Costs
How much does tiling cost in London in 2026?
8 min read · Updated 1 August 2026
The short answer
London tiling labour runs roughly £45–£90 per square metre depending on tile size and layout, or £250–£350 a day. A full bathroom is typically £1,200–£2,800 labour, a kitchen splashback £250–£450, and a Victorian geometric hallway £180–£300 per square metre supplied and laid.
Per square metre, per day, or per job?
Small rooms are priced per job, because a 2m² cloakroom needs the same preparation, setting out, cutting, grouting and siliconing as a big bathroom — the m² rate would be meaningless. Larger areas are priced per square metre. Awkward, unpredictable work like small repairs and remedial jobs is priced per day.
Be suspicious of a per-m² price quoted without a site visit or photographs. The tile and the substrate move the number more than the area does.
What pushes the rate up
Five things account for almost every price difference between two quotes for the same room:
- Tile size — anything over 600mm needs levelling systems, two people to handle, and a flatter substrate.
- Layout — herringbone, chevron, diagonal and Victorian geometric can double the cutting time.
- Substrate — old plaster, springy timber floors and bumpy walls need boarding, levelling or decoupling first.
- Waterproofing — a properly tanked wet room is a day of work before a tile is laid, and it is not optional.
- Access — third-floor flat, no lift, no parking, restricted hours: all real costs.
Typical London jobs, priced
A standard bathroom (walls and floor, around 20m², mid-size porcelain): £1,200–£2,800 labour, 3–4 days. A wet room with full tanking and a formed fall: add £400–£800. A kitchen splashback: £250–£450 in a day. A 25m² large-format porcelain kitchen floor including levelling compound: £1,600–£2,400.
A Victorian geometric hallway is the outlier at £180–£300/m² supplied and laid, because the tiles are expensive and the pattern is assembled piece by piece. A Victorian-effect patterned porcelain achieving a similar look lands at £90–£140/m².
Costs that appear on cheap quotes later
Waste removal and skip hire. Levelling compound and backer board. Trims, movement joints and matching silicone. Congestion Charge and ULEZ. Extra tiles because the original order had no allowance for cuts.
Ask for these as line items up front. A quote that lists them is not more expensive — it is just honest about what the job actually involves.
How to get an accurate price in an hour
Send photographs of every wall and the floor, a rough measurement of the room, a picture of the tile you have chosen (or a link), and your postcode. That is enough for a firm estimate on most domestic jobs the same day, without waiting a week for three tradespeople to visit.
Need this doing rather than reading about? We are tilers in London and tilers in Essex, insured and guaranteed since 2006. Send photos for a same-day quote.