Tiler Guide

How it works

1. Lock the sheet and the grid

   Name the tile, its size and where cuts will fall. Switching from a straight grid to a pattern after the bed is down is a different job.

2. Split membrane from tiling

   Wet-area waterproofing may be this tiler's class or an earlier visit by a waterproofer. The membrane is finished before it disappears.

3. Agree falls and joints

   On a bathroom floor, falls to the waste and the place of movement joints should be spoken and then written.

Services

• Bathroom floors

  Falls to the waste, a bed that is true, and a grout joint matched to the tile.

• Shower and bathroom walls

  Sheets on a flat substrate, with trims at the open edges of a shower and at niches.

• Splashbacks

  Lines to benches and windows, and silicone where tile meets another material.

• Living-area floors

  Large sheets, movement joints, and a layout that keeps slivers out of doorways.

• Regrouts and single-sheet repairs

  Replacing a cracked sheet or tired grout when a full strip-out is not required.

What a tiler does

Tilers finish floors and walls with a rigid sheet bedded in adhesive or a mortar bed. In a bathroom that means falls to the floor waste, a layout that keeps skinny cuts out of the main view, movement joints where the run is long, and trims that finish the edge of a shower. Walls need a flat substrate. Floors need a bed that is true, because lippage on a large tile shows. The sheet you chose has a size, a rectified or pressed edge, and a recommended joint, and those details belong on the page. Say who waterproofs the wet area and how long that membrane must cure before a tile goes down. The two visits are not the same afternoon.

Waterproofing a wet area is often a different class from tiling. The membrane has to be complete, cured and detailed at the waste and the hob before one sheet hides it. The tiler may hold that class, or a waterproofer may come first. Either way the register is read for the class, not assumed because someone owns a trowel. This trade does not move plumbing, replace a rotten substrate they were not shown, or paint the ceiling. Grout colour, silicone at the junctions, and who supplies the tiles are the lines that stop two offers describing different jobs under one heading. Large tiles show every wander in the floor, so ask what happens to the old bed. Grout colour and the edge trim belong on the same page as the tile name.

• Membranes in showers are often booked before the bed.
• Wastes and mixers have to land before the sheets do.
• Flat walls for a wet room start with this trade.

Licensing by state

When you need a licensed tiler

In New South Wales, tiling and wet-area waterproofing may be different classes; the NSW Fair Trading search is where those two are told apart.

Victorian tiling or wet-area waterproofing is checked on the Building and Plumbing Commission tiling entries, as separate questions.

The QBCC licensee register is the Queensland place to read a tiling class and a wet-area waterproofing class as two lines.

Consumer and Business Services is the South Australian search; wet-area waterproofing and tiling are checked as the classes they actually are.

Building and Energy records Western Australian classes; confirm whether wet-area waterproofing sits with the holder who will cover the membrane.

CBOS lists Tasmanian tradespeople; look there for tiling and for wet-area waterproofing before the bed is laid.

Access Canberra construction registers are the Australian Capital Territory record for tiling and for wet-area waterproofing.

Tiling or wet-area waterproofing in the Northern Territory should be looked up on the building practitioner register, class by class.

What changes the price

• Carrying boxes up several flights, or cutting inside a room that still holds a toilet, changes the pace.
• A large tile bought overseas by the owner is a different materials risk from a range laid last month.
• Waterproofing records, and any inspection expected before the membrane is covered, are paperwork.
• A same-week call to re-grout a shower is scheduled differently from a full bathroom set around the plumber.
• Late visits, because wet adhesive must stay away from a sleeping child's room, are their own agreement.
• A floor out of flat, a wall that bows, or a waste in the wrong place are conditions the bed must solve or refuse.
• Changing a straight grid to a herringbone after screeding is a scope change.

Hiring checklist

• Tile name, size, edge type and joint width are written before screeding.
• The layout, including where cuts fall, is described or sketched.
• Falls to the floor waste are an included outcome in a wet room.
• Waterproofing is in this paperwork or booked earlier with a waterproofer.
• Movement joints and trims are named, not discovered on the last day.
• Who supplies tiles, adhesive, grout and silicone is clear.
• Substrate repairs are excluded if a flat wall and a sound floor have not been seen.
• Which room is out of use, and for how long, is stated.
• Grout colour and the silicone at junctions are chosen, not left to whatever is on the van.
• Lippage expectations for a large tile are discussed before the first sheet is stuck.

Questions to ask

• Is waterproofing included, or does a waterproofer finish before the bed goes down?
• Which tile, which size and which layout are locked before screed day?
• Who supplies trims, wastes and movement joints?
• How will lippage be judged on a large-format floor?
• Are falls to the floor waste shown, not only called adequate?
• What happens if the substrate is out of level once furniture is gone?

Tilers in your city

City pages open when a city has enough published listings. See tilers near you.

Featured tilers

• ABN checked

  AVT Tiling

  Hallam

• ABN checked

  Akkari Tiling

  Somerton

• Amber

  Liverpool

• ABN checked

  Aplus Tiling Group

  Hampton Park

• Artform

  Sandringham

• ABN checked

  Bajwa Tiling Services

  Wollert

Search tilers in the directory

Common questions

Sources and review

Reviewed 2026-10-22.

• NSW Fair Trading licence search Checked 2026-10-22.
• Victorian practitioner check Checked 2026-10-22.
• QBCC licensee register Checked 2026-10-22.
• South Australia licence holder search Checked 2026-10-22.
• Western Australia licence search Checked 2026-10-22.
• Tasmania licensed tradesperson search Checked 2026-10-22.
• Access Canberra construction registers Checked 2026-10-22.
• NT building practitioner register Checked 2026-10-22.
• LBP public site Checked 2026-10-22.