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Guide

What BS 5385 says about tiling, in plain English

BS 5385 is the British Standard code of practice for wall and floor tiling. Part 1 covers internal walls, Part 3 floors and Part 4 tiling in specific conditions such as wet areas. It is not law, but it is the benchmark a tiler's work is judged against if something goes wrong.

Updated

Illustration: a tiled wall being checked, with an aluminium straight-edge leaning across it, a spirit level standing against it, a clipboard with a ticked checklist and a tape measure on the floor

What is BS 5385?

BS 5385 is a code of practice published by the British Standards Institution, in several parts. It sets out how tiling should be designed and carried out: what the background must be like, how tiles are fixed, how joints are formed and how wet areas are protected. The parts you are most likely to meet at home are Part 1 (internal wall tiling, including natural stone and mosaic), Part 3 (internal and external floor tiling) and Part 4 (tiling in specific conditions, including wet areas). Part 2 covers external walls.

Is it a legal requirement?

No. A British Standard is guidance, not law, and nothing makes a tiler follow it. In practice it matters because it is what an independent inspector, a tile maker or a court would measure work against if a floor cracks or a shower leaks. A tiler who works to it, and says so in a quote, is telling you how they will do the job.

Illustration: a herringbone tile floor in perspective, running to a skirting board and a doorway
A tiled floor meeting the skirting, where BS 5385-3 expects a movement joint round the edge.

What it says about walls

Part 1 sets weight limits for different backgrounds, counting tile and adhesive together: about 20 kg per m² on a gypsum plaster finish and about 32 kg per m² on board fixed to studs with no plaster finish. It covers how flat a wall must be for the tile size, how long new plaster must dry, and how wet areas should be waterproofed before tiling.

What it says about floors

Part 3 deals with the base under the tiles, how stiff and flat it must be, and how tiles are bedded. Its best-known requirement is movement joints: a flexible gap round the edge of every tiled floor and, on larger floors, over structural joints and at changes in the base, joints within the floor itself. A floor tiled tight to the walls with no joint is one of the commonest causes of tiles lifting in a ridge.

What it says about showers and wet rooms

Part 4 covers tiling where conditions are harder than normal, including areas that are regularly wet. Its starting point is that tiles and grout are not waterproof, so the background in a shower or wet room is protected by a waterproof layer, usually called tanking, before tiling. Tanking makers publish their own instructions, and a tiler should follow one system throughout.

Movement joints in a tiled floor: a perimeter gap at the walls and a field joint across the floor, with the perimeter gap in section under the skirtingPlan of a floorSkirtingPerimeter gapflexible sealantTile on adhesiveSection at the wallPerimeter gap at every wall, upstand and pipe, hidden by the skirting or sealed.Field joint through tiles and bedding on big or heated floors, and over joints in the base.

Common questions

What is the British Standard for floor tiling?

BS 5385-3, the code of practice for internal and external floor tiling. It covers the base, bedding the tiles and movement joints.

Does my tiler have to follow BS 5385?

It is not a legal requirement. It is the accepted standard of good practice, so it is reasonable to ask a tiler whether they work to it and to put that in the quote.

Where can I read BS 5385?

British Standards are sold by the BSI and some libraries hold them. The Tile Association and tile adhesive makers publish free guidance based on them.

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