Find a tiler you can trust

When to call a tiler

Tiling is one of those jobs that looks simple from the outside and is anything but. If you can hear a hollow, drummy sound when you tap a tile, if grout is crumbling, or if water is creeping where it shouldn’t, it’s time to get a tiler in.

People usually call a tiler for:

• A full bathroom or ensuite retile
• A new kitchen splashback or feature wall
• Floor tiling through living areas, hallways or a laundry
• Outdoor and patio areas that need to handle the weather
• Re-grouting and re-sealing tiles that have seen better days
• Fixing cracked, lifted or drummy tiles before they spread

If it’s a brand new bathroom or a renovation, the tiler often works alongside your plumber and waterproofer, so good timing and communication matter just as much as a neat finish.

What to check and the licensing bit

Here’s the part most homeowners don’t think about until it’s too late: the waterproofing. The tiles you can see, but the membrane underneath is what keeps water out of your walls and floor. Get that wrong and you’re looking at mould, rotten timber and a repair bill that dwarfs the original job.

Licensing for tiling and waterproofing varies a lot by state. Queensland, NSW and South Australia license tiling (Queensland and NSW above a set job value, South Australia at any value), while Victoria, WA and the ACT don’t license tiling on its own. Our licence checks page has the lookup for every state. Wherever you are, ask your tiler a simple question: who does the waterproofing, and how is it certified? A straight answer is a good sign.

Beyond that, a few things worth checking:

• Public liability insurance, so you’re covered if something goes wrong
• The right adhesive and grout for your tiles and the surface they’re going on
• Level, even work with minimal lippage (those little raised edges between tiles)
• A sample of past work, ideally a wet area they’ve actually finished

You can read more about tradie licences and how to check them before anyone starts.

What it costs

Most tilers price bigger jobs per square metre and small jobs by the hour. Laying standard floor tiles typically runs around $45–$100 per m², with the tiles extra, and the hourly rate for repairs and small jobs is usually about $50–$100.

As a guide for common jobs:

• Retile a standard bathroom, floor and walls: around $2,000–$5,500, tiles usually extra
• Tile a kitchen splashback: around $400–$1,200
• Waterproof a wet area: around $30–$70 per m²
• Re-grout a bathroom: around $300–$800

The tiles themselves make a real difference too. Large-format and natural stone cost more to buy and more to lay, and stripping out old tiles adds labour and a skip. A proper quote should spell out prep, waterproofing, the tiling itself and rubbish removal, so there are no surprises at the end.

These are a guide, not a quote. Our tiler cost guide has more jobs and how each city compares.

How needatradie matches you

We do the boring checks so you don’t have to. When you tell us about your job, we match you with one vetted local tiler whose licence, insurance, ABN and reviews we’ve already looked over. One good tradie, not five sales calls, and we don’t sell your details around.

Browse our guides for more tips, or jump straight in and get a free quote. It’s free for homeowners and there’s no pressure either way.

Ready when you are. Tell us about your tiling job and we’ll line you up with someone good.