Any tiling experts out there?

[timetochangeyourlife]

We've just had someone round to discuss tiling our floors and I was bit shocked at how long he said it would take.
Its two what I would call average size bathrooms but the loo/bath/shower/sink etc are already in place he wanted us to get a plumber in to remove the loo and baths. One smallish utility room say 7ft x 11 ft one small loo again he wants the loo taken out and a kitchen 11ft x 13 ft all units etc are in situ in a biggish island in the middle. Tile size 600mm x 300m. It will a base floor put down prior to tiles.
Can anyone give me a rough idea as to how long this take.

and a biggish size island not in a biggish island.

I’m having my bathroom done now and they tiled the en-suite, and did it with the loo in place. It’s not as easy but very doable

For the main bathroom yes everything was stripped out as it was all being replaced and the floor replaced underneath, but if you’re sure rhe floor is sound, then they can do round the loo and up to the bath.

I’d get another tiler.

Time, I’d say it depends on what they are doing, due to the state of rhe floor underneath and if it is flat, but three days for one room.

He sounds very fussy... find a different tiler

Get some one else in to quote and advise as well. Does this tiler come recommended? If you are getting bad vibes, then I'd look elsewhere.

Having said that, the any tiler I've ever spoken to has said it's best to have a toilet sit on tiles rather than tile around. If you are also have to lay a base on which to tile you'll be adding more height to your floor. Moving the bath sounds sensible too.

Time is going to depend on how complicated the tiling is. Might need to do the sub floor, tiling and grouting on different days though.

The bathroom has only just been put in and it's sitting in a brand new level floor although it will need something like detra mat put down before the tiles are laid. We were quoted 4 weeks to do it that just seems like a lot to me. We are getting other quoted just wondered what other experiences were.

2 weeks max for that... less if you move everything for him

You get a better job if you take out the sanitaryware before fitting. Refitting is easy as all the pipes are in place.

It is also less time for the tiler so they should charge less.

If you are lucky enough to have two bathrooms you can have them done one at a time.

BTW, grey grout on the floor. White will never look clean.

And not glossy or you will fall over.

And they usually like the shower and bath in place so they can tile down to them. Unless it is free-standing.

Why didn't you sort tiling quotes prior to replacing the bath/toilet? Before stripping it out? They would've told you to let them know once room is clear then tiled before fixtures replaced

If you want the best finish the space need to be cleared

Ditra matting will take a day to lay and then dry because it is laid onto a bed of adhesive. 4 weeks sounds an incredibly long amount of time to lay 3 floors. Sounds more like a week or so.

I am a plumber. I am having my downstairs kitchen, toilet and bathroom retiled next week. I am having 600mm square tiles fitted. The bath must be in before the tiling. The toilet should be unscrewed from the floor and the wall to allow the tiles to go underneath and behind. On a temporary basis, (or if a back to the wall toilet is being used) a flexible pan connector can be used so it can be moved about to a certain extent, they cost £10. I am having about 25m2 done. I will let you know on the timing. I thought you could lay ties on Ditra almost immediately. I will know better next week. I never screw my toilet to the floor or walls as I don't want to damage either incase I swap the toilet. I just silicone it down. This will be done anyway to stop water/pee getting underneath. Also, drilling through 9mm porecelain tiles is not easy.
To get my upstairs bathroom tiled 22m2 in 600mm porcelain took a tiler and a labourer 2 days. The basin should be able to be removed to allow the tiles to go behind it, but again that is an easy job. If the shower base is in place I would leave it. I would expect the shower valve and screens to be removed. I always recommnend bar shower valves as they can be swapped in a few minutes in the event of failure.
I will post times and photos after Christmas.

"Why didn't you sort tiling quotes prior to replacing the bath/toilet? Before stripping it out? They would've told you to let them know once room is clear then tiled before fixtures replaced"
We've literally just bought the house this is how it was when we moved in. It's a virtually brand new its was built by the previous owner only finished a few months ago I personally think he ran out of money to do the floors which is why they are what they are.
Thank you MrFish323 thats very helpful.

A. Month to do this sounds all kinds of wrong

As said, my bathroom has just been refitted, ans I’d say the floor took them three days maybe four, they lifted the floor boards, relaid ply, then another layer of something, and then put a layer of some leveller on, then after the weekend tiled, then when that was dry, they grouted it.

For my daughters en-suite, they asked about the loo coming out but I wasn’t keen, so they tiled round it and did an excellent job, but it’s u shaped at the bottom so nothing to be tiled behind, there was ply down there, so they laid that layer of something else on top of it that I referred to earlier, it’s like a pale grey plastic heavy layer thing, and then tiled on that, the next day when it was dry they grouted it.

I can’t see how it’s four weeks work.

We had two bathrooms tiled, walls 50% ish plus floors and it took a few days each. I can’t quite remember. This was once toilet and bath etc were fitted.

I do remember the cost though, it worked out at £25 a square metre for the tiling. Cost of tiles on top. That’s maybe something you can compare.

We had approx 30m2 of similar size tyres tiles laid in a hall and shower room and it took 4.5 days with a tiler and his apprentice if I remember correctly. The shower had been fitted but the sink and toilet hadn't. We had laid the Marmox tile backer on the floor and wall ourselves and that took me 2 evenings.

Are the tiles you have chosen porcelain or stone. My tiler would have charged more per metre for them (as I think they would take longer to cut).

The tiles are porcelain. We're busy looking for other quotes now.

We had our smallish bathroom stripped back to the bare walls, plaster boarded, the floor laid with concrete backer boards and ufh, then the whole lot tiled with 600 x 300 porcelain tiles. We also had new electrics, ceiling and suite. The whole lot took about 10 days. 4 weeks sounds a bit long tbh.