Services

Types of tiling work

16 kinds of work UK tilers take on, each with what the job involves, what to ask before you book, and what it costs wherever a published guide prices it.

Illustration: a wall of hand-glazed green tiles over a herringbone floor, with a spirit level, a bucket with a notched trowel, boxes of tiles and spacers

Illustration: a bathroom wall of metro tiles in brick bond, green below a chrome trim and white above, with a recessed niche and an exposed shower valve

Bathroom tiling

Tiling the walls and floor of a family bathroom once the new suite is in; a full-height shower enclosure on a tanked backing board.

Illustration: a kitchen splashback of tall narrow tiles in a vertical stack between the worktop and the wall cupboards, with a tap, jars and a socket

Kitchen tiling

Metro tiles between the worktop and wall units, cut round sockets; a full-height tiled wall behind a range cooker.

Illustration: a herringbone tile floor in perspective, running to a skirting board and a doorway

Floor tiling

Porcelain through a hallway and kitchen on a concrete floor; overboarding a suspended timber floor before laying ceramic tiles.

Illustration: a feature wall of green hexagon tiles that thin out into scattered tiles towards the top

Wall tiling

Floor-to-ceiling porcelain in a cloakroom; a tiled feature wall in a hallway or behind a bed.

Illustration: a wet room floor falling to a linear drain, with the green tanking membrane and tape still showing where the tiling stops

Wet room tiling

Tanking and tiling a level-access wet room with a linear drain; a walk-in shower on a sloped former, tanked wall to floor.

Regrouting

Raking out and regrouting a mouldy shower enclosure; regrouting a kitchen floor where the old grout has crumbled.

Illustration: a floor with tiles being lifted, adhesive ridges on the screed, broken pieces and a long-handled floor scraper

Tile removal

Lifting a ceramic kitchen floor and grinding off the old adhesive; stripping bathroom wall tiles and making the wall good for re-tiling.

Illustration: a tiled wall with one tile out, the replacement held on a suction lifter and the cracked tile on a dust sheet below

Tile repair

Cutting out a cracked floor tile and setting in a spare; re-fixing loose wall tiles above a bath.

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

Natural stone tiling

Limestone through a kitchen and garden room, sealed before and after grouting; polished marble on bathroom walls, fixed in white adhesive.

Illustration: large porcelain slabs with thin joints on a floor and wall, levelling clips in the joints and a suction lifter

Large format tiling

120 by 60 cm porcelain through an open-plan kitchen and living area; large porcelain on a bathroom wall with few grout lines.

Illustration: an underfloor heating mat with its cable in loops on insulation board, adhesive combed over it and the first tiles laid

Underfloor heating and tiling

Laying an electric heating mat in a bathroom, ready for the electrician; insulation boards under a heating mat on a concrete floor.

Illustration: a porcelain patio of large slabs meeting a lawn edge, with a planter

Outdoor tiling

A 20 mm porcelain patio on a full mortar bed with slurry primer; tiling a balcony over a waterproof membrane.

Illustration: a chevron tile floor between two bands of small mosaic tiles

Herringbone and mosaic tiling

A herringbone porcelain floor through a hallway; chevron tiles on a kitchen splashback.

Illustration: a Victorian hallway with a geometric floor of octagon and dot tiles inside a patterned border, leading to a front door

Victorian tile restoration

Cleaning and sealing a geometric hallway floor; replacing missing tiles in a pattern with reclaimed or reproduction tiles.

Illustration: a natural stone floor, half sealed with a sheen and water beading, with a bottle of sealer and an applicator

Tile cleaning and sealing

Deep cleaning a kitchen floor's grout lines back to their original colour; stripping old sealer from a slate floor and resealing it.

Illustration: a large commercial floor of square porcelain tiles in a grid, with two columns and a glazed shopfront

Commercial tiling

Slip-resistant floor tiles in a restaurant kitchen; tiling washrooms in an office refit, out of hours.