Tiling a bathroom.?

Question

I have been given a quote of about £1500 for the labour to tile my bathroom floor, walls and kitchen floor.
I have never tiled before but am thinking about it as this seems a lot of money for a relatively unskilled job.
Thanks

Answer 1

seems pricey......I did my kitchen floor, kitchen counter (small tiles) and Sauna floor. Once you get the first row done and the biggest thing is make sure it's straight...use a level to draw a straight line and start away from a wall towards the back and work forward. when everything is dry go back and tile next to wall...you may have to cut some.
Good luck

Answer 2

Laying tile isn't as simple as it seems. You could always ask the person who will be doing the labor how much he is charging you per square foot. Then call another contracter or tile layer and ask them what they charge per square foot. This will kind of give you an idea of if your tile layer is giving you a good price or not. Also take what they charge per square foot and multiply it by the square footage of the area you are tiling, that should equal the same amout the tile layer charged you for your labor. Make sure you ccompare prices with people in your area because depending on where you live the price may be higher or lower. Hope this bit of info helps. Good luck!

Answer 3

With all due respect it isn't strictly unskilled. Assume for a moment you choose to attempt the task as a DIY. Might you also then assume you'd need some level of skills to complete the job? So much of it seems like it's no more than common trades work, but there are truly, details in the process one should know, and very often, even the most skilled have OOOPs situations, or have to allow extras for waste, etc.

I don't use the pound as a medium of currency nor do I strictly know the current exchange rate, or the size of the job. You state however that the job involves not only the bathroom floor which might be the easiest part of the entire job, but walls as well, then move it out to the kitchen.

Here in the States a fair price would be approx. $3.50 per sq. ft. to install floor tile, and that should allow for all the cuts and consumable materials. It's possible that walls might cost as much, but have issues related to gravity.

Both walls and floors also might have substrate issues. IE: older drywall, plaster overcoat, particle board substrate, that may need replacing. Leveling out voids or rises might be an issue?

I recently installed 1800 sq. ft. of marble tile, at an end charge of near $6000. Including the cost of the tile.

I install a lot of tile and have been in the trades for a lot of years. My first suggestion would be to get two more quotes, and research the companies reputation, their laborers, whether SUBS or employees, their liability insurance ability, any warrantees offered, call back for service clauses, etc.

1500 lb. may be high? BUT Cheap isn't always the best gauge for quality in workmanship.

Certainly with some research and educating yourself it can be a DIY job. There are likely hundreds of DIY sites on the WWW that offer step by step guides and suggestions through the entire process. I'm not trying to discourage the DIY in you, just offering my opinions based on years of experience and success.

Steven Wolf

Answer 4

My sister and I tiled the entire downstairs of my parents home. It's not that difficult. Ask at your local home improvement store they may have classes that you can take. But do be aware that a pro will have the tile job completed much faster than an amateur.
Do take into consideration that a pro will have tools and necessary equipment already. If you do it yourself you may have to purchase the misc. tools needed.

Answer 5

aaaah
but it is not the unskilled part
it is the labour that you pay for
backbreaking and precise work
tiling can be messy as well
if you get off plumb it is forever ugly

Answer 6

why don't you do it yourself if you call it unskilled job.

Answer 7

pick nice collers