Tiler pricing in Melbourne
What tilers charge in Melbourne (typically $55-$110/hr), the local factors that move the rate, and a sample quote you can use as a starting point.
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Melbourne tiler pricing
What tilers should charge in Melbourne
Melbourne tilers serve premium-suburb bathroom and kitchen renovations, rental-turnover volume, and commercial fitouts. Imported Italian, Spanish, and Turkish porcelain ships 8-14 weeks to Port of Melbourne. Heritage Overlay terraces (Carlton, Fitzroy, Richmond, South Melbourne, Albert Park, Port Melbourne) need lath-and-plaster wall replacement before tile install. AS 3958.1 (waterproofing) is the wet-area standard; non-compliant waterproofing causes downstairs leaks and Owners Corporation disputes. Premium suburbs run 30-50% above outer suburbs.
Hourly rate
$55-$110
per hour, weekday daytime
Call-out fee
$39-$83
within standard radius
After-hours
1.5-2x
evening, weekend, holiday
Job pricing
What to charge for common tiler jobs in Melbourne
Real-world price ranges for the jobs local tradies quote every week. Use the table as a starting point for your own quotes and adjust for parts, access, and your overheads. All figures in AUD.
Site visit and measure
What's included
Most tilers visit free for jobs over $1,650. Detailed CAD plans for patterned floors may be charged.
Kitchen splashback (per sqm)
What's included
Includes tile cuts around outlets, edge trim, grout, and 1-2 days labour. Mosaic or natural stone adds cost.
Bathroom wall tile (per sqm)
What's included
Includes waterproofing membrane on wet areas, tile, grout, and labour. Patterns and small format tiles cost more.
Bathroom floor tile (per sqm)
What's included
Includes waterproofing, screed if needed, tile, grout, and labour. Large format porcelain or anti-slip rated tiles cost more.
Full bathroom retile (walls + floor)
What's included
Includes strip-out, waterproofing, screed, tiles, grout, silicon, 5-7 days labour. Bath/shower replacement priced separately.
Kitchen floor tile (per sqm)
What's included
Includes prep, tile, grout, and labour. Skirting cut-back, threshold strips, and edge trim quoted separately.
Outdoor patio tile (per sqm)
What's included
Includes anti-slip rated porcelain or natural stone, drainage falls, exterior-grade adhesive, and labour. Pool surrounds cost more.
Floor screed prep (per sqm)
What's included
Self-levelling compound to fix uneven floors before tile laying. Required where deflection >5mm. Add if floor is concrete-rough.
Tile removal (per sqm)
What's included
Includes strip, debris removal, and substrate clean. Cement-bed tile removal runs higher than thinset.
Melbourne quote factors
What to factor into your Melbourne tiler quote
Local context that should shape what you quote as a tiler in Melbourne. Temperate oceanic. Four-seasons-in-one-day variability. Mild winters (rarely below 5°C, occasional ground frost), hot summers (often 30°C+ with sudden 40°C+ heat events), low-medium rainfall (~650mm/year), cool changes bring 15-20°C drops. Wind exposure for Port Phillip Bay-side suburbs.
Premium suburb tier
Toorak (3142), Brighton (3186), Hawthorn (3122), Kew (3101), South Yarra (3141), Malvern (3144), Armadale (3143), Canterbury (3126), Camberwell (3124) command A$105-A$200/sqm for install (labour only). Standard suburban A$72-A$120/sqm. Outer suburbs A$50-A$94/sqm. Add tile material (A$33-A$310+/sqm depending on tier). State substrate prep, waterproofing, install, grouting, cleanup as separate lines.
Heritage Overlay substrate repair
Pre-1900 Victorian terraces in Carlton (3053), Fitzroy (3065), Collingwood (3066), Richmond (3121), South Melbourne (3205), Albert Park (3206), Port Melbourne (3207) need substrate repair before tile install: lath-and-plaster wall replacement with cement board (A$105-A$175/sqm), Schluter Kerdi or Ditra membrane (A$50-A$99/sqm). Quote substrate work as a contingency line on every pre-1900 job.
AS 3958.1 wet-area waterproofing
Australian Standard AS 3958.1 requires bathroom and wet-area waterproofing (Mapei Mapelastic, Davco Watercheck, Ardex WPM 002). Non-compliant waterproofing causes downstairs leaks, Owners Corporation disputes, and VBA show-cause action. Quote waterproofing A$66-A$155/sqm of wet area as a separate line. Print AS 3958.1 compliance and product brand on every quote.
Imported tile lead times to Port of Melbourne
Italian (Marca Corona, Coem, Marazzi, Cotto d'Este), Spanish (Porcelanosa, Apavisa, Inalco), Turkish (Vitra, Kale), Portuguese premium porcelain imports 8-14 weeks to Port of Melbourne. AU domestic (Beaumont Tiles, Tile Republic, National Tiles, Academy Tiles) 1-3 weeks. State lead time on the contract; Heritage Overlay planning permits (8-16 weeks) often run in parallel.
Rental-turnover and commercial volume
Melbourne has ~700k rental properties. Landlord rental-turnover work uses basic ceramic tile (300x300 or 300x600 white subway), quote per-bathroom (A$3,080-A$6,050 with tile included) at landlord portfolio rates. Commercial restaurant and retail fitout in CBD (3000), Fitzroy (3065), Collingwood (3066), Richmond (3121), South Yarra (3141) drives volume; quote per-sqm (A$105-A$240 install + tile).
Owners Corporation approvals
Internal tiling usually sits inside the lot, but any work touching common-property pipes or floors above other apartments needs OC approval (2-6 weeks). Quote OC approval lead time, certificate-of-insurance overhead (A$660-A$1,650/year), and OC-required waterproofing certificate (A$330-A$715) as separate lines. Non-compliant waterproofing in apartments triggers OC legal action.
Sample quote
A real Melbourne tiler quote you can copy
Full bathroom retile, walls + floor + shower niche, mid-range porcelain. Replace the line items and rates with your own; the structure stays.
Strip-out existing tile and grout (walls 22sqm, floor 6sqm)
Floor screed and level prep
Waterproofing membrane (Ardex or similar, walls and floor wet areas)
Wall tile (22sqm, porcelain 300x600 customer-choice)
Floor tile (6sqm, anti-slip porcelain 600x600 customer-choice)
Pencil trim in shower niche and external edges (8 linear m, brushed nickel)
Grout (epoxy, neutral grey, all joints) and silicone in corners
Tiling labour (4 days, 1 tiler)
FAQ
Melbourne tiler pricing questions, answered
Common questions about tiler pricing in Melbourne, with answers framed for tradies pricing their own work.
Per-sqm install (labour only): A$50-A$94 outer suburbs; A$72-A$120 standard suburban; A$105-A$200 premium suburbs (Toorak 3142, Brighton 3186, Hawthorn 3122, Kew 3101, South Yarra 3141). Add tile material (A$33-A$310+/sqm) and waterproofing (A$66-A$155/sqm of wet area). State substrate prep, install, grouting, cleanup separately. Add GST (10%).
A$13,200-A$35,200 for a 6-10sqm bathroom in tile and labour depending on tier. Toorak (3142), Brighton (3186), Hawthorn (3122), Kew (3101), South Yarra (3141), Canterbury (3126). Includes substrate repair (A$50-A$175/sqm), waterproofing AS 3958.1 (A$66-A$155/sqm), tile install (A$105-A$200/sqm), tile material (A$33-A$310+/sqm), grouting, silicone.
Yes, on every pre-1900 Victorian terrace job (Carlton 3053, Fitzroy 3065, Collingwood 3066, Richmond 3121, South Melbourne 3205, Albert Park 3206, Port Melbourne 3207). Lath-and-plaster walls need cement-board replacement (A$105-A$175/sqm), Schluter Kerdi or Ditra membrane (A$50-A$99/sqm). Pre-quote as a contingency line; substrate condition is unknown until demo.
Yes, always, on bathroom and wet-area jobs. AS 3958.1 is the Australian Standard. Quote Mapei Mapelastic, Davco Watercheck, or Ardex WPM 002 (A$66-A$155/sqm of wet area) as a separate line. Non-compliant waterproofing causes downstairs leaks, Owners Corporation disputes, and VBA show-cause action. Print AS 3958.1 compliance and product brand on every quote.
Italian (Marca Corona, Coem, Marazzi, Cotto d'Este), Spanish (Porcelanosa, Apavisa, Inalco), Turkish (Vitra, Kale), Portuguese imports: 8-14 weeks to Port of Melbourne. AU domestic (Beaumont Tiles, Tile Republic, National Tiles, Academy Tiles): 1-3 weeks. State on the contract; Heritage Overlay planning permits (8-16 weeks) often run in parallel.
Hourly rates are $55 to $99 in the US, £28-65 in the UK, A$61-110 in Australia, R180-500 in South Africa, and C$55-95 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 $2,200, 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.
Keep going
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