What does bathroom tiling cost in Tyne and Wear?
Our guide range in Tyne and Wear is £40–£80 per m² including VAT. Prices in Tyne and Wear run at about 10% below the UK guide, based on North East England labour rates.
Ceramic
- Standard ceramic wall tiles
Porcelain
- Full height in wet zones
Large-format or stone
- Sealing where needed
Guide prices for Tyne and Wear including VAT. Your itemised written quote after the free survey is the price that counts.
Which towns do we cover in Tyne and Wear?
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Sunderland
- South Shields
- Gateshead
- Washington
- Tynemouth
- Wallsend
- Newburn
- North Shields
- Whitley Bay
- Houghton-Le-Spring
- Felling
- Jarrow
- Gosforth
- Hebburn
- Whickham
- Blaydon-on-Tyne
Supplies across most of Tyne and Wear are soft. Soft water is kind to grout, so mid-tone and darker grouts stay looking fresh. Hardness varies street by street, so check the figure for your postcode with your water supplier. If your Newcastle upon Tyne home has hard water, larger tiles and epoxy grout leave fewer joints for limescale to build up in.
What the job includes
- Sealing natural stone and cleaning off grout haze before handover
- Setting out so cuts are even and joints line up with niches, windows and edges
- Grouting, trims or mitred edges, and silicone at internal corners, the bath and the tray
- Tanking the shower area and the walls around the bath with a waterproof membrane or liquid system
- Floor preparation: overlaying timber floors with ply or backer board, or levelling a screed
- Fixing with an adhesive suited to the tile and the surface, with levelling clips for large tiles
Decisions to make first
Natural stone
Marble, limestone and travertine need sealing and gentle cleaners, and can mark. Stone-effect porcelain gives a similar look without the upkeep.
Ceramic or porcelain
Ceramic is lighter, easier to cut and cheaper, and is fine on walls. Porcelain is denser and absorbs less water, so it suits floors and showers.
Floor grip
For a bathroom floor, choose a matt or textured tile with a slip rating of R10 or above. Smaller tiles with more grout lines grip better in a shower.
Tile size
Large-format tiles mean fewer grout lines but need flat walls and more preparation. Small tiles and mosaics follow uneven surfaces and grip better underfoot.
Rules that apply in England
Re-tiling a bathroom does not need planning permission or building regulations approval. In a flat, check the lease before changing to hard floor tiles, because sound insulation and the risk of leaks to the flat below matter, and wet rooms often need freeholder consent. In a listed building, removing original tiles that contribute to its character can need listed building consent.
In England, tiling itself is not building regulations work. If it is part of forming a level shower floor with new drainage, that drainage can be Part H work, and any new electrics are covered by Part P.

