Guide

The Real Cost to Tile a Bathroom

Tiling a bathroom is a rewarding DIY job, but the cost is more than just the tiles. Here's the full picture for a typical UK bathroom in 2026.

The tiles

Bathroom tiles range from around £15 per square metre for basic ceramics to £40 or more for porcelain and natural stone. A typical bathroom might need 15 to 25 square metres once walls and floor are counted, so tiles alone can be £300 to £800.

Adhesive, grout and sundries

These are the forgotten costs. Adhesive, grout, tile spacers, silicone sealant and a tile trim add up to a meaningful chunk on top. Our tile calculator works out tiles, adhesive and grout together so nothing catches you out at the till.

Labour

If you hire a tiler, expect to pay per square metre or per day — tiling a full bathroom professionally often runs into several hundred pounds of labour, more for mosaics, intricate patterns or lots of cuts around fittings.

Ways to save

Tiling only the wet areas fully and using paint or half-height tiling elsewhere cuts the tile bill. Choosing a larger tile format reduces cutting and grouting time. And buying 10 to 15% extra of the same batch upfront is cheaper than a frantic reorder that might not match.