Tiler Day Rate UK 2026: £150-£320 [By Region]

Tiling is unusual among trades because customers are just as likely to ask for a price per square metre as a day rate. Knowing both — and when to use which — makes it much easier to win jobs without underselling yourself. Here's what UK tilers are charging in 2026.

Tiler Day Rate by Region — UK 2026

Region	Day Rate	Hourly Rate
London	£220-£320	£30-£45
South East	£190-£270	£25-£38
Midlands	£160-£230	£22-£32
North	£150-£210	£20-£30
Scotland & Wales	£150-£210	£20-£30

Common Job Prices

Job	Typical Price (Labour Only)	Time
Standard bathroom (floor + walls)	£600-£1,100	2-3 days
Kitchen splashback	£150-£300	Half-1 day
Kitchen floor (small)	£300-£550	1-1.5 days
Large-format porcelain floor	£45-£70/m²	Varies
Mosaic feature wall	£60-£100/m²	Varies
Re-grouting existing tiles	£250-£450	1 day

These are labour-only figures for tilers. For what homeowners typically pay per m² and by room, including materials, see our tiling cost guide.

How to Calculate Your Day Rate

1. Target take-home: What do you want to earn after tax? E.g. £28,000
2. Add tax & NI: Roughly 25%. £28,000 + 25% = £35,000
3. Add business costs: Van, tools, tile cutter, insurance, advertising. Roughly £4,000-£7,000/year. Total: £41,000
4. Divide by working days: Roughly 220 days a year. £41,000 / 220 ≈ £185/day minimum
5. Add profit margin: 15-20%. £185 x 1.15 ≈ £215/day

Try our free rate calculator to run your own numbers, then turn the result into a sendable quote with TradeQuoteAI's quoting software.

Day Rate vs Per-m² Pricing

Per-m² pricing is fairer and easier for customers to compare on straightforward floors and walls where you know your lay rate. Day rates work better for awkward layouts, mosaic or pattern work, and jobs where the area alone doesn't reflect the real time involved — a small bathroom with lots of cuts around fittings can take longer than a much larger, simpler floor.

What Increases Tiling Prices

• Large-format tiles — Harder to handle and level, and unforgiving of small errors. Charge a premium over standard tile sizes.
• Natural stone — Needs sealing and different adhesives. Add 30-50% over standard porcelain or ceramic.
• Removing old tiles first — Add £15-£25/m² for stripping out and disposing of existing tiles before you start.
• Underfloor heating prep — Extra time and care laying over heating mats or cables.
• Pattern layouts — Herringbone, brick bond, or feature borders all take longer than a straight grid.

What a Tiler's Day Rate Covers (and What It Doesn't)

A tiler's day rate or per-m² price is almost always labour only. It covers setting out, cutting, fixing, grouting and cleaning down — not the tiles themselves. Customers often assume otherwise, so spell it out on every quote.

• Usually included: setting out and marking levels, cutting around fittings and pipes, fixing tiles, grouting, cleaning down, and siliconing wet edges.
• Usually extra: the tiles, adhesive and grout (unless you supply them), tanking in showers and wet rooms, removing old tiles, floor levelling or backer board, and trims or edging profiles.

Listing these separately stops the most common tiling dispute — a customer comparing your labour-only price against someone else's price that quietly included adhesive, trims and waste removal.

Sample Tiling Quote: Standard Bathroom

Here's how an itemised quote for a standard bathroom might look, using standard ceramic wall tiles and a porcelain floor, with the customer supplying the tiles:

Item	Price
Remove existing wall tiles and dispose (8m² at £20/m²)	£160
Tank shower area before tiling	£120
Wall tiling, standard ceramic (20m² at £30/m²)	£600
Floor tiling, porcelain (4m² at £40/m²)	£160
Grout, silicone and clean down	£80
Total labour	£1,120

The tiling itself — walls, floor, grout and finishing — comes to £840, inside the typical £600-£1,100 range for a standard bathroom. The strip-out and tanking are shown as their own lines, so the customer can see exactly why the total is higher than a tiling-only price.

Minimum Charges for Small Tiling Jobs

Small jobs — replacing a few cracked tiles, re-siliconing a bath, a short splashback — rarely pay at a per-m² rate once you add travel, setting up, mixing adhesive and cleaning your tools. Most tilers set a minimum charge, often a half-day rate, for anything below a certain size. State it clearly when you quote so it doesn't come as a surprise, and offer to combine small jobs into one visit where you can.

What to Include on a Tiling Quote

• Area in m², with walls and floors listed separately
• Tile type and size (standard, large-format, mosaic, natural stone)
• Who supplies the tiles, adhesive, grout and trims
• Preparation: strip-out, tanking, levelling or backer board
• Layout pattern (straight grid, brick bond, herringbone)
• Grout and trim colour
• Waste removal, start date, estimated duration and payment terms

For a full list that works across every trade, see our professional quote checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do tilers charge per day in the UK?

UK tilers typically charge £150-£220 per day outside London in 2026, rising to £220-£320 in London and the South East.

How much does tiling cost per square metre in the UK?

Labour-only tiling typically costs £25-£45 per m² for standard tiles, rising to £45-£70 per m² for large-format, mosaic, or natural stone.

Should I charge tiling by the day or per square metre?

Per-m² pricing is usually fairer for standard floors and walls. Day rates work better for complex jobs where the area alone doesn't reflect the time involved.

Do tilers supply the tiles?

Usually not. Most tilers quote labour only and the customer buys the tiles, because tile choice is personal and prices vary hugely. Many tilers do supply adhesive, grout and trims and add them as a separate materials line, so the quote should state clearly who supplies what.

Is tanking included in a tiling quote?

Not always. Tanking waterproofs walls and floors in showers and wet rooms before tiling. It should appear as its own line on the quote so the customer can see it has been allowed for, rather than assuming it is included.

Related Guides

• Tiling Cost UK 2026
• How to Price a Bathroom Refit
• New Bathroom Cost UK 2026
• New Kitchen Cost UK 2026
• Plastering Prices UK 2026
• Best Quoting Apps for UK Tradesmen