Bad tiling is something you live with every day — the lippage you feel under bare feet, the grout line that's wider on one side, the cut that doesn't sit flush against the bath. Good tilers are slower than bad ones, and worth every rand.
What tiling covers
- Bathroom floors and walls (most common)
- Kitchen splashbacks and floors
- Outdoor patios, pool surrounds, and stoeps
- Re-grouting and re-silicone work (much cheaper than retiling)
- Tile repairs and matching (often surprisingly hard — colours drift between batches)
- Underfloor heating prep before tiling
What tiling costs in South Africa (2026)
Tiling labour in SA is R280-R450 per square metre for floors, more for walls, premium-rate for large-format porcelain (60×60 and up — they need rigid prep). Adhesive, grout, and silicone usually run R80-R150 per square metre. A bathroom retile (floor + walls, ~25-30m²) lands between R12,000 and R28,000 for labour and consumables, plus tiles themselves at R150-R600 per square metre. Re-grouting only — for tired-but-intact tiles — is R150-R280 per square metre and dramatically improves the look.
What to look for in a good tiler
- Levelling system in their kit — leveling clips/wedges are the difference between a flush job and lippage.
- Cuts shown on previous work — around toilets, basins, and corners is where amateurs are exposed.
- Grout colour samples — the right grey changes the whole bathroom.
- Realistic timeline — a bathroom is at least 3-5 working days, plus drying time.
On Handi-za, tilers post before-and-after photos that you can scrutinise from any angle. Check the cuts, check the grout lines, and read the reviews from seekers whose jobs were similar in size.