Find a trusted tiler in Brisbane

Bathrooms upstairs on timber, rooms downstairs on slab

Tiling in Brisbane often means two kinds of floor in one house. Upstairs in a Queenslander, the bathroom usually sits on timber joists that flex and move with the seasons, and tiles laid straight onto that will crack. A good tiler puts down a fibre cement sheet underlay, uses a flexible adhesive and leaves movement joints where they belong. Downstairs, a raise-and-build-under usually brings a new slab, which needs to cure properly before any tiles go on.

Older bathrooms bring surprises when the tiles come off. Walls in homes built before about 1990 may be asbestos fibro sheeting, so have them checked before anyone starts breaking things up. Budget a little extra, too, for the joists or wall frame under a shower that has been leaking for years.

Humidity, storms and outdoor tiles

Brisbane’s humidity is hard on grout. Showers and bathrooms that never fully dry out turn black along the grout lines, and re-grouting with a sealer, or switching to epoxy grout in the shower, helps. Outside, alfrescos, patios and pool surrounds need tiles with a slip rating suited to wet, barefoot areas, and a fall towards the drains that can cope with a summer downpour. Water that ponds against the house is a sign the fall is wrong.

With a leaking shower, regrouting rarely solves it for good. If water is getting past the tiles, the waterproof membrane underneath has usually failed, and the lasting fix is to strip back, re-waterproof and retile.

Checking a tiler’s licence in Queensland

Tiling worth more than $3,300, including labour and materials, needs a QBCC Wall and floor tiling licence, and that licence also covers the waterproofing under the tiles. A bathroom retile is usually over that line. Look the tiler up on the QBCC licensee register before you sign, and ask who is doing the waterproofing if it isn’t the tiler. Our Queensland licence guide has more on reading the register.

Tiling costs around Brisbane

Standard floor tiling in Brisbane often costs around $40 to $90 per m² to lay, before the tiles. Large-format tiles run higher, about $60 to $130 per m², and waterproofing is usually $30 to $70 per m² on top. Retiling a standard bathroom typically costs $2,000 to $5,500 in labour, a kitchen splashback $400 to $1,200 and an outdoor area $60 to $120 per m². Small repairs are charged at about $50 to $100 an hour. The tiler price guide has the detail.

One Brisbane tiler, matched to your job

Tell us what you’re tiling, the rough size and your suburb, and we’ll match you with one local tiler whose insurance and reviews we’ve checked, plus their QBCC licence for jobs over $3,300. You can also read about tilers nationally and other trades in Brisbane, or go straight to a free quote. Planning a full bathroom renovation? A Brisbane builder can run the whole job.