Tiling a bathroom will give you results that are durable, sustainable, and visually appealing. Additionally, it increases the value of your property.
Although this process is more time-consuming and costly than others, the result is worth it.
It’s possible to install tile floors yourself or hire a professional tiler, depending on how much it costs. You can tile a bathroom in a fraction of the time with a few ideas and a little confidence.
Estimated time to tile a bathroom
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The average bathroom takes about 2-3 days to tile. It may take longer, depending on the size of the bathroom and the area that needs to be covered. Quality over speed is important when installing tiles using a professional with a good reputation is also important.
It will take a professional tiler between 6 and 8 hours to lay floor tiles in a bathroom. If you are doing a DIY project, it could take 12-16 hours.
DIY vs. Professional Tilers
You can set your tiles in your bathroom by hiring a professional. It’s a great time-saving option but not the cheapest. Professionals can tile your bathroom floor in 6 to 8 hours. A professional tiler costs between $40 and $60 per hour.
While hiring a professional will save you time, doing the work yourself will save you money.
If you have the equipment needed for tiling and a weekend to spare, you can save more than half the cost of hiring a professional.
The Size of Your Bathroom
Larger bathrooms require more time to tile. If your bathroom is around 2m x 1.7m x 2.4m in size and you’re using a 400×250 tile, expect it to take 2 to 3 days to install.
- Day 1 – Set the tiles on the wall.
- Day 2 – Grouting, tiling, and windows can all be done.
- Day 3 – Finish grouting and use the extra time to complete the harder sections.
The Size of the Bathroom Tiles
It seems to be trendy to have bigger tiles at the moment. Bigger tiles will cover greater space, needing fewer to be laid. Larger tiles speed up the tiling job.
The layout is also important, and deciding how you want to lay the tiles is crucial. While diagonal tiles look cool, they will slow down your project.
Floor Tiles
- Prep the subfloor by removing the old tile and motor, and make sure it’s level.
- Use thinset mortar to attach a membrane to the floor and tile to the membrane. If you’re not using a membrane, you will want to use a modified thinset mortar.
- Work one section at a time so the thinset doesn’t dry before we can get to it. You can use Kerdi-band to waterproof the seams between the membrane sections and the seams along the walls.
- Mark the starting point for your tiles by measuring two opposite walls and snapping a chalk line between the center points.
- Using tile spacers, ensure that your gaps are correct by dry fitting your tiles. To ensure you feel the cavities in the membrane, spread the unmodified thinset evenly and comb the mortar with a trowel at 45 degrees.
- Cut tiles with a tile cutter, tile nipper, tile hole saw, or wet towel saw. Leave a quarter-inch gap around pipes, and install the tiles.
- Grout is the material used to fill in the gaps between the tiles and comes in different styles and colors. After grouting, you should wait 72 hours to walk on it.
Wall Tiles
- Level the surface and remove any fittings from the wall.
- Mark the position of the Droid tiles on the wall before you start tiling.
- Spread adhesive on the wall and score it with a notched trowel. Start with 1-meter squares and work your way up.
- If you’re tiling a plasmid wall, use flexible adhesive or standard adhesive if you’re tiling a masonry wall.
- Place spacers at each corner, and press the tile quarter against the marked line to score a line.
- Use a wet saw to cut tiles around fixtures and fittings, place them into position, bend upward in a grid pattern in the same direction as your first rule, spread more adhesive on the wall as you work, remove excess adhesive from the tiles, grout, polish, and seal.
What You Need to Tile a Bathroom
You’ll need several tools and supplies to make this happen. Some of the most basic tools include
Tile trowel
Grout Float with SoftGrip here on Amazon!
Sponge
Grouting Super Sponge here on Amazon!
Bucket
Tiling bucket kit here on Amazon!
Bucket trowel
Stainless Steel Bucket Scoop here on Amazon!
Water-fed tile nippers
Tile Nippers With Pro-Grip Handle here on Amazon!
Angle grinder that has a diamond disc.
Paddle Switch Cut-Off/Angle Grinder here on Amazon!
Spirit Level
You also should have a spirit level, so you know that it’s level as you go along,
3-Piece Spirit Level Set here on Amazon!
Tile spacers
Tile spacers will help you ensure your tiles are spaced evenly.
Tile Spacers for Floor or Walls here on Amazon!
Tile matting
Tile matting is a good idea to have in place where you’ll be putting your tiles to serve as an underlayment.
Schluter Ditra 1/8″ Underlayment here on Amazon!
Tile Grout
Simple Premium Grout here on Amazon!
You’d do well to find tile grout that matches your tile colors and a flexible waterproof tile adhesive.
How Long Does it Take to Tile a Small Bathroom Floor?
Professionals can tile your bathroom floor in as little as 6 to 8 hours.
How Long Does it Take to Grout a Small Bathroom?
Allow 2 hours to remove the grout and another hour to regrout each 16-square-foot (4-by-4-foot) portion of a bathroom.
How Many Square Feet of Tile Can You Lay in a Day
An experienced professional tiler can install around 100 12 by 12-inch tiles every hour.
Can You Tile a Bathroom in One Day

Is it possible to tile your bathroom in only one day? This depends on several factors, but the simple answer is that, yes, it is something you can do in a day. However, you’ll need to allow them to dry before walking on them.
One of the major factors that affects how long it takes to tile your bathroom is the size of the tile. If the tiles are larger, you’ll use less of them for space. When you have a smaller number of tiles to lay down, it should take considerably less time to do so.
This also applies if you have smaller-sized bathrooms in your house and if you’re using medium tiles.
Another big factor is your experience level with tiling. If you’ve laid down tile in a bathroom or worked on a similar project before, you won’t have to look up instructions on what you’re doing as often, and you’ll be more confident, which should lead to getting the work done faster.
Even if you haven’t done this yourself, you can enlist the help of someone else who has experience with tiling, whether it’s to physically help or provide you with instruction and guidance.
If you plan to conduct this work yourself, ensure that you measure the space accurately before you begin any tiling (preferably before you buy your tile materials). The old saying “measure twice, cut once” is important to remember.
This way, you’re a lot less likely to make mistakes when it comes to figuring out the exact amount of space. Besides this, make sure that the tiles and your space are clean before you start the process so that no dirt or grit gets stuck underneath.
You’ll thank yourself later on when you have flat, level tiles that have been placed beautifully.
Can You Tile and Grout in the Same Day

Yes, putting down tile in your bathroom is fine, then putting in the grout afterward. This is especially true if you have a smaller bathroom and area to work with. You may have difficulty laying the tiles flat and placing them evenly, making this process take longer.
This can delay you from moving on to the next step quickly. If this happens, you may decide to take a break and pick the work up again the next day.
The grouting process is done so that the tiles stay in place after you set them. You put grout between each tile, and this can be a time-consuming task. If you have small tiles that are odd-shaped tiles, you’ll spend more time on grouting.
After you put grout on, cleaning up the excess with soap and water is necessary, which also can take a great deal of time. This is why you must have the supplies readily available when you start, so there’s less downtime.
How Many Tiles Can You Lay in One Day
Bear in mind that while diagonal tiling can be a more attractive and common choice, it does tend to take longer to do it this way. You’ll have to decide if you prefer to take the time to get used to this particular style or opt to work faster.
Avoid getting overly ambitious regarding how many tiles you plan to lay in a day. If you’re less experienced, it will be less than if you’ve already done this type of project. You’ll generally be able to do as much tiling as you have the time and energy for that Day.
Some people can handle up to about 300 square feet of tiling with help, or about 100–150 square feet if they work independently. Remember that you may need to cut tiles more as you go along if they don’t fit with the sequence you’re using.
Something else that affects the amount of tiling you can do in a day is making sure that the floor and wall are levels. If this is off at all, it can lead to issues with how they lay and broken or displaced tiles.
Add a layer of tile backer board, and if there are raised seams, you’ll want to cover the protrusions. Working with chalk lines helps you keep track of what you’re doing, which is ideal when it’s a complex task such as tiling and especially helps with those small corners.
How Long Does Tiling a Floor Take

Tiling a floor, which consists of leveling the wall or floor, laying the tile, adjusting, and grouting, can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days.
If you’re not in a hurry and are inexperienced, it’s definitely in your best interest to take breaks, double-check what you’re doing as you go along, and save certain aspects for another day.
All in all, except that the entire project could take several days since you will need to wait to walk on the tile.
How Much Is it Likely to Cost to Tile a Bathroom?
The cost to tile your bathroom can vary based on factors such as if you got a deal on supplies and/or tile material, whether you’re renting or purchasing equipment/tools, and if you hire anyone to help.
It can cost between $1,300 and $2,500 to install just 150 square feet of tile flooring. The crucial factor that makes this vary is the type of tile you use. This can include porcelain tiles, ceramic tile, mosaic, natural stone tile, and vinyl. Larger tiles take less time, which is a plus if you’ve hired someone to help or do the work.
Also, when using larger tiles, you’ll use less grout and save money.
If you don’t have a preference for tile material for your bathroom, research and determine what will provide the best value for your budget. Vinyl, ceramic, porcelain, and slate are more common types that cost on the lower end.
On a similar note, it’s beneficial to shop around by calling to talk to tile suppliers in your area to ask for their prices and if there are any promotional deals going on at the moment.
Another consideration when it comes to cost is the longevity of the material. Remember that natural stone can stain since it’s more permeable, while many other materials don’t, such as porcelain.
You also would be likely to pay more for material that has intricate patterns to it.
How Long Do You Have to Wait to Use Your Bathroom After Tiling
This can vary, but a general rule is to wait 24 hours to walk on your tiles.
Though you might not need that whole 24 hours, depending on the materials used and where you did the tiling, consider it when making your plans.
For instance, you don’t want to invite guests over the day after completing the tiling, especially if you don’t get done with it until nighttime. This is the case whether it is a tile placed on your bathroom floor or on its walls.
