How Long Does Tiling a Bathroom Take?
Sometimes it’s worth paying a professional to tile your bathroom for you - that way you don’t need to worry about what materials you need, how long it's going to take, and how to actually do it.
That being said, more and more people love a bit of DIY, which is why it’s important to know exactly what to expect before you get started or you could end up costing yourself more money having someone retile all your hard work.
How long it takes to tile a bathroom depends on whether you’re tiling the walls and floor or only the walls, as this can make a difference to the project’s timeline. You need to consider the size of the tile too, whether it’s a large-format tile or mosaic, as the smaller ones tend to be a bit more intricate.
But don’t let that put you off, we’ll help guide you through how long tiling a bathroom might take, but remember every job is different and it also helps if you know what you’re doing.
What Affects How Long Tiling Takes?
Before getting started on tiling your bathroom, you need to step back and take a look at the current condition of the bathroom. Is it a particularly old bathroom that requires a lot of work? Have you just moved into a new house, and it’s in good condition but just needs a freshen-up, or is it a complete gut job and you need to start from the beginning?
All these things can affect how long it takes, and looking at the bigger picture can help you understand what exactly needs to be done before you can begin tiling.
Below, we’ve put together a list of key things to take into account before starting the process:
Removing old tiles and repairing the wall behind them
The state of the walls or floor and if they need levelling or plasterboard
Waterproofing the space, especially if you’ve got a shower or wet room
Cutting around pipes, windows and fixtures in the bathroom
Whether other bathroom work is taking place at the same time
Understanding these things first will make the process go a lot smoother and will save you time in the long run, as you've thought about every step before simply tiling over the top of everything without thinking.
The tile type and pattern, as we already mentioned in the beginning, can also affect how long it takes.
Tiles such as herringbone and patterned layouts generally take longer, so if this is your first-time tiling a bathroom, we suggest maybe going for a standard subway tile as opposed to a more complex mosaic, unless you don’t mind it taking you a bit longer.
A Step-by-Step Bathroom Tiling Timeline
The size of the bathroom can also make a huge difference to the tiling timeline.
If you’re looking to tile a small bathroom or ensuite, it could take roughly around 2-3 days, for an average family bathroom, 3-4 days and for a large bathroom or wet room, 5+ days (depending on experience).
See below for a step-by-step guide to help you visualise the tiling process and what’s involved:
Strip out and prep the surfaces (unless you’re working with a blank canvas)
Tanking and letting it dry out
Laying the tiles
Letting the adhesive set before grouting (usually 24 hours)
Grouting and sealing
Silicone, then letting it cure before the shower is used
Top tip: before you begin tiling, make sure you warn everyone in the house that you’ll be spending significant time in the bathroom and that access might be limited, especially when you are laying the tiles, as you need to act quickly as soon as the adhesive is on.
DIY vs Hiring a Professional Tiler
If you want to save time, it’s important to acknowledge that doing it yourself will probably take much longer than if you hired a professional to do it.
You need to think about when you can do it - weekday evenings after work, over the weekend and how much time you actually have available to get the job done and done well.
Let's walk through the pros and cons of DIY and getting a professional in to do the tiling:
Doing it yourself
Pros:
Save money
Learn new skills
Take your time
Cons:
Cost you money if done incorrectly
Little to no experience
Usually a slower process
Hiring a professional
Pros:
Faster
Experienced
Higher-quality
Cons:
More money than DIY
Fixed appointment time
Part of a waiting list
If time is the trade-off, then a professional tiler is the right choice. Overall, they are a lot faster, you’re guaranteed a finished bathroom, they will use the right tools, and there will be fewer wasted tiles. They will also save on the cost of fixing mistakes later down the line.
Common DIY mistakes we see are uneven tiles, gaps in the waterproofing, and cracked grout, which are a pain to fix, which is why it’s sometimes better to leave it to the professionals.
Want to Save Time Tiling Your Bathroom?
GPPM Developments will get your bathroom tiled quickly and neatly, from prep and waterproofing to the final grout line. Contact us today for a free quote or explore our recent tiling work for more ideas.
You may also like our guide on how to renovate a bathroom, where we break it down into seven manageable steps that will fit your timescale and budget.
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