adhesive, grout, trims, tanking kit, with markup
• Removal and disposal of old tiles: fixed price
• Total, with VAT shown separately if you are registered

Presenting it this way, line by line, does two things: it justifies your price and it protects you if the client later changes the tile choice or adds a niche.

Common Tiling Quoting Mistakes

• Quoting per metre without allowing for pattern, cuts and fixtures.
• Forgetting wastage, then paying for the extra tiles yourself.
• Absorbing tanking, levelling or old-tile removal instead of pricing them.
• Not stating who supplies the tiles, and who carries the risk on them.
• Sending a one-line price with no breakdown, so the client only compares on number.

Present a Quote That Wins the Job

Two tilers can quote the same price and the one with the clear, professional, itemised proposal wins. A tidy breakdown showing scope, materials, prep, timings and terms tells the customer you know your trade and reduces the chance of disputes later. It is often the difference between a quick yes and being ghosted.