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How Much Does It Cost to Tile a Bathroom? Prices, Types & Factors
Codee Chessher
Last updated:
A freshly retiled bathroom is one of the most striking modifications you can make to your home. Replacing worn and damaged flooring with fresh tile can instantly raise your home’s value and add a fresh feeling to any home. Tile costs about $2 per square foot to tile a bathroom, excluding labor and other costs
Let’s check out how much it costs to retile a bathroom, other possible costs, and what you need to know.
Why Use Tile for a Bathroom?
Tile is the ideal flooring choice for bathrooms, which is why you’ll see it in a lot of homes. If you’ve ever wondered if there’s a reason for that, there is! In fact, there are several characteristics that tile has that make it perfect for bathrooms. These reasons include:
Tile characteristics
Tile is water resistant. This is a no-brainer for a bathroom that will get wet and humid, but tile won’t crack, shrink, or expand with moisture.
Tile is durable. It’s very difficult to intentionally damage tile, and it can take a lot of wear and tear. Even partially damaged tile can be repaired for a cheaper cost than replacement.
Tile is affordable, especially compared to porcelain. Combined with its other characteristics, this helps propel tile to new heights of popularity.
Tile has lots of aesthetic options. There are numerous sizes, styles, colors, and finishes to choose from. This means you can find the perfect tile for any bathroom.
Image By: Pixabay
How Much Does It Cost to Tile a Bathroom?
Tile costs about $2 per square foot to tile a bathroom, excluding labor and other costs, like demolition. Premium tile options cost substantially more, depending on what you want. Marble, for instance, costs about $8 per square foot.
Labor adds a lot to your final price, too, so let’s check out what labor costs are and what other costs you may expect to pay for your bathroom remodel.
Bathroom Retiling Costs:
Tile: $2 per square foot
Labor: $30–$120 per hour
Demolition: $1.50–$4.50 per square foot removed
Leveling: $.25–$1, if extra work is required to level the floor
Generally, these costs are added into your final price, but you may ask your contractor for an itemized bill that shows how the costs break down.
Going by the numbers above, a 100-square-foot bathroom will cost about $2,000 to retile. This may vary widely based on various factors.
To measure the square footage of the tile you need replaced, measure the length and width of the area separately and then multiply them together. For example, a 5’ x 8’ floor will be about 40 square feet. For curved or unusual angles, you can simply overestimate a bit just to be safe.
Image Credit: R ARCHITECTURE, Unsplash
Labor
Labor varies by your geographical region, but generally, urban areas charge more for labor than rural areas. As an estimate, the cheapest you’ll find for this type of work is $30 per hour, but it may range to $100 or more per hour. Ask multiple contractors for quotes to get an idea of what your project may cost.
Placement
Flooring typically costs the least per square foot, while walls and countertops will cost more. Areas that get directly exposed to water or moisture need to be tiled with a non-porous material.
Prep
The more work that needs to be done before the tile can be installed, the more your project will cost. It’s much cheaper, for example, to put tile over an even floor surface than to remove old and uneven tile and then install the new tile.
Image Credit: Karolina Grabowska, Pexels
Tile Type
We gave a vague estimate above of what tile costs, but there are numerous tile materials that can make your project more expensive. Let’s check out what some popular tile choices cost.
Tiles have a special rating system that tells you where they’re supposed to be used. Let’s break down the various ratings and what they mean.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Tile Ratings:
Class I tiles aren’t durable enough to use as flooring and should only be used on walls.
Class II tiles are best placed in areas with light traffic, like bathrooms.
Class III tiles can be used for walls, countertops, or flooring in areas with average foot traffic.
Class IV tiles are the most versatile type of tile, and they can be used anywhere.
Class V tiles are usually only used in commercial or industrial settings.
Conclusion
Bathroom retiling can be a daunting project, but it doesn’t have to be. With the help of a qualified contractor, you can have a beautiful, freshly retiled bathroom to match any home aesthetic.
Featured Image Credit: Hemant Kanojiya, Unsplash
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Codee Chessher
Codee Chessher is a freelance writer with extensive knowledge on a variety of subjects that include travel, sound engineering, automotive, DIY, pets, and more. He has a colorful past that includes building schools and commercial driving, but the written word was always his first love. He believes there's nothing a well-worded sentence can't accomplish.When not writing, Codee enjoys epic fantasy novels, home DIY projects, and memorizing useless pop culture trivia. He has lived in Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Most recently, he resides in northern Mexico.
Codee Chessher
