Floor Tiler Cannock

Floor Tiling FAQs

Why should you tile your floor?

Tiles come with many advantages. They can be relatively cheap meaning the initial costs for renovating a room can be quite low.

Tiles are hard-wearing and long lasting meaning they are less prone to damage from staining and water damage.

If you’re looking to bring a new lease of life to a kitchen, bathroom or hallway, getting them tiled can rejuvenate a room and change its entire appearance, saving the potential costs involved with complete renovation.

Tiles are also individually placed, should one get damaged it's fairly simple to remove and replace unlike wooden flooring or vinyl which can require the removal and replacement of the entire floor in order to resolve and issue.

Tiles also come in possibly the largest variety of any of the flooring options so you can always find the perfect tile to suit your design choice.

Tiles can be installed over underfloor heating systems and will transfer heat evenly and retain some of the heat after the heating element has been switched off.

How do you calculate the tiles required for a room floor?

A space to be tiled is measured in square meters (Sqm) and can be done by the tiler when a quote is being given. Ten percent is usually added to account for wastage from tiles that have to be cut but this can increase slightly if the tiles are particularly large.

How much does it cost to tile a floor?

This question obviously occurs at every job undertaken and the answer can vary quite substantially. Outlining a couple of examples should enable you to have a ballpark figure in mind for the work you require undertaking.

Tilers will charge for the work they do, but they will vary depending on the kind of tile being laid, the size of the job, the work required prior to a surface actually being tiled. Tilers’ fees can vary from £20/25sqm for ceramic and porcelain tiles to in excess of £100sqm for stone and specialised tiles. 

As a basic example if you had a 15sqm kitchen floor that required tiling and you had decided to remove the old tiles yourself and have a tiler lay a new floor you could expect a tiler to charge you around £25/30sqm with a slight variation depending on the size and thickness of the tiles.

Some tilers will be happy to charge a day rate, and these are usually reserved for larger works spanning a few days to several weeks and others will charge a set fee for the job. It is always worth noting the price varies depending on the size of the work being undertaken, the kind of tile being used, the amount of preparation work required before tiling and the area of the country you are in.

What tile should I use?

Tiling a floor can come with many factors to consider, from the underlying substrate being wood, concrete or the ever increasingly popular Anhydrite screed to floors that may combine one or more of these.

Floor tiles are often (but not always) made from porcelain as they are a much stronger, thicker and denser (compared to ceramic tiles) meaning they can easily withstand the everyday traffic of people walking over them and are much less prone to scratching that can occur whilst being traversed by pets and animals and are much less likely to crack or chip when kitchen utensils are inevitably dropped upon them. Not to say this will never happen but with a thicker stronger porcelain tile the chances are greatly reduced.

A good tiler should be able to recommend all the necessary steps needed to be taken for any floor to be successfully tiled. When coupled with the knowledge and expertise of the individuals working in the tile shops, total confidence should be felt that a tiling job has been completed competently and can guarantee maximum longevity.

How long will it take to tile a floor?

How long something takes to tile varies on its size, the kind of tile being used (porcelain, being thicker takes longer to cut and stone even more so) how many of the cuts require added attention (around obscurely shaped objects) and how much preparation is needed to make the floor or wall suitable be tiled on.

Cutting stone take much longer than cutting porcelain and will obviously increase the time, also, the addition of things like underfloor heating will increase the time it takes to.

As a standard you could hope for a decent tiler to be able to lay anywhere from ten to twenty square meters of floor in a single day. This does not account for grouting or preparation work that may be needed before the tiling begins.

You could expect an average kitchen floor to be done in 2/3 days, for example.

All these estimations are based on your average kitchen of a standard 2/3-bedroom house. Again, these times can vary greatly depending on the extent of the work being undertaken and is just being used as an example of what could be considered “the norm.”

What colour tile and grout should you go for?

What tile you should use depends on what it is exactly that you are tiling.

This is all down to a customer’s personal choice and what they prefer. There are however a couple of things worth pointing out before going out and shopping for tiles and grout.

You should avoid using white grout on floors as it often doesn’t take long to stain and become dirty. You can use sealing products on the grout, and this will increase the time in which it will stay new and fresh looking, but it ultimately will still lead to grout that begins to discolour and stain. With darker grouts this is often hidden by the nature of its colour, and this will want to be considered when choosing a tile.

With stone effect tiles it is often recommended to use a grout that is near to the colour of the tile as it gives the stone effect tile a more authentic look. This is because it can hide where one tile stops and another starts giving a more rustic and stone like appearance.

Using light coloured tiles in confined spaces with less light can increase how spacious a room feels as the light colours reflect better. Small bathrooms benefit greatly from this method.

Which type of floor tiles is best for a kitchen/bathroom/entrance hall?

Tiling a floor can come with many factors to consider also, from the underlying substrate being wood, concrete or the ever increasingly popular Anhydrite screed to floors that may combine one or more of these.

Floor tiles are often (but not always) made from porcelain as they are a much stronger, thicker and denser (compared to ceramic tiles) meaning they can easily withstand the everyday traffic of people walking over them and are much less prone to scratching that can occur whilst being traversed by pets and animals and are much less likely to crack or chip when kitchen utensils are inevitably dropped upon them. Not to say this will never happen but with a thicker stronger porcelain tile the chances are greatly reduced.

A good tiler should be able to recommend all the necessary steps needed to be taken for any floor or wall to be successfully tiled. When coupled with the knowledge and expertise of the individuals working in the tile shops, total confidence should be felt that a tiling job has been completed competently and can guarantee maximum longevity.

What are, and should you use “rectified” tiles?

Rectified tiles are tiles that have been ground and polished to give a near straight edge and this makes sure that the tolerance of the tiles is incredibly consistent.

Rectified tiles are considered to look more modern and sleeker than their non-rectified counterparts and when coupled with a tile levelling system to ensure all tiles are laid at an exact depth, they give an incredibly professional and attractive finish.

A smaller grout gap of 2mm can often be used with rectified tiles. Rectified tiles do have a higher chance of chipping at the edges.

Once grout is inserted into the grout gaps if too much is then removed whilst its being finished off it can leave slight dips and troughs within the grout lines that expose too much of the edge of the rectified tile thus leading to a higher likelihood of chipping further down the line.

Rectified tiles are often more expensive than their traditional counterparts.

Can you tile outside?

Yes, you absolutely can tile outside, and it has many benefits over other available options such as flagging or decking.

When tiling outside porcelain tiles are the tile of choice. As a result of their high density, they will absorb almost no moisture and are incredibly strong underfoot. Because they absorb so little moisture they will not crack under freezing temperature and will not stain.

Because the tile is made of porcelain its is hard wearing and extremely durable, it may be thicker than ordinary ceramic tiles but is nowhere near as thick as a concrete flag/slab which greatly reduces weight and becomes much less hassle. Porcelain tiles are highly resistant to UV fading and fire resistant too.

Unlike decking patio tiling requires little maintenance and will not rot and deteriorate.