How long to tile a bathroom please - Tile Advice

[rufus the tiler]

Hi all, I am trying to find out if I am up to the right speed levels with tiling bathrooms....how long would take you guys to tile your average size bathroom....example...2m x 1.7m x 2.4 high with an average size window and door to go round...in 400x250 tiles(brickbond)...bag adhesive and white grout...standard no feature/border etc but to a high standard...walls are new board already done...just curious.
I take 3 days...too long?

 

[Qwerty]

A very subjective question. Are walls completely flat and level, are tiles bowed or sizey? I would say 3 days is fine. Some would say they do it in a day, some 2, some more! If you can make 3 days wage out of 3 days tiling then happy days. If you can only make 2 days wages from 3 days work then yes you're too slow

 

[rufus the tiler]

I have talked to other tilers before and some have said a day......I just can never imagine doing full room in a day without letting standards drop...I sometimes can take 30 mins on one tile if it needs it......I do full bathroom renovations mostly and generally estimate 7-9 days with plastering ,spotlights,fans etc but I do aim for a top job everytime ....I charge labour at a day rate based on time estimate.......as for bowed tiles I wont buy them....make the job a nightmare.

 

[Qwerty]

In that case carry on as you are. That is my approach and many others on here.

 

[Dumbo]

If you're getting work. Getting paid for it and customer is happy you must be doing something right . I have tiled rooms in a day before but that is site work. Working in somebodies house setting up tools , packing tools away , tidying up end of day and sometimes during the day . Setting out a new room all takes time so how long does that actually leave you in one day to tile .

 

[rufus the tiler]

Good stuff....I am getting older now lol so will only get slower or may have to take someone on to do fetching and carrying.

 

[Andy Allen]

Your example would take me 2 days.
First day I would tile most of the walls just leaving the window reveals and maybe the bottom cuts.
2nd day finish the tiling and grout.

But at the end of the day as long as you do a good job it's all that matters..

 

[demi34]

2.5 days -3days

 

[StephenR]

This might be controversial but I take ages and get paid for it. At least 4 days for me but then I am not a full time tiler and do whole room refurbs from start to finish. I used to use a tiler and he wasn't bad but not up to the standard I expect hence why I'm doing it again. I don't use rapids as I'm not fast enough so laying and grouting on same day is not possible however I know some tilers will grout "when the tiles stop moving enough" rather than waiting the recommended times.

To put this into perspective, a window reveal that needs a bit of squaring up (they all do right?) with properly mitred trims and consistent gaps all round will take me most of a morning. Just getting the trims right will take me about an hour.

So the question is really, like others have said, if you get paid for how long it takes you, then fine. Others that are "fast" might be getting paid for longer and are knocking it out fast to make more per day than day rate.

Also one man's good job is another man's adequate and without close inspection, it's hard to know where the speed/quality line is. Personally I can't see how a job good enough for me could be done in 2 days and I don't mean that to be insulting; it's just more about me not being able to do it regardless in that time.

 

[MarshallTile]

Well said. Quality work and a spot on tiling job will gain you maybe 3 more jobs. A bad job will lose you 10. Nuff said!

 

[Andy Allen]

This might be controversial but I take ages and get paid for it. At least 4 days for me but then I am not a full time tiler and do whole room refurbs from start to finish. I used to use a tiler and he wasn't bad but not up to the standard I expect hence why I'm doing it again. I don't use rapids as I'm not fast enough so laying and grouting on same day is not possible however I know some tilers will grout "when the tiles stop moving enough" rather than waiting the recommended times.

To put this into perspective, a window reveal that needs a bit of squaring up (they all do right?) with properly mitred trims and consistent gaps all round will take me most of a morning. Just getting the trims right will take me about an hour.

So the question is really, like others have said, if you get paid for how long it takes you, then fine. Others that are "fast" might be getting paid for longer and are knocking it out fast to make more per day than day rate.

Also one man's good job is another man's adequate and without close inspection, it's hard to know where the speed/quality line is. Personally I can't see how a job good enough for me could be done in 2 days and I don't mean that to be insulting; it's just more about me not being able to do it regardless in that time.

1 hour to cut a trim..... Really..!!
Why dose take you that long..?

 

[StephenR]

I didn't say 1 hour to cut a trim. That would be stupid.

I said "To put this into perspective, a window reveal that needs a bit of squaring up (they all do right?) with properly mitred trims and consistent gaps all round will take me most of a morning. Just getting the trims right will take me about an hour"

That means all 4 trims, mitred on each corner, consistent 1 to 2mm gap (depending what we're aiming at) all round the edges, tight virtually no gap on the mitred edges and stuck on so flush with the main field, and then adjusted all round to be as good as I can get it. If the window is out of square, then the reveal might have to be filled to level up and so on.

I've seen such work round here so I know others do the same.

An hour could be at most, but say 10 mins a side wouldn't be unreasonable for me at least.

If you can do all that faster, good for you but I can't in order to get the finish I deliver but then I don't tile every day only about a week and a bit per month.

If I could find a tiler that could do the work I do, faster and cheaper, when I need it, I could sit at home or be doing something else and make money.

 

[smokie899]

3 easy days 9:30-5pm (I do the school run). And I don't class that as quick, but I'm fussy. Oh and I do all shower doors of which most bathrooms have now.
But there is times when a customer may go to work after I arrive and get home about 5pm, comes up for a nosey and notices no tiles on the walls and gives you that strange 'what da f<>k have ya been doin all day' kind of look. While asking how's it going, the next look is even funnier when I say I had a good day and got a lot done, without telling him that all the old adhesive didn't just fall off the floors and walls, the wee holes in the walls didn't patch themselves up, the unlevel corners around the window reveals didn't dig themselves out, the primer just magically appeared on the walls and everything was so perfect I could just start putting tiles on walls without even so much as checking a level never mind where all the cuts will be and what they will look like when finished.
Ya see sir it's all magic, all we do is put tiles on walls and floors.

 

[Andy Allen]

I've seen 16m bathrooms completed in a day..... And to a very good standard, mainly site/comercial work..... Which is where I cut my teeth for 15 years..... Speed dose not always mean poor standards of work...... Just efficiency and experience..

 

[smokie899]

Hmm site/commercial work. Done a bit of that, and it's usually new builds with completely empty rooms, no removal of sinks/toilets, nice clean walls/floors etc usually only prep work is setting out which does speed things up or other trades slowing ya down. Don't think I've ever done a bathroom smaller than 20m. Only done three bathrooms this year due to bad health and they were 22, 27, 28m floors and walls.
Yup speed does not always make a difference in quality, but for me it's 3 easy days at my speed and a very good wage. That's what makes me happy. Done the 10-14 hr days, 6-7 day weeks and that near killed me.
Any way that was then, I'm retired again lol