Tiler pricing in Edinburgh

Per-sqm install (labour only): £40 to £80 for standard Edinburgh (Leith, Marchmont, Newington). £55 to £100 for New Town (EH3), Stockbridge, Morningside, Bruntsfield and The Grange. £80 to £160 for large-format porcelain in premium pockets. Add tile material (£20 to £250 plus per sqm depending on tier). State substrate prep, tanking, install and grouting as separate lines. Add VAT at 20 percent.

£4,500 to £14,000 plus VAT for a typical Edinburgh tenement bathroom (5 to 8 sqm wall and floor tile, full strip-out). Includes substrate prep (£30 to £95 per sqm), tanking (£35 to £75 per sqm), tile install (£40 to £100 per sqm), tile material (£20 to £250 plus per sqm), grouting and silicone. New Town and Stockbridge premium bathrooms £10,000 to £25,000 plus.

Yes. Scottish Building Standards (Section 3) requires tanking and waterproofing in wet rooms and wet zones. Quote Schluter Kerdi, BAL Tanking Kit or Mapei Mapelastic at £35 to £75 per sqm as a separate line. State 'Scottish Building Standards compliant' on the quote. Improperly tanked wet rooms cause downstairs leaks through tenement floors and factor claims.

Yes on every pre-war tenement job. Lath-and-plaster walls and pine floorboards on joists at variable centres need cement board overlay (£30 to £55 per sqm), decoupling membrane (Schluter Ditra or Dural Durabase at £25 to £45 per sqm) or full lath-and-plaster replacement with plasterboard (£55 to £95 per sqm). Pre-quote as contingency; substrate condition is unknown until strip-out.

Not without Listed Building Consent on Category A or B listed buildings. Original encaustic and geometric tile (hallways, stair risers, fireplaces) is part of the character and protected. Quote LBC drawings (£800 to £3,500) and an 8 to 16 week consent timeline. Reclaimed Victorian encaustic tile sourcing and matching adds specialist labour at £150 to £350 per sqm.

Hourly rates are £28 to £50 in the US, £28-65 in the UK, A£31-110 in Australia, R180-500 in South Africa, and C£28-95 in Canada. Most tilers prefer fixed-price per square metre because it is more transparent and forces a clear scope conversation.

A standard 6-7sqm bathroom (walls + floor + shower) takes 5-7 working days from strip-out to grouting, plus 24-48 hours for waterproofing membrane cure and another 24 hours before the room can be used. Larger or pattern-heavy bathrooms run 7-10 days.

You can, and many customers do for design control. Just confirm with the tiler 1-2 weeks before start so the tile arrives on site in time and the colour matches across boxes. Customer-supplied tile usually voids tile-failure warranties; workmanship warranty stays.

For jobs over £1,120, get 2-3 quotes. Compare tile brand, waterproofing inclusion, substrate prep, pattern and edge detail. The cheapest quote often skips waterproofing or substrate prep, leading to failure within 3 years.

Ceramic is the cheapest and softest; OK for walls, marginal for floors. Porcelain is denser, harder, and frost-proof; the best all-rounder. Natural stone (marble, travertine, slate) is premium-priced, beautiful, and needs sealing before and after grouting.