Andrew Coote
Adhesives and grouts cost between £5 and £10 per square meter depending on what materials are required (some specialist tile adhesives are very expensive and grouts have become much more expensive over the last 2 years). Materials should also include primers and finishing (silicones) and sometimes grout sealers and trims. Each area of the country will sustain different price rates for labour laying tiles depending on how much work there is about at the time! The cheapest labour quotes for floor tiling will start at about £15 per square meter on floors although a larger floor area (e.g. 30 square meters or more) may encourage competing bidders to drop their prices by a pound or two). Prices increase depending on just how much actual work is required. Laying tiles larger than 600x300 or smaller than 250mm may attract a larger cost (bigger tiles may require additional levelling and bedding of floor, smaller tiles take physically longer to fix). Fitting tiles around special features may attract an increased cost for the additional time needed to complete. Stone tiles require cutting using an electrical wet cutter (this is slower than dry manual cutting), porcelain and stone both require specialist sealers applied before and after grouting (to prevent grout staining the tile) - all adds to the cost. Some specialist natural stones may attract quotes as high as £100 per square meter to lay. The important thing with all quotes is to check what the price includes. When you compare a "cheap" quote with an "expensive" quote you may suddenly discover that the cheap quote is more expensive in the end because "everything but labour to fix the tiles" is an "extra"!
