Tanking: the part nobody sees and everybody needs
Tiles and grout are water resistant, not waterproof. In a shower enclosure, water passes through grout lines over time and reaches whatever is behind. If that's plasterboard, it fails — quietly, for a year or two, then all at once.
Tanking means applying a waterproof membrane or system to the wet area before tiling, so the substrate stays dry regardless of what the grout does. It adds a modest amount to the cost of a shower area and it is the difference between a bathroom that lasts fifteen years and one that needs stripping in four. We tank every wet area as standard and we won't tile one without it.
Tiles or wall panels?
Tiles
Best appearance and resale value, huge choice, repairable tile by tile. Slower to fit, needs proper preparation, and the grout needs occasional care.
Wall panels
Groutless, quick to fit, fully waterproof by design and easy to clean. Fewer joints means fewer failure points. Limited by panel sizes and a less premium feel than good tile.
Where panels win
Shower enclosures, rental properties, quick refreshes, and rooms where minimising disruption matters more than a bespoke finish.
Where tiles win
Whole-room schemes, feature walls, floors, and anywhere the finish is a big part of the point of the project.
Bathroom flooring
We handle flooring as part of bathroom and wet-room work rather than as a general flooring service. In a bathroom the deciding factor is the subfloor: tile needs rigidity, and a timber floor usually needs overboarding or a decoupling layer before tiling, or the grout will crack.
LVT and quality sheet vinyl are excellent bathroom floors — warm underfoot, genuinely waterproof when sealed at the edges, and forgiving of slight movement. For an upstairs bathroom over a suspended timber floor they are often the better engineering answer, whatever the showroom says.
What we do before we tile
- Check the substrate: sound plaster, boarded stud, or backer board where needed.
- Check the floor for deflection and overboard it if it moves.
- Tank the wet area with a proper waterproofing system.
- Set out from the most visible line so cuts land where they're least noticed.
- Grout, seal the internal corners with silicone rather than grout, and leave the room clean.
What it costs
Real North West ranges rather than headline prices. You get a fixed price for your job before any work starts.
| Job | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wall tilingLabour; preparation and tanking priced separately. | £45 – £75 per m² | Labour; preparation and tanking priced separately. |
| Floor tilingHigher for large-format or patterned layouts. | £50 – £85 per m² | Higher for large-format or patterned layouts. |
| Shower area tankingFull waterproofing system before tiling. | £180 – £400 | Full waterproofing system before tiling. |
| Wall panels fittedFaster to fit than tile, groutless finish. | £40 – £70 per m² | Faster to fit than tile, groutless finish. |
| Regrout and reseal a bathroomWhere the tiles and substrate are sound. | £220 – £480 | Where the tiles and substrate are sound. |
| Bathroom flooring (LVT or vinyl)Depends on subfloor preparation. | Quoted on survey | Depends on subfloor preparation. |
Bathroom tiling and wall panelling — your questions answered
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