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Service

Natural stone tiling

Natural stone wall tiles cost £110 to £150 or more per m², supplied and fixed, in MyJobQuote's 2026 wall tiling guide, against £60 to £90 for ceramic in the same guide. Marble, limestone, travertine and slate are heavier, softer and more porous than porcelain, so they take longer to lay and need sealing.

Illustration: a natural stone floor in a mixed-size pattern, with veining and travertine pitting

What this covers

What it costs. Prices per square metre and per job, and what moves them, are in the cost guide. Full cost breakdown.

Typical jobs

  • Limestone through a kitchen and garden room, sealed before and after grouting
  • Polished marble on bathroom walls, fixed in white adhesive
  • Filled travertine in a shower, on a tanked wall
  • Riven slate on a utility room floor
  • Resealing a worn limestone hallway

What is involved

Stone is a natural material, so no two tiles are quite alike. Before laying, a tiler opens several boxes and blends them, so that veins and shade change gradually across the floor instead of in patches. Many stone tiles are not perfectly even in thickness; uncalibrated stone has to be bedded in a thicker layer of adhesive, tile by tile, to bring the faces level. Light marble and limestone are fixed in white adhesive, because grey adhesive can show through or stain them, and some green marbles curl when wet and need a rapid-setting adhesive.

Most stone is porous, so it is sealed. An impregnating sealer goes on before grouting, so grout does not stain the face, and again once the grout has cured. Travertine comes filled or unfilled; unfilled holes are packed with grout or left as a rustic finish. Polished marble scratches and is etched by acids, so lemon juice, some bathroom cleaners and limescale removers will dull it. Ask the tiler what cleaner to use and how often to reseal: the sealer maker sets the interval, and it is shorter on a busy floor.

Weight matters on walls. Stone is heavy, and BS 5385-1, the British Standard for wall tiling, which covers stone as well as ceramic, gives about 20 kg per m² as the limit for tile and adhesive on a gypsum plaster finish. Thicker stone on a plastered wall may need a different background first. On floors, stone needs a stiff, flat base; a timber floor needs more stiffening for stone than for porcelain.

Choosing someone for the job

Stone behaves differently from porcelain at every stage, from the adhesive to the cleaner, so the questions follow the stone.

  • Which adhesive will you use for this stone, and why?
  • Will you blend the boxes before laying, and how do you deal with uneven thickness?
  • Is sealing before and after grouting in the price, with which sealer, and how often should it be redone?
  • Which cleaners should I avoid?
  • For walls, can the background carry the weight?

Read next

Common questions

Do natural stone tiles need sealing?

Most do. An impregnating sealer goes on before grouting, so the grout does not stain the stone, and again after grouting. Glazed porcelain does not; some polished porcelain does, as its maker advises. Marble, limestone, travertine and slate usually do.

How often should natural stone be resealed?

It depends on the stone, the sealer and how much use the floor gets. A busy kitchen floor needs it more often than a wall. The sealer maker gives an interval, and water that darkens the stone instead of beading is the sign it is due.

Why is white adhesive used for marble?

Light marble and limestone are slightly translucent, so a grey adhesive can show through or stain them. White adhesive avoids that.

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Tilers who take on natural stone tiling

3 listed tilers say they do this work.

A selection of them

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