Tilers

What to put in your job description

• Walls or floor, which room, and roughly how many square metres.
• The tiles: size, material, and whether you have bought them.
• What is there now: old tiles to take off, bare walls, boards, concrete.
• For a shower or wet room: what is behind the tiles, and whether it needs waterproofing.
• Underfloor heating, if there is any or you want it.

Don't put your name, phone number or address in the description: every trade who covers your area reads it. Your name, phone, email and address go only to the trades who take the job (3 at most).

Questions to ask before you hire

• Is taking off the old tiles in the price?
• How will the walls and floor of a shower be waterproofed (tanked) before tiling?
• Who buys the adhesive, grout and trims?
• How long before the room can be used again?
• Do you have public liability insurance?

Registers and schemes to check

There is no legal register for tilers. The Tile Association is a trade body. In a shower or wet room, ask how the walls and floor will be waterproofed before the tiles go on. We don't check this for you yet.

What the job usually involves

• Wall tiling in kitchens and bathrooms, floor tiling anywhere.
• Preparing the surface: removing old tiles, levelling floors, backer boards.
• Waterproofing (tanking) in showers and wet rooms before tiling.
• Cutting round pipes, sockets and corners; then grouting and sealing.
• Repairs: replacing cracked tiles and regrouting.

How quotes and visits work

Tilers usually price by the square metre or by the job, after seeing the room. Say the size of the tiles: very large or very small tiles take longer. Ask whether removing old tiles and preparing the floor or wall is included.

Ask for a written quote (a fixed price) rather than an estimate (a guess that can change), and for what it includes. If you agree a job in your home, you usually have 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations; if you want work to start sooner, you may have to pay for what has been done.

Safety

• In a shower or wet room, ask how the walls and floor will be waterproofed before the tiles go on.
• Old floor tiles, especially some put down before 2000, may contain asbestos: don't break them up without knowing.

Insurance and TrustMark

Ask for public liability insurance before work starts. It covers damage or injury caused by the trade to you, your home or someone else. Ask for the insurer's name and the cover's end date; you can ask to see the certificate.

TrustMark is the government-endorsed quality scheme for work in and around the home. Its registered businesses agree to its code of practice, and you can look them up on trustmark.org.uk.

Guides for homeowners

• How to compare quotes from local trades

We take jobs from anywhere in the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trades choose the postcode districts they cover.

Tilers by town and city

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland