# Forum Home Renovation Tiling  Cost of labour for laying floor tiles

## colonel1

Hi Guys 
Does anyone have an idea as to what the going rate charged by tilers for laying floor tiles. 
I have purchased all the floor tiles, adhesive & glue so was looking for someone to lay them for me.  
The area that I am looking at doing is approx 32sqm and they would be laid over existing tiles. 
I was told that rather than ripping up the old tiles which were laid on a concrete slab. Given that they were laid really well originally ( ie; flat) it would be alot easier just to lay the new ones directly on top of the existing tiles and the glue that I had purchased was ideal for such a job. 
Any advice or ideas would be appreciated.

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## Bloss

Not sure of labour cost, but it is quite likely it will be a 'all care and no responsibility' job - as you have made all the decisions about the existing floor and the suitability to lay tiles over tiles and the right glue to do that etc. That can be fine although I have seen drummy floors when the adhesion fails after old tiles have been tiled over - sometimes a couple of years later.  
Nothing wrong with making those decisions yourself, but if they happen to come loose or if there are any problems my view is that you have little to rely on so far as job quality goes. But - if you find someone who says it is OK and they are willing to do the job then I guess that's their call. Why not DIY - plenty of advice around and it isn't all that hard to do?  :2thumbsup:

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## Gooner

DIY. Not hard.

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## autogenous

Get 3 quotes. That will give you an idea. You should get some competitive pricing at the moment. 
I wouldn't be looking at laying over the top of existing. Its a trouble town invite.
It wont be cheap if it all starts lifting or cracking.
A professional job is worth it, especially if selling is ever a possibility. 
Not you but people always look for the cheapest option which can look very cheap. 
The bloke next door builds a good looking house and gets his money back and some.

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## stan250

Just laid my own floor tiles over existing tiled floor. Not too difficult provided your floor is level. I Pre-primed existing floor tiles with Bondcrete  then because the floor was not level I used a self levelling compound, then tiled on top of that. If the floor had been level then I was advised to use a tile primer on the old tiles first, then tile. You could grind off some of the surface of the old tiles for extra adherance.
I laid them diagonally so accurate marking out first, is crucial. Use of a good quality flexible floor tile adhesive is also essential- wall tile adhesive/general tile adhesive should not be used on floors apparently. 
I was told that a tiler in these parts would charge around $50 per square metre, but thats rural SA so other places may well be more.

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## pawnhead

> accurate marking out first, is crucial.

  If you're doing it yourself, it sure is. Some large tiles can have up to 5mm or more difference in size. If that's the case it might be advisable to lay out all the tiles dry first. You can swap larger ones for smaller ones, and adjust the width of your grout spacing to make the whole thing look reasonably good. If you don't do this, then you may glue down a whole course of smaller tiles, and when you lay the next course they may all be larger and they won't fit with anywhere near the same grout spacing. It could end up looking like a dogs breakfast.

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## stan250

> Some large tiles can have up to 5mm or more difference in size.

  ...and they're not generally square either  :Cry:

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## Gooner

> ...and there not generally square either

  Yep, and if using narrow grout widths (e.g. 1.5-3mm) then it can be difficult to hide/rectify these inaccuracies.

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## Vernonv

I just tiled a toilet and bathroom with 300 x 600 tiles and 1.5mm grout line and didn't have any issues with tile dimensions being out. Maybe they varied slightly, but not enough to notice and certainly not enough that I had to take special care with "matching" tile dimensions on a course.

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## Chumley

Probably depends on the quality of the tiles.  We had a family room/kitchen area tiled a few years ago - we bought the tiles, then contracted a pro to lay them.  He started using those little spacers and then asked about the price of the tiles.  When I told him he said they were very cheap and ripped up all the spacers and used his eye to line them up - said it would be more accurate over large distances.  He did a good job and you couldn't tell they were all different sizes unless you looked hard - then you saw some grout lines were 1 or 2 millimetres narrower than the others.  Good tiler made it look fine, but if I'd tried it myself it would have look like crap. 
Cheers,
Adam

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## autogenous

> I was told that a tiler in these parts would charge around $50 per square metre, but thats rural SA so other places may well be more.

  The tile dimensions, type of tile, and the intensity/complexity of the job will mean the price will vary tremendously. 
Ceramic? Porclein? Mosaics? Glass?  
Its a bit like saying what's the going rate for a car? 
Bondcrete cannot handle exposure to moisture for a period. It will let go and the floor will go drummy.  
If the tiles below are unsound at any point then the floor will go drummy. 
If you lay over the top of existing doors then there's a possibility you have to take another 20mm off the bottom of doors. There will be a need for graduation strips between floor coverings. 
You only save money if the floor stays down and someone else is prepared to bare with the job you have done. 
Im not saying its not possible. Just be careful before putting hard earned money on the floor.

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## stan250

> The tile dimensions, type of tile, and the intensity/complexity of the job will mean the price will vary tremendously. 
> Ceramic? Porclein? Mosaics? Glass?  
> Its a bit like saying what's the going rate for a car? 
> Bondcrete cannot handle exposure to moisture for a period. It will let go and the floor will go drummy.  
> If the tiles below are unsound at any point then the floor will go drummy. 
> If you lay over the top of existing doors then there's a possibility you have to take another 20mm off the bottom of doors. There will be a need for graduation strips between floor coverings. 
> You only save money if the floor stays down and someone else is prepared to bare with the job you have done. 
> Im not saying its not possible. Just be careful before putting hard earned money on the floor.

  $50 in this area is the most that would be charged apparently- so that covers pretty much all the variables, unless of course, you wanted the tiler to hang out of the window, upside down, whilst doing the job.  
Bondcrete should not be used in a "continuously wet area". We are not talking about a continuously wet area here. 
10 minutes to plane off bottom of door is no bid deal and no graduation strips needed as new floor covering outside bathroom has raised that level. 
I was advised on the best way to do the job by a professional and well respected tiler with 30 years experience, a builder with 25 years experience, and a well known tile supplier.

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