The son of an interior designer, Rob was already painting walls and hanging wallpaper at 14. After assisting the family interior design business and building two homes of his own, Rob has been working as a freelance writer since 2010, specializing in flooring, remodeling, and HVAC systems. Rob is also a pastor, serves on the Church Board and continues to give sermons. He is married to Diane, and they have 3 kids and 2 grandkids.
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The average cost to tile a bathroom floor is about $17 per square foot. Cheap tile installed starts at about $11 per square foot while premium tile costs can easily exceed $30 per square foot installed. Prices include the tile, materials and labor.
How much is the labor cost to tile a bathroom floor? It’s the bulk of the money you’ll spend unless you DIY, between $10.00 to $18.00 per square foot. The average labor cost to install bathroom floor tile is much higher than the labor cost to install laminate flooring or similar. Tiling a bathroom is slower work than installing tile in most areas of a home because there are more tile cuts to be made per square foot and obstacles to be removed or worked around.
This bathroom tile cost overview considers the same cost factors a tile installer considers when pricing your job, potential extra costs and guidance on how to develop a fairly accurate guestimate of what your bathroom tile flooring installation costs will be.
The average total cost ranges from $9 to $20 per square foot.
The average total cost for carpet ranges from $5.67 to over $21 per square foot, depending on the quality.
The average total cost for laminate flooring is between $3 to $13 per square foot.
The cost of installed tile starts at about $11.00 per square foot and can easily exceed $30.
Yes, readers should know that tile prices and the cost of labor have risen significantly in the last few years – which probably comes as no surprise. As a result, this makes a lot of the bathroom tile price estimates found online completely obsolete – pre-pandemic pricing if you will.
While labor is a major cost factor, the type of tile you select for your bathroom project impacts total cost too.
Cheap ceramic tile starts at around $1 per square foot retail (clearance?), while the most expensive options like natural stone and porcelain start at closer to $6 or $7 per square foot. Add labor costs, and you get the total cost per square foot of around $11 to $15 on the low end to above $25 on the top end.
Here are popular tile options for the bathroom and their installed cost. Below are the total cost estimates for common bathroom sizes.
The chart above shows costs by the square foot. But what is the total cost to tile a bathroom?
Most homeowners pay $560 to $1,500 for floor tile in a small bathroom (40 sq. ft.). Cost rises to a range of $1,040 to more than $3,000 in medium-size (80 sq. ft.) bathrooms and $1,650 and up, up, up in large/extra large bathrooms.
Marble at $60 per square foot? Yes, you can spend that much. The ranges we’ve provided are the averages. The plus-sign just lets you know that for some bathroom tile cost, the sky’s the limit.
Cost per square foot generally goes down as the bathroom size increases. In short, the more open floor there is, the less cutting and piecing there is, and the lower the cost per square foot. Labor costs in small and/or crowded bathrooms are highest – the work is very time consuming.
What’s the difference between a job costing $10 per square foot and one closer to $20? Here are factors tile setters consider as they look over your bathroom floor tiling project.
Job size: If you’ve got a small bathroom with little open floor and lots of tile cutting required, the labor rate per square foot will be higher than charged for a larger, spacious bathroom.
Tile size: Larger tile takes less time to lay out and install, so labor rate is lower for 12” square tile than if you choose 6” or 4” tile, for example.
Tile hardness: The harder the tile, the longer it takes to cut it and the worse the wear on the tiler’s saw blade. As a result, ceramic, the softest type of tile, starts at about $10 per square foot to install. Porcelain is harder, so cost starts around $12. Stone is the toughest material, so expect bathroom tile installation cost estimates starting at more than $12 per square foot.
Old floor removal: Unless you’ve got new construction or do the demo work yourself, the installer will first tear out old flooring and provide for its disposal. Costs range from about $1.00 per square foot for vinyl removal or other easy-to-remove flooring and up to $3.50 for for a tough job like removing tile from a concrete floor.
Floor design: Expect cost quotes near the upper end of the spectrum if your project involves multiple tile sizes or any type of creative design.
Installer abilities: The best tile installers gather most business through word of mouth – one happy customer to another – and they aren’t begging for business. As a result, they can demand higher prices for their work.
Artificially high estimates: Some installers get paid more because they do superior work. Others give higher estimates because they want to make the same amount of money doing fewer jobs. To be sure you’re getting your money’s worth, request estimates from several local installers. Check their online reviews and talk with actual customers when possible. Choose an experienced installer with proven workmanship and a cost you can live with.
Where you live: Large metro areas, especially on the Coasts, have a higher cost of living than small towns and rural areas, and that’s reflected in labor rates. Bathroom flooring projects are notorious for hidden costs that threaten to bust the budget. Let’s prepare you for the worst while hoping for the best.
Sheathing replacement: Bathrooms, for obvious reasons, are the top spot in the house for water damage. Once the old flooring is torn out, it’s not uncommon to find a moldy spot or even softening due to rot setting in. Common locations are around the toilet, just outside one edge of the shower where the curtain never quite managed to cover or under/around the sink vanity. Damaged material should be cut out and replaced. The bad news is that a combination of Covid and inflationary factors have caused material costs to rise by 100% or more. Subfloor (OSB or plywood) repair cost: $5.00-$7.50 per square foot.
Fresh underlayment: Tile requires an appropriate base layer called underlayment. Your installer will have a preference, and options are:
Uncoupling membrane from Schluter-DITRA: This thin material is waterproof, so a great fit for bathroom applications. Both 1/8” and 5/16” materials cost $3.50 to $5.00 per square foot installed. We’ve created a page with full details on this excellent choice for bathroom tiling jobs plus comparisons to CBU: Schluter Ditra Installation
Cement board underlayment: CBU, aka backerboard, is a good fit for most bathrooms and an excellent foundation for tile and mortar. While Hardiebacker is the name most recognize, there are several brands worthy of use. Sheets cost $1.00-$2.00 per square foot. The installed cost is $3.50 to $5.50.
Self-leveling underlayment: This is an affordable mix made by many brands like Quickrete. As the name implies, a thin mix is poured out to create a perfectly level base for tile. Self leveling floor compound is mostly used in basement bathrooms with concrete subfloors. Cost ranges from about $4.00 to $5.00 per square foot.
If you’re budgeting for DIY, here are common costs for materials not covered above.
The actual tiling takes 4-8 hours in most bathrooms. However, with flooring removal, subfloor and underlayment installation plus tiling, expect your bathroom to be out of use for at least a couple days, 3-4 might be more realistic.
Tiling a bathroom is a job that a handy homeowner can accomplish successfully, but due to the number of cuts and the tight spaces in a bathroom it would be best to hire the job out to a professional. Quality tile layers are in high demand, so make sure that you have more than one written estimate. Inform each contractor that you are taking more than one bid and check references before deciding who to hire. Oh, and give installers several months lead-time. If you want new tile for the holidays, start getting bids in September.
HomeAdvisor – $9 to $14 per sq/ft installedPorch – $12.35 to $19.12 per sq/ft installedHomeGuide – $7.50 to $15 per sq/ft installedFixr – $9 to $21.40 per sq/ft installed
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Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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