What a Tiling Quote Should Include (and 6 Red Flags)

A proper tiling quote sets out, in writing, the exact areas to be tiled, every piece of prep work named individually — removing old tiles, backer board, tanking, levelling — who’s buying the tiles, and a fixed total, not just a price per square metre. If any of that’s missing, ask before you agree to anything. Here’s the full checklist, and the red flags worth walking away from.

What a proper written tiling quote should include

A quote that’s just a single number for “the bathroom” tells you almost nothing about what you’re actually paying for, or what happens if the job turns out bigger than expected once the old tiles come off. A proper one breaks down into the following:

• Exact areas, in m², for each wall and the floor — not a single lump figure for “the bathroom”
• Every piece of prep named individually: removing old tiles, tile backer board, tanking, levelling an uneven floor. “Preparation as required” is not a line item, it’s a blank cheque
• Who’s buying the tiles — labour only, or supply and fit, and if the tiler’s sourcing them, whether there’s a mark-up on top
• Grout, silicone, trims and fixings — these aren’t always bundled in automatically, and silicone in particular is often priced as an extra
• Removal and disposal of the old tiles, adhesive and rubble, so it doesn’t turn up as a skip-hire surprise
• A realistic timescale in days, not “a week or two”
• Payment terms: the deposit size, when the balance is due, and how
• What’s explicitly not included — plumbing, electrics, replastering, moving a toilet or basin

None of this is unusual to ask for. A tiler who prices jobs properly already has most of it written down before they leave your house — it’s the ones pricing off a quick look who tend to leave it vague.

If you want the full price breakdown behind the headline figure, we’ve covered that separately in how much it costs to tile a bathroom.

Six red flags in a tiling quote

1. A price given over the phone, with nobody coming to actually look at the room. Walls and floors vary too much for a number to mean anything without eyes on the job.
2. “We’ll see what it needs when we get there.” That’s not flexibility, it’s prep that hasn’t been priced and will turn up as an extra once the old tiles are off.
3. A large deposit before any work starts — enough to cover materials is normal, but a deposit that covers most of the labour too is a reason to pause.
4. No mention of waterproofing anywhere in a bathroom quote. Tanking is what actually stops water getting behind the tiles; silicone alone doesn’t.
5. Cash only, with no paperwork at all. A legitimate trader can give you a written quote and an invoice; if they won’t, ask why.
6. No public liability insurance, or a vague answer when you ask. A straight “yes, here’s our policy” should take them seconds.

None of these on its own proves a tiler is bad at the job — plenty of good tradespeople are disorganised with paperwork. But together they’re the pattern behind most of the “it cost twice what I was told” stories, and every one of them is something you can check before any work starts, not after.

Questions worth asking before you agree

• What’s included in the per-m² price, and what isn’t?
• Who’s responsible for buying the tiles, and is there a mark-up if you are?
• Will you be doing tanking or waterproofing, and is that priced separately?
• What happens if you find a problem once the old tiles are off?
• Can I see your public liability insurance?

If you’re also trying to work out whether a per-m² rate or a day rate is the fairer way to compare two quotes, that’s a question in its own right.

What our quote looks like

We’re two brothers with ten years of tiling between us, and we measure up for free anywhere across Herefordshire before we price anything. The written quote that follows is fixed, lists the prep by name — if your floor needs levelling or your shower needs a backer board and tanking, we say so at that stage, not halfway through the job — and sets out who’s buying the tiles if you’d rather choose them yourself. It also gives you a realistic timescale: a bath surround and splashback usually takes one to two days, a full bathroom floor and walls three to five days including grouting and sealing, and a simple kitchen splashback is normally done in a day. We tidy up at the end of each day and cut tiles outside where we can. More about us.

What this looks like in Herefordshire

Bromyard has some of the county’s best-preserved timber-framed buildings, around High Street and Church Street, and frames like that move with the weather — walls are rarely square, and a tile job that ignores this will crack within a year. A proper quote for a house like this should say how it’s being handled: usually boarding the walls out flat and using a decoupling membrane on the floor, rather than assuming a standard new-build prep. If a quote for an old Herefordshire property doesn’t mention any of that, it’s worth asking why.

Quick answers

How do I find a good tiler?

Ask for a written quote, not a verbal one; check it names the prep rather than leaving it vague; and ask to see public liability insurance. A tiler who’s confident in their work has no reason to be vague about any of that.

What does a real tiling quote example look like?

At minimum: the areas in m², the prep work named individually, who’s buying the tiles, a timescale in days, the payment terms, and a line stating what isn’t included. If a quote you’ve been given is missing most of this, it’s reasonable to ask for those details before you commit.

When to call a tiler

A good quote is the easiest way to tell a careful tiler from a rushed one, before any work starts. If you’d like one, get in touch and we’ll measure up for free, anywhere from Hereford to Bromyard and across the rest of the county.