Price of
tiling.

These figures do not come from a national price scale: we extracted 204 floor and wall tiling lines priced per square metre from 41 of our quotes, drawn up between 2024 and 2026 for houses and flats in Savoie and Haute-Savoie. Each range covers the bulk of the prices found, leaving out isolated cases, and is rounded. Amounts exclude VAT; the last column applies the 10% VAT of a home over two years old.

The item that varies most is not the laying but the tile. In our quotes, its value is written in black and white inside the fitted price: from €25 to €70/m² excl. VAT depending on the project. Moving from an entry-level porcelain stoneware to a large stone-effect slab therefore shifts the price per square metre far more than the tiler's skill does.

Since the value of the tile appears in the description, it is enough to subtract it from the fitted price to isolate the labour. On the 31 lines where it is stated (21 quotes), the labour comes out at a median of €60/m² excl. VAT, and between €55 and €65 for most lines. This amount includes labour, primer, adhesive, grout and skirting.

This is the figure to compare with a “labour only” offer. When two laying prices differ markedly, the explanation is almost always in what is included: adhesive and grout invoiced separately, skirting counted per linear metre, substrate preparation missing from the pricing.

Two examples taken from these lines show each part's share. A 50×50 tile valued at €25/m² excl. VAT, laid with a 3 mm joint, comes to about €80/m² excl. VAT fitted. A rectified 80×80 valued at €50/m² excl. VAT, laid with a 2 mm joint, comes to about €110/m² excl. VAT. Of the €30 difference, the tile explains €25; the more demanding laying of the large format accounts for the rest.

One point to know if you buy your tiles yourself: they remain subject to 20% VAT, and only the labour invoiced by the company benefits from the reduced rate. The details are explained in our guide to VAT on renovation work.

The format. Our tilers use double-sided bedding: the adhesive is spread on the substrate and on the back of the tile, so that no void is left underneath. On a large tile, this requirement is joined by another: the larger it is, the flatter the substrate must be, because the slightest flaw shows from one tile to the next. Slabs of 100×100, 60×120 or 120×120 thus reach €120 to €135/m² excl. VAT supplied and fitted in our quotes.

Rectified tiles and the fine joint. A rectified tile has edges cut to the millimetre, which allows a 2 mm joint instead of 3. The result is more continuous, but the alignment forgives nothing: it means extra laying time.

The room. A 30 m² open-plan living room is tiled quickly. A 5 m² shower room involves a pile of cuts around the WC, the shower tray, the pipes and the corners: the price per square metre is logically higher there, and the walls need water protection before the wall tiles.

The substrate. This is the part the cheapest quotes forget. It is the subject of the next section.

Tiling is never better than what carries it. Before comparing two prices per square metre, check that the following lines appear in them, or that it is written why they are not necessary.

Does the old tiling have to be removed? Not systematically. Our quotes provide for first checking whether the new covering can be stuck onto the old one: adhesion, flatness, and the height available under the doors. If not, removal is priced on a separate line.

In the older houses and chalets of our two départements, tiling is often laid on a timber floor. Our quotes then provide for a fibre-reinforced levelling screed and a decoupling membrane, so that the natural movement of the wood does not crack the tiles or the joints a few months after laying.

To give an order of magnitude, let us apply the median values from our quotes to a typical shower room, with wall tiles to full height in the shower and half height elsewhere:

Floor supplied and fitted: 5 m² × €110 = €550 excl. VAT. Wall tiles supplied and fitted: 15 m² × €115 = €1,725 excl. VAT. Removal of the old covering over the 20 m²: 20 m² × €22.50 = €450 excl. VAT. Total for the tiling: €2,725 excl. VAT, or €2,997.50 incl. 10% VAT.

This calculation covers only the tiling. A bathroom redone in full adds plumbing, electrics, the shower tray or walk-in shower and the fittings: that is the subject of our pages on bathroom renovation in Annecy and in Aix-les-Bains, and of our guide to the cost of renovating a house.

In a home completed more than two years ago, tiling work is subject to 10% VAT, supply included when it is invoiced by the company. The rate rises to 20% in new-build, or when the work increases the floor area by more than 10%, such as an extension.

Tiling on its own does not qualify for the 5.5% rate, which is reserved for energy renovation work: insulation, certain heating and ventilation equipment. Special cases, extensions and barns included, are detailed in our VAT guide.